International Day for Tolerance (United Nations)

The United Nations voted in the Day of Tolerance in 1993 to demonstrate its commitment to strengthening tolerance through mutual understanding among cultures and peoples. Learn more about the International Day of Tolerance on the United Nations website.

New Year’s Day

In many countries the New Year begins on January 1. However, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, for centuries, other dates marked the start of the calendar, including March 25 and […]

Pentecost

Pentecost, also called Whitsunday, (Pentecost from Greek pentecostē, “50th day”), major festival in the Christian church, celebrated on the Sunday that falls on the 50th day of Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other disciples following the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ (Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2), and it marks the beginning of the Christian church’s mission to the world. The Jewish feast […]

Jewish American Heritage Month

May is Jewish American Heritage Month – On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month. The announcement was the crowning achievement […]

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and […]

Older Americans Month

When Older Americans Month was established in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthday. About a third of older Americans lived in poverty and there were few programs to meet their needs. Interest in older Americans and their concerns was growing. A meeting in April 1963 between President John F. Kennedy […]

Mental Health Awareness Month

The month of May has been recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States since 1949. It was founded by the Mental Health America organization (then known as the National Association for Mental Health) in order to raise awareness and educate the public about mental illness, including conditions like depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, and reduce the stigma […]

Orthodox Easter 2024

Known as Pascha, the Greek word for “passover,” Easter in the Orthodox Church celebrates “the eternal Passover from death to life from earth heaven.” Great Lent, the church’s strictest time of fasting, […]

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, (Spanish: “Fifth of May”) also called Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, holiday celebrated in parts of Mexico and the United States in honor of a military victory in 1862 over the French […]

National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

In 2017, Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester from Montana introduced a resolution recognizing May 5, as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. It was in response to the murder of Hanna Harris on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and other abductions and killings of Native women across the […]