Religious Observances 2011
(Major Religious
Observances Denoted in Bold)
JANUARY
January 1 Mary, Mother of God (Catholic
Christian)
Feast of St Basil (Orthodox Christian)
Gantan-sai (New Years- Shinto)
January 4 Gahambar Maldyoshem (Zoroastrian)
January 5 Twelfth Night (Christian)
Guru Gobindh Singh birthday (Sikh)
January 6 Epiphany (Christian)
Feast of the Theophany (Orthodox Christian)
Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day) (Christian)
January 7 Nativity of Christ (Orthodox
Christian)
January 9 Baptism of the Lord Jesus (Christian)
January 13 Maghi (Sikh)
January 14 Makar Sankranti (Hindu)
January 16 World Religion Day (Baha'i)
January 19 Timkat (Ethiopian Orthodox Christian)
January 19-21 Mahayana New Year (Buddhist)
January 20 Tu B’shvat (Judaism)
January 25 Conversion of St. Paul (Christian)
FEBRUARY
February 2 Candlemas (Christian)
Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Anglican
Christian)
Imbolc (Wicca)
February 3 Chinese New Year (Confucian/Daoist/Buddhist)
Setsubun Sai (Shinto)
February 6 Four Chaplains Sunday (Interfaith)
Triodion begins (Orthodox Christian)
February 8 Vasant Panchami (Hindu)
Nirvana Day (Buddhist)
February 14 Saint Valentine's Day (Christian)
February 18-25 Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity (Christian)
February 26 Intercalary Days through March 1
(Baha'i)
February 27 Meatfare Sunday (Orthodox Christian)
MARCH
March 2 Four Chaptains Sunday (Christian/Judaism
Interfaith)
March 3 Maha Shivaratri (Hindu)
March 6 Transfiguration Sunday (Christian)
March 7 Clean Monday (Orthodox Christian)
Great Lent Begins (Coptic and Eastern Orthodox
Christian)
March 8 Shrove Tuesday (Christian)
March 9 Ash Wednesday - Lent begins (Christian)
March 13 Orthodox Sunday (Orthodox Christian)
March 17 St Patrick's Day (Christian)
March 19 Magha Puja Day (Buddhist)
March 20 Mawlid an Nabi (Islam)
Purim (Judaism)
Holi (Hindu)
Hola Mohalla (Sikh)
Ostara (Wicca)
March 21 Norouz -New Year (Persian/Zoroastrian)
Naw Ruz - New Year (Baha'i)
March 25 Annunciation of the Virgin Mary
(Catholic Christian)
March 28 Khordad Sal (Birth of Prophet
Zaranhushtra) (Zoroastrian)
APRIL
April 4 New Year (Hindu)
April 5 Ch’ing Ming Festival (China/Taiwan)
April 12 Ramanavami (Hindu)
April 14 Baisakhi (Sikh)
April 16 Lazarus Saturday (Orthodox Christian)
April 17 Passion Sunday (Christian)
Palm Sunday (Christian/Orthodox Christian)
Mahavir Jayanti (Jain)
April 18 Lord's Evening Meal (Jehovah's Witness
Christian)
Hanuman Jayanti (Hindu)
April 19-20 Pesach (Passover) First two days
(Judaism)
April 21 Maundy Thursday (Christian)
Feast of Ridvan (Baha'i)
April 22 Good (Holy) Friday (All Christians)
April 23 Saint George's Day (Christian)
April 24 Easter (All Christians)
Pascha/Easter (Orthodox Christian)
April 24-26 Pesach (Passover) final two days
(Judaism)
April 25 Easter Monday (Christian)
April 29 Ninth Day of Ridvan (Baha'i)
April 30 St. James the Great Day (Orthodox
Christian) MAY
MAY
May 1 Yom HaSho'ah (Judaism)
Beltane (Wicca)
May 2 Twelfth Day of Ridvan (Baha'i)
May 5 National Day of Prayer (Interfaith)
May 9 Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Judaism)
May 17 Buddha Day - Visakha Puja (Buddhist)
May 22 Lag B’Omer (Judaism)
May 23 Declaration of the Bab (Baha'i)
May 29 Ascension of Baha'u'llah (Baha'i)
JUNE
June 2 Ascension of Christ (Christian)
June 8-9 Shavuot (Judaism)
June 9 Saint Columba of Iona (Celtic Christian)
Lailat al Miraj (Islam)
June 10 All Saints (Orthodox Christian)
June 12 Pentecost (All Christians)
June 16 Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Sikh)
June 19 Trinity Sunday (Christian)
New Church Day (Swedenborgian Christian)
June 21 Litha (Wicca)
National Aboriginal Day
June 23 Corpus Christi (Catholic Christian)
June 29 Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul
(Christian)
JULY
July 1 Sacred Heart of Jesus (Catholic
Christian)
July 9 Martyrdom of the Bab (Baha'i)
July 11 St Benedict Day (Catholic Christian)
Imamat Day (Ismaili)
July 13-16 Ulambana (Obon) (Buddhist)
July 15 Saint Vladimir (Christian)
Lailat al Bara'ah (Islam)
Asalha Puja Day (Buddhist)
July 23 Haile Selassie I Birth (Rastafari)
July 24 Pioneer Day (Mormon Christian)
July 25 St. James the Great Day (Christian)
AUGUST
August 1 Lammas (Christian)
Fast in honor of Holy Mother of Lord Jesus
(Orthodox Christian)
August 1-30 Ramadan begins (Islam)
August 2 Lughnassad (Lammas) (Wicca/Neo Pagan)
August 6 Transfiguration of the Lord (Orthodox
Christian)
August 9 Tisha B'Av (Judaism)
August 13 Raksha Bandhan (Hindu)
August 15 Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary
(Catholic Christian)
Dormition of the Theotokos (Orthodox Christian)
August 22 Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu)
August 26 Laylat al Kadr (Islam)
August 29 Beheading of John the Baptist
(Christian)
August 31 Eid al Fitr (Islam)
SEPTEMBER
September 1 Ecclesiastical Year begins (Orthodox
Christian)
Ganesa Chaturthi (Hindu)
September 2-10 Paryushana (Jain)
September 8 Nativity of Mary (Christian)
September 14 Elevation of the Life Giving Cross
- Holy Cross Day (Christian)
September 23 Mabon (Wicca)
September 27 Meskel (Ethiopian/Eritrean Orthodox
Christian)
September 28-Oct 5 Navaratri (Hindu)
September 29 Michael and All Angels (Christian)
September 29-30 Rosh Hashanah (Judaism)
OCTOBER
October 4 St Francis Day (Catholic Christian)
October 6 Dasera (Hindu)
October 8 Yom Kippur (Judaism)
October 10 Thanksgiving (Interfaith – Canada)
October 12 Parvarana (Buddhist)
October 13-19 Sukkot (Judaism)
October 15 Karva Chauth (Hindu)
October 20 Shemini Atzeret (Judaism)
Birth of the Báb (Baha'i)
Installation of the Scriptures of Guru Granth
Sahib (Sikh)
October 21 Simhat Torah (Judaism)
October 26 Diwali (Hindu, Jain, Sikh)
October 28 Milvian Bridge Day (Christian)
October 30 Reformation Day (Christian)
October 31 All Hallows Eve (Christian)
Reformation Day (Protestant Christian)
NOVEMBER
November 1 All Saints' Day (Christian)
Samhain (Wicca)
November 2 All Souls' Day (Catholic Christian)
November 4-7 Waqf al Arafa - Hajj (Islam)
November 6 Eid al Adha (Islam)
November 10 Guru Nanak birthday (Sikh)
November 12 Birth of Baha'u'llah (Baha'i)
November 15 Nativity Fast through December 24
(Orthodox Christian)
November 20 Christ the King (Christian)
November 24 Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom (Sikh)
Thanksgiving (Interfaith – USA)
November 26 Day of Covenant (Baha'i)
Hijra/Muharram - New Year (Islam)
November 27 First Sunday of Advent (Christian)
November 28 Ascension of Abdu’l Baha’i (Baha’i)
November 30 Saint Andrew's Day (Christian)
DECEMBER
December 5 Ashura (Islam)
December 6 Saint Nicholas Day (Christian)
December 8 Hijra/Muharram - New Year (Islam)
Immaculate Conception of Mary (Catholic
Christian)
December 12 Feast day - Our Lady of Guadalupe
(Catholic Christian)
December 16 Posadas Navidenas through December
25 (Hispanic Christian)
December 21-28 Hanukkah (Judaism)
December 22 Yule (Wicca/Christian)
December 25 Christmas (All Christian)
December 26 Zarathushtra Diso - Death of Prophet
Zarathushtra (Zoroastrian)
December 28 Holy Innocents (Christian)
December 30 Feast of the Holy Family (Catholic
Christian)
