Download Multi-faith Calendar 2016

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Multi-Faith Calendar 2016
January
1st
Shogatsu
Shinto
5th
Birth of Guru Gobind Singh
Sikh
6th
Epiphany
Feast day that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human
being in Jesus Christ.
Christian
7th
Eastern Orthodox Christmas
Orthodox Christian
13th
Maghi
Sikh
14th
Makar Sankranti **
Hindu
celebrates the sun's journey into the northern hemisphere, a period
which is considered to be highly auspicious.
15th
Seijin Hiki
Shinto
24th
Mahayana New Year
Buddhist
25th
Tu B’Sharat (
Jewish
30th
Birth of Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji
Sikh
3rd
Rissun (Setsubun)
Shinto
8th- 18th
Chinese, Tibetan (Losar) and Vietnamese (Tet) New Year
9th
Shrove Tuesday
Christian
10th
Ash Wednesday
A day of fasting, the first day of Lent prior to Easter.
Christian
11th
Ganesh Jayanti
Hindu
February
Confucian/Daoist/Buddhist
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15th
Nirvana Day (Alternate date 8th Feb)
annual Buddhist festival that remembers the death of the Buddha
when he reached Nirvana.
Buddhist
17th
Maha Shivaratri **
Festival celebrated every year in reverence of Lord Shiva.
It is the day Shiva was married to Parvati.
Hindu
3rd
Hina Matsuri
Shinto
7th
Maha Shivaratri
Sikh
20th
Palm Sunday
The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Christian
20th
Naw Ruz* (New Year)
An ancient Persian holiday celebrating the new year.
21st
Shunbun Sai
23rd
Holi **
The festival of colours or the festival of love.
24th
Purim* (begins sunset on the 23rd)
Jewish
is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish
people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of
a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther.
24th
Maundy Thursday
Christian
25th – 28th
Easter
commemorates the crucifixion on Good Friday and resurrection
on Easter Sunday of Jesus Christ.
Christian
25th
Annunciation of the Virgin Mary
Orthodox
Vaisakhi or Baisakhi The most holy day for Sikhs celebrating the
the founding of their community or Khalsa by the 10th Guru.
Sikh
15th
Ram Nivami
Birthday of Lord Rama
Hindu
18th
Birthday of Guru Angad Dev Sahib Ji and Guru Tegh Bahadur Shib Ji
Sikh
March
April
14th
Bahá’í, Zoroastrian
Shinto
Hindu
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20th
Mahavir Jayanti**
The most important religious holiday. It celebrates the birth of
Mahavira, the last Tirthankara
21st – 2nd May
Ridvan*
Bahá’í
Ridvan (pronounced "riz-wan") means "Paradise." For twelve days
Bahau'llah, resided in a garden in Baghdad and proclaimed his mission.
The First, ninth and 12th Days are the most holy.
21st April The First day Bahau'llah proclaimed His mission as God's messenger.
29th April The Ninth day the arrival of Baha'u'llah's family to the Ridvan garden.
2nd May The twelfth day when Baha'u'llah’s family depart for Constantinople.
22nd
Hanuman Jayanti
Hindu
22nd
Theravada New Year
Buddhist
23nd -30th
Pesach - passover* (begins Sunset 22nd)
Jewish
commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites
were freed from slavery in Egypt. Celebrated for seven or eight days.
It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays.
29th- 1st May
Easter (Holy Friday to Palm Sunday/ Pascha Feast)
Orthodox
Easter/ Pascha
Orthodox
Jain
May
1st
The great and Holy feast of Pashcha celebrates the resurrection of Jesus.
The most important feast of the Orthodox Church, Palm Sunday marks
the beginning of Orthodox Holy Week.
5th
Yom HaShoah,
Holocaust Rememberance Day (begins at sundown 4 May)
Jewish
5th
Isra and Mi’raj
Night journey of prophet Mohamed to Jerusalem and accession.
Islamic
15th
Pentecost
Christian
20th
Visakha Puja** (Buddha Day) (date varies also 15th or 21st)
Commemorates the day that the Buddha was born.
Buddhist
20th
Narasimha Jayanti
Hindu
20th
Dehwa Daymesneh
Mandaean
21st
Laidtat Al Bara’ah
Islamic
23rd
Declaration of the Bab
Marks the beginnings of the Bahai Faith in Shiraz, Persia (Iran).
Bahá’í
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23rd
Birthday of Curu Amar Das Sahib Ji
29th
Ascension of Baha'u'llah
Bahá’í
Commemorates when Bahau'llah the Prophet-Founder passed away.
Sikh
June
6th to 6-8th July
Ramadan ** *(30 days, dates vary acc. to Lunar sighting)
Islamic
It is a period of prayer, fasting, charity-giving and self-accountability.
12th
Shavuot *
Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the
Torah to the entire Israelite nation assembled at Mount Sinai
Jewish
16th
Matyrdom of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Sahib Ji
Sikh
19th
Eastern Orthodox Pentecost
Orthodox
20th
Yule or Litha
Wicca/Pagan
July
1st
Laylat Al Qadir
5th
Birthday of Guru Harhobind
Sikh
6th
Rath yatra Festival
Hindu
6th-8th
Eid Ul-Fitr ** *
Festival to celebrate the end of Ramadan
Islamic
9th
Martyrdom of the Bab*
Bahais commemorate the date on which the Bab was executed.
Bahá’í
15th
Asalha Puja- Buddha’s Turning the Wheel of Dharma Day
marks the anniversary of Buddha’s first teaching in this world and
also the birthday of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the Founder
of the New Kadampa Tradition. (Alternate dates 2nd or 19th)
Buddhist
19th
Guru Purnima
Hindu
23rd
Birthday of Guru Kar Krishen Shib Ji
Sikh
23rd
Birthday Emperor Haile Selassi
Rastafari
24th
Pioneer Day
Mormon
20th- 30th
Kahshuzahly
New Year ’s Eve and eve of Dehva Rabba
Mandaean
Islamic
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August
14th
Tish'a B'Av *
The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple
and Second Temple in Jerusalem
Jewish
15th
Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
When the Virgin Mary ascended into heaven.
Catholic/ Orthodox
17th
Vu Lan/ Ullumbana or Hungry Ghost festival
Chinese Buddhist
18th
Raksja Bandhan **
Hindu
Celebrates the love and duty between brothers, sisters and close friends.
25th
Krishna Janmashtami **
Celebration of the birth of the Hindu deity Krishna.
Hindu
September
5th
Ganesh Chaturthi ** (10 day festival)
Hindu
Also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi Celebrates the god Ganesha
the elephant-headed, remover of obstacles, beginnings and wisdom.
10th
Waqfat Arafat/ Waqfal Arafa (Hajj)
Season of Pilgrimage to Mecca.
20th- 14th
Eid Al-Adha (festival of sacrifice) ** *
Islamic
It honours the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his promised
son, Ishmael (Ismail) before God provided a lamb to sacrifice instead.
Eid greeting "Eid Mubarak" "May you have a blessed Eid".
Islamic
October
2nd
Rosh Hashana *
literally "head of the year"), is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of
the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe")
Jewish
2nd
Al Hijra/ Muharram Islamic New Year ** *
Islamic
2nd
Navaratri
Hindu
9th
Birthday of Guru Ram Das Shib Ji
Sikh
11th
Ashura
Islamic
11th
Dussehra **
Celebrates the victory of good over evil.
Hindu
12th
Yom Kippur*
Jewish
Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for the Jews. Its central
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themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this
holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often
spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes
the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days.
16th
Pavarana/ Kathina (Thai and Burmese)
17th- 24th
Sukkot *
Jewish
Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles) is a Biblical holiday. It is one of
the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Jews
were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.
19th
Birth of the Bab*
Bahais commemorate the birth of the Bab (the "Gate"), the
Prophet-Herald of the Bahai Faith. Work is suspended on this day.
Bahá’í
20th
First Parkash Dri Guru Granth Shib Ji
Sikh
23rd
Shemini Atzeret*
Jewish
Shemini Atzeret the Eighth [day] of Assembly") In the Diaspora, an
additional day is celebrated, the second day being separately referred
to as Simchat Torah. In Israel and Reform Judaism, the holidays of
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are combined into a single day
and the names are used interchangeably.
24th
Simchat Torah*
Jewish
"Rejoicing with/of the Torah,") is a celebration marking the conclusion
of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and beginning a new cycle.
29th
Deepavali or Diwali, Lakshmi Puja ** *
Hindu, Jain, Sikh
The Festival of Lights. This festival celebrates the victory of good over
evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.
Buddhist (Theravada)
November
1st
All Souls/ saints day
A day of prayer for the dead.
Roman Catholic
11th
Birth of the Baha'u'llah*
Commemorate the birth of Baha'u'llah, the Prophet-Founder of the
Bahai Faith.
Bahá’í
14th
Birth of Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak Dev was the founder of the Sikh faith and way of life.
Sikhism stresses the importance of doing good deeds rather than
merely carrying out rituals.
Sikhism
24th
Martyrdom (Shahidi) of Guru Tegh Bahadur
Guru Tegh Bahadur, the 9th Guru, sacrificed his life to defend the
religious freedom of another faith.
Sikh
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24th
First Sunday of Advent
Christian
8th
Bodhi Day
commemorates the day that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha
Gautauma (Shakyamuni), experienced enlightenment.
Buddhism
12 or 17thth
Mawlid an-Nabi- Prophet Muhammed’s Birthday
Islamic
24th
Chanukah *
Jewish
Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the
rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at
the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah
is observed for eight nights and days
25th
Christmas
Commemorates the Birth of Jesus Christ.
December
*
Christian
Jewish, Baha'i and Islamic Holy days begin at sunset of the evening prior to the day listed.
**
Certain Hindu and Islamic holy days cannot be definitely determined in advance as they begin when the new
moon is sighted.
**
Exact Baha’i dates are yet to be confirmed.
Please note this is not a comprehensive list. The Holiest days of each faith are highlighted in Bold. Different
denominations and groups within each faith may celebrate different festivals. Some have additional Holy days or
may not celebrate the day at all.
Reviewed by Multi-faith services and authorised religious representatives the 22nd March 2016.
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