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.
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 December 25. So how did January 1 become New Year’s Day? We can partly thank the Roman king Numa Pompilius. According to tradition, during his reign […]
Ramadan, Arabic Ramaḍān, in Islam, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the holy month of fasting. It begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent moon. Because the Muslim calendar year is shorter than the Gregorian calendar year, Ramadan begins 10–12 days earlier each year, allowing it to fall in every season throughout a 33-year cycle. Islamic tradition states that it was during Ramadan, on the “Night […]
April is Hmong Heritage Month! This is a time to recognize, acknowledge, and celebrate Hmong American culture as well as educate ourselves on the history and experiences of Hmong Americans. Sourced from https://minitex.umn.edu/news/2023-09/visit-st-pauls-multi-faceted-hmong-cultural-center
Celebrating the rich and diverse culture and contributions of the diverse population of Arab Americans, National Arab American Heritage Month has been observed during the month of April since 2017. An estimated 3.7 million Americans have Arab roots, according to the Arab American Institute, with ancestries traced to 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, […]
Even before its official declaration, Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) was about both awareness and prevention of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. Looking at the history of the movement to end sexual violence, it’s clear why: It’s impossible to prevent an issue no one knows about, and it’s difficult to make people aware of a […]
Throughout its history, the United Nations family has celebrated diversity and promoted the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities, including learning differences and developmental disabilities. In 2008, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force, reaffirming the fundamental principle of universal human rights for all. Its purpose is to promote, […]
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 […]
April 7 of each year marks the celebration of World Health Day. From its inception at the First Health Assembly in 1948 and since taking effect in 1950, the celebration has aimed to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World Health Organization. Over the past […]
On 7 April, UNESCO commemorates the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003. The date marks the beginning of the genocide perpetrated against members of the Tutsi minority by the Hutu extremist-led government. Within just over 100 days, more […]
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 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 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 month of the Hindu calendar). Lord Rama, who became king of Ayodhya, was known for His exemplary qualities. He was popular, brave, kind, just, intelligent, […]
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 or Mahavir Janma Kalyanak and is one of the most auspicious festivals for the Jain community. Jainism lays focuses on world peace and harmony such that no […]
For 12 days at the end of April and beginning of May, Baha'i communities around the world celebrated their most holy festival: Ridvan. This annual festival marks the anniversary of the days Baha'u'llah spent along the River Tigris in Baghdad. In 1863, Baha'u'llah stayed in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River for […]
Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. In the decades leading up to the first Earth Day, Americans were consuming vast amounts of leaded gas through massive and inefficient automobiles. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of the consequences […]
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 appears in the Hebrew Bible’s books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, among other texts. Jews observe the weeklong festival with a number of important rituals, […]
The Armenian Genocide—the first genocide of the 20th century—took the lives of 1.5 million Armenians, who were massacred by Ottoman Turkey’s “Young Turk” government beginning in 1915. The deportation and mass extermination of Armenians continued until 1923. Planned and executed during World War I, the Armenian Genocide saw the virtual elimination of Armenians from their […]
The mid-spring festival of Maidyozarem is the year’s first Gahambar (festival). It falls on the 41st to 45th days of the year, usually April 30 to May 4. Maidyozarem honors heaven and the creation of the stars. Zoroastrians observe six seasonal festivals that celebrate the sanctity of God’s universal creations. Each Gahambar lasts five days and […]
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 the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru […]
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 […]
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 […]
Beltane, also spelled Beltine, Irish Beltaine or Belltaine, also known as Cétamain, festival held on the first day of May in Ireland and Scotland, celebrating the beginning of summer and open pasturing. Beltane is first mentioned in a glossary attributed to Cormac, bishop of Cashel and king of Munster, who was killed in 908. Cormac describes how cattle were driven between two bonfires on Beltane as […]
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 in an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders that resulted in resolutions introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz […]
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 […]
May Day, day commemorating the historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labour movement, observed in many countries on May 1. In the United States and Canada a similar observance, known as Labor Day, occurs on the first Monday of September. Sourced from https://www.britannica.com/topic/May-Day-international-observance
The very first day of prayer was declared in 1775 by the Continental Congress, which asked people to pray for the fledgling nation. This initial declaration gradually evolved into two formalized events. In 1863 President Lincoln oversaw the naming of the autumnal observance of prayer and thanks as Thanksgiving Day. Almost a century later President […]
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 day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. It is an opportunity to: celebrate the fundamental principles of press […]
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 day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. It is an opportunity to: celebrate the fundamental principles of press […]
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 forces of Napoleon III. When in 1861 Mexico declared a temporary moratorium on the repayment of foreign debts, English, Spanish, and French troops invaded the country. By April […]
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 […]
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, takes place for 40 days, ending eight days before Easter on Lazarus Saturday—when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, according to Eastern orthodoxy. Palm Sunday […]
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