Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year / Spring Festival

Chinese New Year, annual 15-day festival in China and Chinese communities around the world that begins with the new moon that occurs sometime between January 21 and February 20 according to Western calendars. Festivities last until the following full moon. The holiday is sometimes called the Lunar New Year because the dates of celebration follow the phases of the moon. Since the mid-1990s people in China have been given seven consecutive […]

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill into law, designating the third Monday in January a federal holiday in observance of civil rights leader Dr. […]

Makar Sankranti

In January, Hindus celebrate Makara Sankranti - a 4-day festival celebrating Surya, the Sun god. This festival occurs at the same time every year, somewhat unusual for Hindu festivals which […]

Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s Birthday

Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of Sikhs, was born on December 22, 1666 in Patna, Bihar, according to the Julian calendar. As this calendar is obsolete in the present […]

International Day of Education

Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of […]

Mahayana New Year

Mahayana Buddhists celebrate the new year by honoring and praying for Buddha and other deities. Every Buddhist is expected to visit a nearby temple to light candles which are believed […]

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this annual day of commemoration, the UN urges every member state […]

National Freedom Day

February 1st is National Freedom Day in the United States. National Freedom Day is celebrated because on February 1st, 1865 Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution from the House and the Senate that eventually became the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution—the amendment that officially ended slavery in the United States. This year and every year, make it a […]

Black History Month

The story of Black History Month begins in Chicago during the summer of 1915. An alumnus of the University of Chicago with many friends in the city, Carter G. Woodson […]