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Friday 09 January 2009

Religious and Holy Days Calendar


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January

5th - Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh, Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last of the Sikh Gurus (Sikh)

6th - Epiphany, Celebrates the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus or the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (Christian)

9th - Al-Hijira, Islamic New Year (Muslim)

14th - Makar Sankrant, Makar Sankrant is one of the most important festivals of the Hindu calendar and celebrates the sun's journey into the northern hemisphere. (Hindu)

27th - National Holocaust Memorial Day, The UK Holocaust Memorial Day was first held in January 2001 the date was chosen as the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau (Jewish)

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February

8th - Losar, Tibetan New Year (Buddhist)
8th or 15th - Parinirvana / Nirvana Day, Anniversary of Buddha's death (Buddhist)

11th - Vasant Panchami, Dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of learning and Brahma's wife. The festival marks the beginning of Spring. (Hindu)

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March

6th - Mahashivratri, Mahashivratri is a Hindu festival dedicated to Shiva, one of the deities of the Hindu Trinity.

21st - Good Friday, Commemorates the execution of Jesus by cruxifixion (Christian)

22nd - Hola Mohalla, Three day festival of military exercises and mock battles together with religious discussions and devotional music (Sikh)

23rd - Easter Sunday, Celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Christian)

20th / 25th - Milad un Nabi, Birthday of Prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims celebrate on 20th and Shia Muslims on 25th. (Muslim)

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April

13th - Vaisakhi, The Sikh New Year festival (Sikh)

14th - Rama Navami, Birthday of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana (Hindu)

20th - Passover, Commemoration of the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses (Jewish)

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May

2nd - Yom Hashoah, The Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. Closest date in the Jewsih clanedar to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (Jewish)

11th - Pentecost / Whitsun, Commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and the birth of the Christian Church (Christian)

20th - Wesak / Buddha Day, Buddha's birthday and for some also marks his birth and death (Buddhist)

23rd - Birthday of Guru Amar Das, Guru Amar Das was the third of the Sikh Gurus (Sikh)

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June

9th - Shavuot, Marks the time when the first harvest was taken to the temple.  Also known as the Festival of the Weeks (Jewish)

16th - Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Arjan Dev was the fifth Sikh Guru and the first Sikh martyr (Sikh)

29th - St Peter's Day, Observed by Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran Churches. One of the oldest saints' days (Christian)

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July

17th - Tammuz, An important Jewish fast day (Jewish)

18th - Asala / Dharma Day, Anniversary of the start of Buddha teaching his first sermon "The Wheel of Truth" (Buddhist)

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August

6th - Transfiguration, Orthodox Christian feast commemorating the sudden emanation of radiance from the person of Jesus (Christian)

10th - Tisha B'Av, Commemorates a series of tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the years, many of which have happened on this day (Jewish)

24th - Janmashtami - Krishna Jayanti, The Janamashtami festival marks the birth of Krishna, the most highly venerated God in the Hindu pantheon. (Hindu)

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September

2nd - Ramadan, Start of the Muslim month of fasting (Muslim)

3rd - Ganesh Chaturthi, Hindus celebrate the birthday of Lord Ganesh, the elephant-headed God. (Hindu)

30th - Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year (Jewish)

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October

1st - Eid-Ul-Fitr, End of Ramadan (Muslim)

9th - Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement (Jewish)

28th - Diwali, Celebrates the release from prison of the sixth guru, Hargobind Singh (Sikh)

28th - Diwali, Diwali, the festival of lights, is the most popular of all the festivals from South Asia. It is an occasion for celebrations by Hindus as well as Jains and Sikhs.

31st - All Hallows Eve, The night before All Saint's Day - (Christian)

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November

2nd - All Souls' Day, An opportunity for Roman Catholic and Anglo-Catholic churches to commemorate the faithful departed.(Christian)

24th - Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, The ninth Sikh Guru and honoured champion of religious freedom (Sikh)

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December

8th - Hajj, Annual pilgrimage to Mecca (Muslim)

8th - Bodhi Day, Celebration of Gautama's attainment of enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. (Buddhist)

12th - Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabess in 164 BCE (Jewish)

25th - Christmas Day, The day when western Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. (Christian)

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next Follow this link for the BBC's Holy Days and Festivals Calendar www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tools/calenda r

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