Holiday
|
Religion
|
Date
|
Description
|
Orthodox Christmas
|
Eastern Christian
|
Jan 7
|
Celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
|
Makar Sankranti
|
Hindu
|
Jan 15
|
Harvest festival that celebrates the beginning of spring in India
|
Chinese New Year
|
Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist
|
Feb 16
|
Lunar New Year for Chinese people
|
Month of Fasting
|
Baha'i
|
Mar 2 - 20
|
19-day fast observed from sunrise to sunset
|
Purim*
|
Judaism
|
Mar 6 - 7
|
Commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to destroy them while they were exiled in Persia
|
Holi
|
Hindu
|
Mar 8
|
Festival of color that celebrates the arrival of spring
|
Naw Ruz
|
Baha'i
|
Mar 21
|
Traditional Iranian new year holiday
|
Ramadan**
|
Islam
|
Mar 22-April 20
|
Fast from sunrise to sunset held during the month of Ramadan
|
Passover*
|
Judaism
|
April 5 - Apr 13
|
Commemorates God delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt Seder begins in the evening of April 3
|
Good Friday
|
Christian (Roman Catholic & Protestant)
|
April 7
|
Commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ
|
Easter
|
Christian (Roman Catholic & Protestant)
|
Apr 9
|
Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ
|
Easter Monday
|
Catholic
|
Apr 10
|
Easter Monday or " Monday of the Angels," celebrates the angel's announcement about Christ's Resurrection to the women who came to the tomb. It is traditional to enjoy leisure and free time and to switch form saying the Regina Caeli at noon hour instead of the Angelus.
|
Vaisakhi
|
Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist
|
Apr 13
|
Commemorates the foundation of Sikhism and serves as a festival of thanksgiving. Also begins the Hindu New Year.
|
Visakha Puja
|
Buddhist
|
Apr 29
|
Celebrates the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha
|
Shavuot*
|
Judaism
|
May 25 - 27
|
Begins evening of May 25
|
Ascension of Baha’u'llah
|
Baha'i
|
May 29
|
Commemorates the death of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i faith
|
Eid al-Fitr
|
Islam
|
June 28 - July 2
|
Feast to celebrate the end of Ramadan
|
Eid Al-Adha
|
Islam
|
June 28 - 29
|
Commemoration of a Muslim's pilgrimage to Mecca
|
Eid al-Adha
|
Islam
|
June 28-29
|
Feast to celebrate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, at the command of God
|
Paryushana**
|
Jain
|
Sep 7
|
8-10 day celebration which involves fasting and studying scriptures
|
Rosh Hashanah*
|
Judaism
|
Sep 15 - 17
|
Jewish New Year
|
Yom Kippur*
|
Judaism
|
Sep 24 -25
|
Day of Atonement - Fast
|
Birth of the Bab
|
Baha'i
|
Oct 16
|
Celebrates the birth of the Bab, who was said to prepare the way for the founder of Baha'i, Baha'u'llah
|
Birth of Baha'u'llah
|
Baha'i
|
Oct 17
|
Celebrates the birth of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i faith
|
Diwali**
|
Hindu, Sikh, Jain
|
Nov 12
|
5-day festival of lights that celebrates the triumph of good over evil and the goddess Lakshmi
|
Hanukkah
|
Judaism
|
Dec 7 - 15
|
Celebrates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees rebelled against the Seleucid empire in the 2nd century BCE
|
Bodhi Day
|
Buddhist
|
Dec 8
|
Commemorates Gautama Buddha's enlightenment
|
Christmas
|
Christian (Roman Catholic & Protestant)
|
Dec 24 - 25
|
Celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ
|