Major Religious Holidays and Celebrations

July 2006 – August 2007

Those holidays indicated in bold with an asterisk (*) require abstinence from all secular activity; i.e., homework, exams, field trips, class meetings, etc.  While the other religious holidays may not necessarily require abstinence from all secular activity, some of them may involve fasting, a dietary change, or special celebrations that may occur during the day or the evening.

Holidays indicated with a double asterisk (**) are Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics.  In addition, all Sundays are Holy Days of Obligation.  When the solemn feasts of Mary, the Mother of God (January 1), the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (August 15), and All Saints (November 1) fall on a Saturday or Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is abolished.  Although the obligation to attend Holy Mass is abolished, parishes continue to observe these holy days by scheduling one or more masses at a convenient time so that those who wish to participate are able to do so.

Please Note:

  1. In the Jewish tradition, all work-related activities stop from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday to observe Shabbat (Sabbath).
  2. Islamic dates are approximate.  The official days can be plus/minus one day and depend upon the official physical sighting of the new moon.

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         July 2006
    Holiday Index 2007 2008 2009 2010
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    6 Thu Birth of Dalai Lama - Buddhist
    9 Sun Martyrdom of the Bab - Bahá'í
    11 Tue Asalha Puja Day - Hindu
    13 Thu Ulambana (Obon) - Buddhist
    15 Sat St. Vladimir the Great Day - Orthodox Christian
    31 Mon Feast Day of St. Ignatius Loyola - Catholic
         
    August 2006
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    1 Tue Fast in honor of Holy Mary Mother of Lord Jesus -
    Orthodox Christian
    3 Thu Tisha B'av (begins sundown on the 2nd) - Jewish
    6 Sun Transfiguration of the Lord - Orthodox Christian
    9 Wed Raksha Bandhan - Hindu
    15 Tue **Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Catholic
    15 Tue Dormition of the Theotokes - Orthodox Christian
    16 Wed Krishna Jayanti (Janmashtami) - Hindu
    21 Mon Lailat al-Me'raj - Islamic
         
    September 2006
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    7 Thu Lailatul-Bara'at - Islamic
    23 Sat Navaratri begins (continues through October 1) - Hindu
    23-24 Sat-Sun *Rosh Hashanah - New Year (begins at sundown on the 22nd) - Jewish
    24 Sun Ramadan - (begins at sundown on the 23rd and continues through November 23rd) - Islamic
    29 Fri Durga Puja begins (Maha Saptami) - Hindu
     
    October 2006
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    2 Mon * Yom Kippur (begins at sundown on the 1st) - Jewish
    2 Mon Dusshera  - Hindu
    7-8 Sat-Sun * Sukkot (begins at sundown on the 6th) - Jewish
    14 Sat * Shemini Azeret (begins at sundown on the 13th) - Jewish
    15 Sun * Simchat Torah (begins at sundown on the 14th) - Jewish
    20 Fri Lailatul-Qadr (begins at sundown on the 19th)
    20 Fri *Birth of the Bab (begins at sundown on the 19th) - Bahá'í
    21 Sat *Diwali - New Year - Hindu
    24 Tue *Eidul Fitr (marks the end of Ramadan) - Islamic
     
    November 2006
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    1 Wed ** All Saint’s Day - Christian
    2 Thu All Souls Day - Christian
    12 Sun * Birth of Baha'u'llah (begins at sundown on the 11th) - Bahá'í
     
    December 2006
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    3 Sun Feast Day of St. Francis Xavier - Catholic
    3 Sun Advent (First Sunday of Advent) - Christian
    8 Fri ** The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Catholic
    8 Fri Bodhi Day - Buddhist
    16 Sat *Hanukkah ( begins at sundown on the 15th and continues through December 23) - Jewish
    25 Mon ** Christmas Day - Christian
    25 Mon *Feast of the Nativity - Orthodox Christian
    26 Tue Kwanzaa (continues through January 1) - African-American
    31 Sun *Eidul-Adha - Islamic
     
    January 2007
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    1 Mon ** Octave of Christmas, Solemnity of Mary,
    Mother of God - Catholic
    6 Sat Epiphany - Christian
    20 Sat Aj-Hijra / Muharram - New Year - Islamic
    29 Mon Aashurah - The martyrdom of Imam Hossein - Islamic
     
    February 2007
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    18 Sun *Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean New Year - Chinese Religions
    21 Wed Ash Wednesday - Christian
    March 2007
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    4 Sun Purim (begins at sundown on the 3rd) - Jewish
    20 Tue Mawlid an Nabi (the birth of the Prophet) - Islamic
    21 Wed Nowrooz - Persian
     
    April 2007
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    1 Sun Palm Sunday - Christian
    3 Tue *Pesach - Passover (begins at sundown on the 12th) - Jewish
    5 Thu Holy Thursday - Christian
    6 Fri *Good Friday - Christian
    6 Fri Holy Friday - Orthodox Christian
    7 Sat Holy Saturday - Christian
    7 Sat Holy Saturday - Orthodox Christian
    8 Sun *Easter - Christian
    8 Sun Easter - Orthodox Christian
    21 Sat Festival of Ridvan (begins at sundown on the 20th) - Bahá'í
     
    May 2007
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    17 Thu **Ascension Day - Christian
    23 Wed *Shavuot - Feast of Weeks
    (begins at sundown on the 22nd) - Jewish
    23 Wed *Declaration of the Bab
    (begins at sundown on the 22nd) - Bahá'í
    27 Sun Pentecost - Whitsunday - Christian
    29 Tue *Ascension of the Baha'u'llah
    (begins at sundown on the 28th) - Bahá'í
    31 Thu Feast of Visitation - Catholic
     
    June 2007
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    3 Sun All Saint's Day - Orthodox Christian
    7 Thu Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ) - Catholic
    11 Mon Trinity - Christian
    15 Fri Sacred Heart of Jesus - Catholic
    16 Sat Immaculate Heart of Mary - Catholic
    29 Fri Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul - Christian
     
    July 2007
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    6 Fri Birth of Dalai Lama - Buddhist
    9 Mon Martyrdom of the Bab - Bahá'í
    13 Fri Ulambana (Obon) - Buddhist
    15 Sun St. Vladimir the Great Day - Orthodox Christian
    24 Tue *Tisha B'Av (begins at sundown on the 23rd) - Jewish
    31 Tue Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola - Catholic Christian
     
    August 2007
    Date Day Holiday or Celebration
    1 Wed Fast in honor of Holy Mary Mother of Lord Jesus - Orthodox Christian
    6 Mon Transfiguration of the Lord - Orthodox Christian
    15 Wed ** Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary - Catholic
    15 Wed Dormition of the Theotokes - Orthodox Christian
    28 Tue Raksha Bandhan - Hindu