»Religious Holiday Calendars

Below is a list of religious holidays that might pose conflicts with the academic calendar. This list is not exhaustive of religious holidays but includes major holidays as suggested to us by religious organizations.

To suggest additions or changes, please contact us at interfaith@chapman.edu.

The following religions are included on this Calendar:

Bahá’í, Buddhism, Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Latter-day Saints, Oriental Orthodox Christianity, Sikhism, Waldensian, Wiccan/Pagan, Zoroastrianism

Bahá’í

Bahá’í holidays begin at sundown on the first date listed and end at sundown on the last date listed.

Buddhism

There are multiple different types of Buddhism. Not all Buddhists celebrate the same holy days or observe them on the same day. This list is intended to represent the most commonly observed Buddhist holidays.

Islam

Islamic holidays begin at sundown on the first date listed and end at sundown on the last date listed. These holidays are calculated on a lunar calendar and are approximate.

Judaism

Jewish holidays begin at sundown on the first date listed and end at sundown on the last date listed. Some people observe extra days of certain holidays. Those extra days are in parenthesis ().

Sikhism

There are many more Sikh Holy Days, but the ones listed here are considered major observances. These are usually celebrated on weekends for convenience.

Religious Holidays: 2026-2027 Academic Year

Date	Holiday	Religion	Faculty Note
September 11-12(13)	Rosh Hashanah	Judaism	Do not schedule major events. Traditionally, Jews refrain from all work on this day. Instead, they attend worship services, listen to the sound of the shofar (ram’s horn), reflect, and eat apples dipped in honey. Depending on the sect of Judaism, Jews may celebrate this holiday for one day or two.
September 20-21	Yom Kippur	Judaism	Do not schedule major events. Roughly 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish community observes Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is arguably the most important holiday of the entire year. This non-working day includes a 25 hour fast, and a full day of worship services. Jews gather for communal prayer, atone for their sins, study, and engage in self-reflection.
September 25 - October 2	Sukkot	Judaism	Few students request absence. During the first and last days of Sukkot, observant Jews are prohibited from working, attending classes, and using electronics. During the middle days of the holiday, there are no prohibitions on doing work.
October 2-3(4)	Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah	Judaism	Few students request absence.
October 11-19	Navaratri	Hinduism
November 8	Diwali	Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism	A festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists that celebrates the triumph of good over evil.
November 9-10	Birth of the Báb	Bahá’í	Work suspended.
November 10-11	Birth of Bahá'u'lláh	Bahá’í	Work suspended.
November 24	Birth Guru Nanak Sahib	Sikhism
December 4-12	Hanukkah	Judaism
December 24	Christmas Eve	Christianity
December 25	Christmas Day	Christianity
January 5	Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib	Sikhism
January 6	The Theophany (Epiphany) of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
January 7	The Holy Nativity Feast (Christmas)	Oriental Orthodox Christianity
January 15	Rohastsu (Bodhi Day)	Buddhism
January 15	Makar Sankranti/Pongol	Hinduism
January 19	The Holy Epiphany	Oriental Orthodox Christianity
February 1	Imbolc (Candlemas)	Wiccan/Pagan
February 2	The Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
February 6	Lunar New Year	Buddhism, Taoism
February 7	First Evening of Ramadan	Islam	Do not schedule major events. Ramadan lasts until March 8.
February 10	Ash Wednesday	Christianity
February 15	Nirvana Day/Parinirvana	Buddhism
February 17	17th February	Waldensian
March 8	Final Day of Ramadan	Islam	Ramadan begins on February 17.
March 8-9	Eid al-Fitr	Islam	Do not schedule major events.
March 14	Sikh New Year	Sikhism
March 19-22	Ostara (Spring Equinox)	Wiccan/Pagan
March (20)-21	Naw-Ruz	Bahá’í, Zoroastrianism
March 21	The Entrance of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
March 22-23	Purim	Judaism
March 22	Holi	Hinduism
March 25	The Annunciation to the Most-Holy Theotokos	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
March 26	Good Friday	Christianity
March 28	Easter Sunday	Christianity
April 7	Annunciation Feast	Oriental Orthodox Christianity
April 14	Baisakhi/Vaisakhi	Hinduism, Sikhism
April 20-21	First Day of Ridván	Bahá’í
April 21-28(29)	Passover	Judaism	Few students request absence on the first day and some on the second and last days. Many observe the Seder on the first evening, some do so on the second.
April 25	Palm Sunday	Oriental Orthodox Christianity
April 28-29	Ninth Day of Ridván	Bahá’í
April 29th	Orthodox Holy Thursday	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
April 30th	Orthodox Good Friday	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
May 1	Beltane (May Eve)	Wiccan/Pagan
May 1-2	Twelfth Day of Ridván	Bahá’í
May 2	Orthodox Easter	Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christianity
May 6	The Ascension of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
May 13	Buddha Day (Visakaha Puja, Wesak)	Buddhism
May 15-16	Holy Day of Arafah	Islam
May 16	Pentecost	Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christianity
May 16-17	Eid al-Adha	Islam	Do not schedule major events.
May 23-24	Declaration of the Báb	Bahá’í
May 24-25	Eid al-Ghadir	Islam
May 29	Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh	Bahá’í
June 5-6	Islamic New Year	Islam
June 10-11(12)	Shavuot	Judaism	Few students request absence.
June 10	Ascension Day	Oriental Orthodox Christianity
June 14-15	Ashura	Islam
June 19-23	Litha (Summer Solstice)	Wiccan/Pagan
July 9-10	Martyrdom of the Báb	Bahá’í
July 24-25	Arba’een	Islam
July 24	Pioneer Day	Latter-day Saints
August 1	Lughnasadh	Wiccan/Pagan
August 6	The Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
August 14-15	Birth of the Prophet Muhammad	Islam (Sunni)
August 15	The Falling-asleep (Dormition or Assumption) of the Most-Holy Theotokos	Eastern Orthodox Christianity
August 17	Raska Bandhan	Hinduism
August 19-20	Birth of the Prophet Muhammad	Islam (Shia)

»Religious Holiday Calendars

​​Religious Holidays: 2026-2027 Academic Year

Contact the Fish Interfaith Center

Religious Holidays: 2026-2027 Academic Year