Religious Observances

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. It is during the month of Ramadan that Muslims fast.

Find out the dates, history and traditions of Fastelavn

Great Lent marks the start of the Easter cycle in the Orthodox Christian Church

Marks the beginning of lent. Marking the forehead with ash represents regret for past sins.

Purim remembers the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to destroy them as recorded in the Book of Esther.

Originally a harvest and fertility festival, Holi also commemorates a legend from Hindu Mythology

The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan.

Find out the dates, history and traditions of Lazarus Saturday.

Passover (Pesach), is an eight day Jewish holiday that remembers the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.

Also known as Holy Thursday, Maundy Thursday commemorates the last supper and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist.

Good Friday occurs on the Friday before Easter. The day commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Easter Sunday is the most important date in the Christian church. In the bible, it is the day when Mary Magdalene found that an empty tomb in the cave in which Jesus had been placed.

Easter is the most significant religious holiday for the world's roughly 300 million Orthodox Christians. In the bible, it is the day when Mary Magdalene found that an empty tomb in the cave in which Jesus has been placed after his crucifixion.

Each year since 1957, the president has signed a proclamation encouraging all Americans to pray on this day.

Find out the dates, history and traditions of Vesak, the Day of the Full Moon 

Find out the dates, history and traditions of Lag BaOmer.

This day observes the departure of Jesus from earth after his resurrection. It is perhaps the earliest observed celebration in Christianity.

Shavuot is one of the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals. Also known as the Feast of Weeks

Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice is the most important feast in the Muslim calendar. It celebrates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael in submission to Allah's command, before he was stopped by Allah.

Celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, All Saints Day is observed on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

Corpus Christi is celebrated on the second Thursday after Whitsun. Corpus Christi means the Body of Christ and refers to the elements of the Eucharist

Marks Islamic New Year and the Prophet's journey from Mecca to Medina in 622AD.

Find out the dates, history and traditions of the Baptism Day of Kyivan Rus.

Find out the dates, history and traditions of Saviour of the Apple Feast Day

The Jewish Holiday of Rosh Hashanah is generally known as the New Year' s Day of the Jewish calendar

The Schwenkfelder Church is a small American Christian body rooted in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation teachings of Caspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig.

Find out the dates, history and traditions of Clergy Appreciation Day (or Pastor Appreciation Day or Ministry Appreciation Day)

Celebrations revolve around the triumph of good over evil, purity over impurity, light over darkness.

Pope Boniface IV dedicated the day as a holiday to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary and all martyrs

Dedicated to the remembrance of the departed. All Souls' Day follows All Saints' Day.

Pope Boniface IV dedicated the day as a holiday to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary and all martyrs

Find out the dates, history and traditions of The eve before Saint Martins day

Traditionally, in many parts of Europe, St Martin's Day marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.

A holiday observed by Ethiopian Jews to commemorate their return from exile to Israel.

Totensonntag is a Protestant religious holiday in Germany and Switzerland, commemorating the faithfully departed.

This day marks the start of the period of Advent that ends on Christmas Eve.

Candles are lit across the country in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

Buddha's Enlightenment Day commemorates Siddhartha Gautama attaining enlightenment — some 2,600 years ago, becoming the Buddha.

It's Anna's Day, marking the start of making the lutefisk to be consumed on Christmas Eve.

Marks the beginning of the Christmas season and honours the memory of St. Lucia, an early Christian martyr.