Calendar

Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual event in the United States, Canada, the UK (since 1987) and in the Netherlands (from 2016). A host of events are being held to raise awareness about the experiences and achievements of ethnic minority individuals and their contribution to their communities.

Rosh Hashanah (Judaism)

Rosh Hashanah is a special festival that celebrates Jewish New Year. It means head of the year. The festival lasts for two days and the dates vary from year to year. The dates of Jewish festivals come from the Hebrew Calendar, so the Jewish New Year begins in autumn, as opposed to on 1 January.

Ganesh Chaturthi / Vinayaka Chaturthi (Hinduism)

A Hindu festival in honour of Ganesh / Ganesha, (also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka).

The autumnal equinox / Mabon (Paganism and Wiccan)

Marking the official first day of Autumn as well as the pagan holiday, Mabon. A time for Pagans to reflect on the past season. It’s celebrated when day and night is of equal duration.

Organ Donation Week

A week to promote organ donation nationally, while highlighting the importance of organ donation and celebrating life-saving ones.

European Day of Languages

A day to celebrate all the different languages spoken throughout Europe. How many languages can you speak? Speaking different language is important as we can speak to a variety of people and also get to know more about their countries, their lives and their culture.

Gandhi Jayanti (Hinduism)

Celebrating the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.

Harvest Festival (Christianity)

The occasion in the autumn when Christians go to chapel or church to thank God for food, especially food that has been collected during harvest.

Navratri (Hinduism)

A substantial Hindu festival observed for 9 nights and 10 days. During Navratri, nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshiped.

World Food Day

Every year people from all communities celebrate this festival to welcome a new ray of hope in their lives, when it is believed that all negative forces have been removed from home and life.

Dusshera (Hinduism)

This festival is celebrated on the tenth day of the month Ashwin every year.

Yom Kippur (Judaism)

The holiest day of the Jewish year. Jews send the eve and most of the day in prayer, asking for forgiveness for past wrongs and resolving to improve in the future.

Halloween

Anniversary of the crowning of Haile Selassie I (Rastafarian)

One of the holiest days of the Rastafarian year; it celebrates Haile Selassie’s accession to the Ethiopian throne.

Diwali (Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism)

One of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, lasting for five days. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning ‘row of lights’. The festival symbolizes the victory of light over darkness.

Remembrance Sunday

Devoted to remembering the dead of the two World wars.

Inter Faith Week

Beginning on Remembrance Sunday and running until the following Sunday each year, Inter Faith week seeks to strengthen good inter-faith relations, increase awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, and increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs. Visit www.interfaithweek.org for more.

Anti-bullying week

Encourage schools to tackle bullying and create safe learning environments.

BBC Children in Need

Guru Nanak Gurpurab (Sikhism)

Celebrate the birthday of Nanak, the first Sikh Guru. To celebrate it, Sikhs gather at the gurdwara to hear sermons and sing hymns about the life of the first Guru. The congregation will share a free meal (langar).

Advent Sunday (Christianity)

The start of the Christian year, four Sundays before Christmas. It is often celebrated by lighting the first candle in the advent crown – a circular wreath of greenery. A further three candles are lit on subsequent Sundays, culminating with the Christmas candle on the 25th December. This signifies the transition from darkness to light.

Hanukkah (Judaism)

Celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. For the eight evenings of the festival, candles are lit from right to left in a hanukkiah, a nine-branched menorah – one candle for each evening. The ninth candle is the shamash (the servant candle) from which the other candles are lit.

Bodhi Day (Buddhist)

Bodhi Day is celebrated by many traditions to commemorate Gautama Buddha attainment of enlightenment. According to tradition, Siddhartha sat under a tree in deep meditation, reflecting on various experiences in life with the determination to find the truth. It was there he found enlightenment and became the Buddha.

World Human Rights’ Day

In 1948 The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: ‘All human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms.’

Alban Arthan - Winter Solstice (Wiccan / Pagan)

The Winter Solstice, also known as the pagan festival of Yule, marks the mid-point of winter and brings the promise of new beginnings as we move out of the darkness and into increasingly lighter, warmer days..

Christmas Day (Christianity)

The holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Boxing Day (Christianity)

The day after Christmas Day. Traditionally, it was a day when employers distributed money, food, clothing or valuables to their employees. In modern times, it is an important day for sporting events and the start of the post-Holiday sales.