Holi

Holi has been celebrated in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, with poems documenting celebrations dating back to the 4th century CE. It marks the beginning of spring after a long winter, symbolic […]

Khordad Sal

Khordad Sal is the birthday of Zoroaster (Zarathustra), the prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism. The holiday usually falls sometime after Nowruz and is often called “Greater Nowruz.” Celebrants pray, hang […]

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, observed in commemoration of Jesus Christ’s institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper. The name is thought to be a Middle English derivation taken from a Latin anthem sung in Roman Catholic churches on that day: […]

Laylat al-Qadr

Laylat al-Qadr, (Arabic: “Night of Power”) Islamic festival that commemorates the night on which God first revealed the Qurʾān to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel (Jibrīl). It is believed to have taken place on one of the final 10 nights of Ramadan in 610 CE, though the exact night is unclear. The date of the annual commemoration thus varies throughout the Islamic world but is most commonly observed on […]

Eid al-Fitr

Eid al-Fitr, (Arabic: “Festival of Breaking Fast”) also spelled ʿĪd al-Fiṭr, also called al-ʿĪd al-Ṣaghīr, Turkish Ramazan Bayramı (“Ramadan Festival”), first of two canonical festivals of Islam. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, and is celebrated during the first three days of Shawwāl, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar (though the Muslim use of a lunar calendar means that it […]

Vaisakhi (Baisakhi)

Vaisakhi is one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar. Vaisakhi is a spring festival which happens on the 13 or 14 April every year. It is a day to celebrate 1699 - the year when Sikhism was born as a collective faith.   Vaisakhi has been a harvest festival in Punjab - […]

Rama Navami

Rama Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This festival is celebrated during the time of March-April (the 9th day of the first […]

Mahavir Jayanti

Celebrated by the Jain community to observe peace, harmony and to spread the teachings of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, Mahavir Jayanti marks the birth anniversary of the founder of Jainism […]

Passover (Pesach)

Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is one of the Jewish religion’s most sacred and widely observed holidays. In Judaism, Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites’ departure from ancient Egypt, which […]

World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day happens yearly on May 3, and acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a […]