Religious Holidays - Comprehensive Calendar Academic Year 2016-2017 All Faculty and Staff at ESF receive annual reminders of the college’s policy regarding the need to respect and appropriately accommodate student’s observance of religious holidays, and they are encouraged to work carefully with students in anticipating and resolving conflicts to their mutual satisfaction. The list that follows is adapted from that developed by Williams College Chaplin’s Office (http://chaplain.williams.edu/religious-holidays-comprehensive-calendar-academic-yr-2016-2017/ ). It is not exhaustive; however, it includes major festivals and holy days for many, though by no means all, religious traditions represented in the ESF community. (If it does not include an important date in the religious calendar of your particular tradition, please let us know.) Every effort has been made to insure that this information is accurate. Note that some holidays in some traditions are tied to the lunar calendar or to particular cultural patterns that vary by region or by sect which make their location in the calendar somewhat more fluid. Dates marked with a double asterisk (**) denote occasions on which the precept of a particular tradition, and the practice of nearly all its adherents, includes significant restrictions on academic activity. Islamic Holidays: Regional customs or moon sightings may cause a variation of the date for Islamic holidays, which begin at sundown the day before the date specified for the holiday. The Islamic calendar is lunar and the days begin at sunset, so there may be one-day error depending on when the New Moon is first seen. For holidays associated with Christianity, the following notations are used to denote observance by particular strands of the Christian tradition: RC-Roman Catholic P-Protestant O-Orthodox
2016
DAYS
HOLIDAY
RELIGION
Sep. 12
Sundown-Monday
Eid al Adha
Islam
Sep. 13
Sundown-Tuesday
(date can vary by a day)
Oct. 1
Sundown-Saturday
Navaratri
Hinduism
Oct. 9
Sundown-Sunday
Oct. 1
Sundown-Saturday
Muharram/New Year
Islam
Oct. 2
Sundown-Sunday
(date can vary by a day)
Oct. 2
Sundown-Sunday
**Rosh Hashanah (2 days)
Judaism
Oct. 4
Sundown-Tuesday
Oct. 11
Tuesday
Dussehra/Dasara
Hinduism
Oct. 11
Sundown-Tuesday
**Yom Kippur
Judaism
Oct. 12
Sundown-
Wednesday Oct. 11
Sundown-Tuesday
Oct. 12
Sundown-
Ashura
Islam
**Sukkot (1st 2 days)
Judaism
Judaism
Wednesday Oct. 16
Sundown-Sunday
Oct. 23
Sundow-Sunday
Oct. 23
Sundown-Sunday
**Shemini Atzeret
Oct. 25
Sundown-Tuesday
**Simchat Torah
Oct. 19
Sundown-
**Birth of the Báb
Bahá’í
Oct. 20
Wednesday
Diwali
Hinduism -Jain
Sundown-Thursday Oct. 30
Sunday
Nov. 3
Thursday
Nov. 1
Tuesday
– Sikh All Saints Day
Christianity (RC, P)
Nov. 2
Wednesday
All Souls Day
Christianity (RC, P)
Nov. 11
Sundown-Friday
**Birth of Bahá’u’lláh
Bahá’í
Nov. 12
Sundown-Saturday
Nov. 14
Monday
Guru Nanak Jayanti Birthday
Sikh
Nov. 27
Sunday
Advent Begins
Christianity (O,
Dec. 24
Saturday
Dec. 8
Thursday
Bodhi Day
Buddhism
Dec. 8
Thursday
Feast of the Immaculate
Christianity (RC,
Conception
P) Islam
P, RC)
Dec. 13
Sundown-Tuesday
Mawlid al Nabi
Dec. 14
Sundown-
(dates can vary by a day)
Wednesday Dec. 21
Wednesday
Winter Solstice
Zoroastrian
Dec. 24
Sundown-Saturday
Hanukkah
Judaism
Jan. 1
Sundown-Sunday
Dec. 25
Sunday
Christmas
Christianity (RC, P)
Dec. 26
Monday
Kwanzaa
African
Jan. 1
Sunday
2017
DAYS
HOLIDAY
RELIGION
Jan. 6
Friday
Epiphany/Theophany
Christianity (RC,
American
P, O) Jan. 6
Friday
Nativity of Christ
Armenian Orthodox Christian
Jan. 7
Saturday
Christmas
O
Jan. 12
Thursday
Mahayana New Year
Buddhism
Jan. 15
Sunday
Jan. 28
Saturday
Chinese New Year
Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist
Feb. 5
Sunday
Four Chaplains Sunday
Interfaith
Feb. 15
Wednesday
Nirvana Day
Buddhism, Jain, Sikh
Feb. 25
Saturday
Maha Shivaratri
Hinduism
Feb. 27
Monday
Great Lent begins-Clean Monday
Christianity (O)
Feb. 28
Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Christianity (RC, P)
Mar. 1
Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, Lent begins
Christianity (RC, P)
Mar. 1
Sunrise-Wednesday
Nineteen Day Fast begins
Bahá’í
Mar. 20
Sundown-Monday
Mar. 11
Sundown-Saturday
**Purim
Judaism
Mar. 12
Sundown-Sunday
Mar. 12
Sunday
Magha Puja Day
Buddhism
Mar. 13
Monday
Holi
Hinduism
Mar. 14
Tuesday
Mar. 20
Sundown-Monday
Mar. 21
Sundown-Tuesday
Mar. 28
Tuesday
New Year
Hinduism
Apr. 5
Wednesday
Ram Navami
Hinduism
Apr. 8
Saturday
Buddha’s Birthday/Hanamatsuri
Buddhism
Apr. 9
Sunday
Palm Sunday
Christianity (RC,
**Naw-Ruz (New Year)
Bahá’í, Zoroastrian
P, O) Apr. 10
Sundown-Monday
**Pesach (1st 2 days and last 2
Apr. 18
Sundown-Tuesday
days of Passover)
Apr. 14
Friday
Good Friday/Holy Friday
Judaism
Christianity (RC, P, O)
Aprl. 14
Friday
Baisakhi (Vaisakhi)
Sikh
Apr. 16
Sunday
Easter/Pascha
Christianity (RC, P, O)
Apr. 20
Sundown-Thursday
**Ridván (1st day)
Bahá’í
Apr. 21
Sundown-Friday
Apr. 22
Sundown-Saturday
Yom HaShoah
Judaism
Apr. 23
Sundown-Sunday
Apr. 23
Sundown-Sunday
Lailat al Mi’raj
Islam
Apr. 24
Sundown-Monday
Apr. 28
Sundown-Friday
**Ridván (9th day)
Bahá’í
Apr. 29
Sundown-Saturday
Apr. 30
Sundown-Sunday
Yom Ha’Atzmaut
Judaism
May 1
Sundown-Monday
May 1
Sundown-Monday
**Ridván (12th day)
Bahá’í
May 2
Sundown-Tuesday
May 4
Thursday
National Day of Prayer
Interfaith
May 10
Wednesday
Vesak/Visakha Puja
Buddhism
May 10
Wednesday
Wesak (Birth of Buddha)
Buddhism
May 22
Sundown-Monday
May 23
Sundown-Tuesday
May 25
Thursday
**Declaration of the Báb
Bahá’í
Ascension of Jesus
Christianity (RC, P, O)
May 26
Sundown-Friday
May 27
Sundown-Saturday
May 28
Sundown-Sunday
May 29
Sundown-Monday
May 30
Sundown-Tuesday
June 1
Sundown-Thursday
Jun. 4
Sunday
Ramadan
Islam
**Ascension of Baha’u’lláh
Bahá’
Shavuot
Judaism
Pentecost
Christianity (RC, P, O)
Jun. 24
Sundown-Saturday
Jun. 25
SundownWednesday
Eid al-Fitr (date can vary by a day)
Islam