Religious and Special Days JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH 1 New Year’s Day Black History Month 1 Orthodox Sunday - Orthodox Christian Mary, Mother of God - Catholic Christian 1 Four Chaplains Sunday - Interfaith 3 Great Lent - Clean Monday - Orthodox Christian Feast of St. Basil - Orthodox Christian Gantan-sai (New Years) - Shinto 2 Candlemas - Christian 5 Purim - Jewish Imbolc - Wicca Magha Puja Day - Buddhist 5 Twelfth Night - Christian Guru Gobindh Singh birthday - Sikh 4 Vasant Panchami - Hindu 8 International Women’s Day Mahayana New Year - Buddhist Tu Bishvat - Jewish 17 St. Patrick’s Day - Christian 6 Epiphany - Christian 9 Family Day (B.C.) Holi - Hindu Maha Shivaratri - Hindu 7 Nativity of Christ - Orthodox Christian 14 Saint Valentine’s Day - Christian 20 Spring Equniox - Wicca 11 Baptism of the Lord Jesus - Christian 15 Nirvana Day - Buddhist Meatfare Sunday - Orthodox Christian 21 Naw Ruz (New Year) - Baha’i 13 Maghi - Sikh International Day for the Elimination of Mawlid an Nabi - Islam 16 Heritage Day - Canada (Family Day - Ontario) Racial Discrimination Louis Riel Day (Man.) 17 Blessing of the Animals - Hispanic Catholic Christian Islander Day (P.E.I.) 25 Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Catholic 18 World Religion Day - Baha’i Christian 17 Shrove Tuesday - Christian 31 Chinese New Year 28 Birth of the Prophet Zarathushtra - Zoroastrian 18 Ash Wednesday - Christian 29 Palm Sunday 26 Intercalary Days through March 1st - Baha’i APRIL MAY JUNE 2 Maundy Thursday - Christian Asian History Month Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Trasngender Pride Month 3 Good (Holy) Friday - Christian 1 National Workers’ Day - May Day Beltane - Wicca 7 4 First day of Passover (Pesach) (to April 11) - Jewish All Saints - Orthodox Christian Lazarus Saturday - Orthodox Christian 7 Lag B’Omer - Jewish 12 International Day Against Child Labour 5 Easter Sunday - Christian 11 Mother’s Day 14 Lailat al Bara’ah - Islam 6 Easter Monday - Christian (Quebec) 13 Lailat al Miraj - Islam 15 Trinity Sunday - Christian 8 Ramanavami - Hindu 14 Buddha Day - Visakha Puja - Buddhist 19 Corpus Christi - Catholic Christian 13 Mahavir Jayanti - Jain 15 - 18 Theravadin New Year - Buddhist New Church Day - Swedenborgian Christian Sacred Heart of Jesus - Catholic Christian 14 Baisakhi - Sikh 18 Victoria Day National Patriot’s Day (Quebec) 21 Father’s Day 15 Hanuman Jayanti - Hindu First Nations Day - Canada Lord’s Evening Meal - Jehovah’s Witness 21 Declaration of the Bab - Baha’i Summer Soltice - Wicca 16 Yom HaSho’ah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) 24 Shavuot - Jewish 24 St. Jean Baptiste Day - Quebec Pentecost - Christian 21 First Day of Ridvan - Baha’i 28 Ramadan begins - Islam 29 Ascension of Baha’u’llah - Baha’i 22 Earth Day 29 Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul - Christian 23 St. George’s Day - Christian 28 National Day of Mourning for Workers Injured or Killed on the Job JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER 1 Canada Day 1 Lammas - Christian 5 Krishna Janmashtami - Hindu Lughnassad (Lammas) - Wicca/Neo Pagan 9 Martyrdom of the Bab - Baha’i 7 Labour Day 4 Civic Holiday (Canada, except Quebec) Ecclesiastical Year begins - Orthodox Christian 13 Asalha Puja Day - Buddhist Ulambana (Obon) (to July 15) - Buddhist 6 Transfiguration of the Lord - Orthodox Christian 8 Nativity of Mary - Christian Lailat al Kadr - Islam International Literacy Day 15 Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary - 24 Pioneer Day - Mormon Christian Catholic Christian 14 Holy Cross Day - Christian Dormition of the Theotokos - Orthodox Christian 26 Tisha B’Av - Jewish 14 - 15 Rosh Hashanah - Jewish 29 Beheading of John the Baptist - Christian 29 - 31 Eid Al Fitr (Ramadan ends) - Islam 18 Paryushana (begins) - Jain Ganesh Chaturthi - Hindu Raksha Bandhan - Hindu 22 Waqf al Arafa - Hajj - Islam

23 Fall Equinox - Wicca Yom Kippur - Jewish OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER 4 St. Francis Day - Catholic Christian 1 All Saints’ Day - Christian 1 World AIDS Day Dasera - Hindu Samhain - Wicca 3 International Day for Disabled Persons 4 - 7 Eid al Adha - Islam 2 All Souls’ Day - Catholic Christian 6 National Day of Remembrance and Action on 6 Simchat Torah - Jewish 11 Remembrance Day Violence against Women Diwali - Hindu, Jain, Sikh 9 - 15 Sukhot - Jewish 8 Bodhi Day (Rohatsu) - Buddhism 12 Birth of Baha’u’llah - Baha’i Immaculate Conception of Mary - Catholic Christian 12 Thanksgiving (Canada) 22 Christ the King - Christian 7 - 14 Hanukkah - Jewish 13 - 21 Navaratri - Hindu 25 Guru Nanak birthday - Sikh 12 Feast day - Our Lady of Guadalupe - Catholic Christian 14 Hijra - New Year - Islam 26 Day of Covenant - Baha’i 21 Yule - Christian/Wicca 20 Birth of the Bab - Baha’i Winter Solstice/Yule - Wicca 30 St. Andrew’s Day - Christian 23 Ashura - Islam Advent (First Sunday) - Christian 25 Christmas - Christian 24 United Nations Day 26 Boxing Day - Canada 25 Reformation Day - Protestant Christian Death of Prophet Zarathushtra - Zoroastrian Kwanzaa (to Jan 1st) - African Cultural Heritage 28 Milvian Bridge Day - Christian The dates cited above represent either statutory holidays or 28 Holy Innocents - Christian 31 All Hallow’s Eve - Christian the holiest days for that particular faith. All efforts should be made not to schedule union events on these days. 31 New Year’s Eve Adapted from interfaithcalendar.org and timeanddate.com COPE-SEPB-343>