An Islamic holiday marked by fasting, praise, prayer, and devotion to Islam.
what is Ramadan (April 2 – May 2)?
The day that many Christians associate with Jesus’ birth.
A Buddhist festival that marks Gautama Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death. It falls on the day of the full moon in May and is a gazetted holiday in India.
What is Buddha Day (Vesak or Visakha Puja)
May 8
Day celebrated by Christians to commemorate the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. It is recognized on the Friday before Easter
What is Good Friday (April 15)
Hindu, Jain, and Sikh five-day festival of lights that celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and lightness over darkness.
What is Diwali (Oct 24)
The Jewish New Year celebration, marking the creation of the world
What is Rosh Hashanah? (Sept 25 to 27)
The celebration of the founding of the Sikh community as the Khalsa (community of the initiated) and the birth of the Khalsa.
What is Vaisakhi (also known as Baisakhi) (April 14)
Celebrated by the Mahayana Buddhist branch on the first full-moon day in January.
What is Mahayana New Year? (Jan 18)
A time of remembrance for dead ancestors and a celebration of the continuity of life.
What is El Dia de Muertos or All Souls’ Day
(November 1–2)
The annual Hindu and Sikh spring religious festival observed in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, along with other countries with large Hindu and Sikh populations. People celebrate by throwing colored powder and water at each other.
What is Holi Festival (March 18)
The holiest day on the Jewish calendar, a day of atonement marked by fasting and ceremonial repentance.
what is Yom Kippur (Oct 4 -5)?
Commemorates the birth of the recipient of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize and an activist for nonviolent social change.
What is Martin Luther King Jr. Day? (Jan 17)
Seven-day Jewish festival giving thanks for the fall harvest.
What is Sukkot?
(October 9–16)
A day remembering and honoring the founders of Haiti as well as the people who sacrificed their lives during the struggle for independence.
What is Jour des Aieux or Haiti Ancestors' Day (Jan 2)
Traditional Chinese festival observed by the Han Chinese of mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and by the ethnic Chinese of Malaysia and Singapore when individuals visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites, pray to their ancestors and make ritual offerings.
What is Ching Ming Festival
(also known as The Qingming festival or Tomb-Sweeping Day)
April 3–5
An Islamic festival to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim (also known as Abraham) to follow Allah’s (God’s) command to sacrifice his son, Ishmael
what is Eid al-Adha (July 9-10)
Recognized by Armenian Orthodox Christians, who celebrate the birth of Jesus on Epiphany.
What is Christmas? January 6
Celebrates the end of the rice harvesting season.
What is Gawai Dayak Festival
(June 1)
A time to remember the victims of the Holocaust on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in 1945 and a time to “mourn the loss of lives, celebrate those who saved them, honor those who survived, and contemplate the obligations of the living.”
Holocaust Remembrance Day or The International Day of Commemoration (Jan 27)
Commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas learned they were free, two months after the end of the Civil War and two years after President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
What is Juneteenth
June 19
(observed on June 20)
The first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal, marking the end of Ramadan. Many Muslims attend communal prayers, listen to a khutuba (sermon), and give Zakat al-Fitr (charity in the form of food)
What is Eid al-Fitr (May 2 to 3)?
Observed to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication for blind and partially sighted people; celebrated on the birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille.
What is World Braille Day? Jan 4
Celebrated according to the Korean lunar calendar and a national holiday, honored with lotus lanterns hanging in temples, homes and in the streets.
What is Buddha’s birthday (South Korea)
(May 19)
Observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church to commemorate the death of Saint Basil the Great.
What is The Feast of Saint Basil
January 1st
Observed by Mormons to commemorate the arrival in 1847 of the first Latter-day Saints pioneer in Salt Lake Valley.
What is Pioneer Day? (July 24)