Fall Quarter 2009

Date	Holiday	Religion/Country
Aug.23-Sept.19	Ramadan	Islam
Sept.19	Rosh Hashana	Jewish
Sept.21	Eid al Fitr	Islam
Sept.28	Yom Kippur	Jewish
Oct.17	Diwali	Sikh, Hindu
Nov.2	Guru Nanak's Birthday	Bikarami, Sikh
Nov.28	Eid-al-Adha	Islam
Dec.12-19	Hanukkah	Jewish
Dec.25	Christmas	Christian
Dec.26	Death of Prophet Zarathursta	Zoroastrian
Dec.26 - Jan. 1	Kwanzaa	African

September:

Aug 22nd - Sept 19th: Ramadan Continues - This is the holiest period in the Islamic Year and begins at the sighting of the new moon.  It commemorated the period during which Prophet Mohammed received divine revelations. Observing Muslims fast between the hours of sunrise and sunset during the entire month, read the Qu'ran, and worship in the mosque or at home.

19th: Rosh Hashanah (Jewish) - The Jewish New Year for people, animals and legal contracts. Rosh Hashanah extends over the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, even in Israel where most holidays last only one day, and occurs 162 days after the first day of Pesach (Passover). All Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the first day given and end one hour after sunset on the last day given.

21st: Eid al Fitr (Islam) - This marks the end of the Ramadan feast and is celebrated for 3 days. Observances of Buddhist, Hindu/Vedic and Islamic holidays are dependent on the sightings of the moon.

28th: Yom Kippur (Jewish) - The Day of Atonement is the holiest and most solemn of all days in the Jewish year. All Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the first day given and end one hour after sunset on the last day given.

 October:

17th: Diwali (Sikh, Hindu)-It means “row of lights” and is the Hindu New Year. Diwali lasts 5 days: Day 1-New year for business, Day 2-the triumph god Vishnu over the evil demon, Day 3- Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity visits homes lit by lamps, Day 4- Bali worship day, Day 5-devoted to brother and sisters. Observances of Buddhist, Hindu/Vedic and Islamic holidays are dependent on the sightings of the moon.

 November:

2nd: Guru Nanak’s Birthday (Bikarami, Sikh) - Born in 1469 CE, he was the first of the Ten Gurus of the Sikh faith and founded Sikhism. An accomplished poet, 974 of his hymns are in the Sikh scriptures, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

12th -19th: Hanukkah (Jewish) - Approximately in 164 B.C., Maccabees, a small group of Jews, fighting for religious freedom won victory over the Syrians. The legend goes that to rededicate the Temple, they found only one jar of holy oil and miraculously the candelabra remained lit of the holy oil for 8 days. The festival of lights is celebrated for 8 days. The eighth candle menorah is lighted. Special readings and songs praise focus on liberty and freedom. All Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the first day given and end one hour after sunset on the last day given

25th: Christmas (Christian)-This day celebrates Jesus Christ’s birth over 2000 years ago. Customs include lighting candles, exchanging gifts and using evergreen decorations to celebrate this day, the most widely observed Christian festival of the year. In most communities it is a family day.

26th: Death of Prophet Zarathustra (Zoroastrian)-This day marks the death of the founder of the Zoroastrian faith.

27th: Ashura (Islam) - the tenth day of the first Islamic month (Muharram). For the Shi’ite Muslims, this day mourns the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. Devout Shi’a commemorate this day of sadness with retelling the story of the battle fought in Kerbala. Observances of Buddhist, Hindu/Vedic and Islamic holidays are dependent on the sightings of the moon.

26th - Jan. 1st: Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Ron Karenga who wanted to encourage blacks to celebrate their heritage. Kwanzaa means first fruit in Swahili and is a harvest festival. Families exchange gifts and have African-style feasts. Seven-pronged candleholders are lit an each consecutive night for the seven principles: unity, self-determination, working together, sharing, purpose, creativity and faith. Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration from December 26-January 1.

: All Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the first day given and end one hour after sunset on the last day given.
: Observances of Buddhist, Hindu/Vedic and Islamic holidays are dependent on the sightings of the moon.
: Observance of Baha’i holidays begins at sundown of the preceding day and ends at sunset of the holy days.
: This symbol denotes religious holidays from various major religions from around the world.