HUMBER INTERFAITH CALENDAR
MULTIFAITH HOLY DAYS & FESTIVALS
In the spirit of diversity and inclusion, we provide the following Multifaith Holy Days & Festivals realizing that it is not exhaustive. Should you wish your faith’s days to be included, please contact the Chaplain at x4427 or chaplain@humber.ca for due consideration.
01 Saturday
- April = Namebine Giizis / Mmaal (Aboriginal) Namebine Giizis is also known as the Sucker Moon in relation to the sucker fish (Ojibwe). Mmal is the season when rivers open and canoes can be launched and travel on the rivers can resume (Other).
- April Fools’ Day (International) A folk day when people seek to play humourous pranks and jokes on each other, possibly related to earlier cultural feasts and festivals.
- Ramanavami from March 27 (Hinduism) Celebrates the birth of Rama, 7th incarnation of the God Vishnu. In the prior 8 days, Hindus read the Ramayana, a Hindu epic, that tells the story of Ram
- Organization of the Church (Mormonism) Denotes the founding of The Church for Latter Day Saints in 1830.
- Palm Sunday (Christianity) Celebrates Jesus’ symbolic ride into Jerusalem as king on a donkey while people laid palm branches along the way beforehand.
- Mahavira Jayanti (Jainism) Celebrates the birthday of Lord Mahavira (Great Hero) the 24th Tirthankara (and the last of his time cycle).
- Jalal month begins (Baha’i) Jalal, meaning Glory, is the second month of the Baha’i year.
- Full Moon The moon is at its greatest visibility.
- Lunar Eclipse (southern hemisphere) The moon’s light is blocked by the earth.
- Pesah/Passover to Apr 18 (Judaism) Commemorates the Exodus, the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and is celebrated for 8 days beginning at dusk (before sundown) on the prior day.
- Songkran to Apr 15 (Buddhism) A 3 day festival denoting the new year for Buddhists. Homes are cleaned and water is sprinkled on statues of Buddha and on monks who visit.
- Maundy Thursday (Christianity-Eastern) Celebrates the institution of the Lord’s supper by Jesus.
- Vaisakhi (see below) [if celebrated by Eastern hemispheric time]
- Vaisakhi (Hinduism) [if celebrated by Western hemispheric time] Celebrates the first day of the solar year with an agricultural harvest festival. Important in North India, this holiday is named after the month Vaisakh.
- Vaisakhi (Sikhism) [if celebrated by Western hemispheric time] Commemorates the day in 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, created the Khalsa Panth (Brotherhood of the Pure). Brothers are named Singh (lion) and sisters are named Kaur (princess).
- Songkran to Apr 15 (Buddhism) A 3 day festival denoting the new year for Buddhists. Homes are cleaned and water is sprinkled on statues of Buddha and on monks who visit.
- Holy Friday / Good Friday (Christianity-Eastern) Commemorates the Passion of Jesus Christ in submission to death by crucifixion.
- Easter / Pascha (Christianity-Eastern) Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from death and the announcement of the angel to the women at Jesus’ tomb that “He is risen.”
- Easter Monday (Christianity-Eastern) The promise of new life is celebrated by Christians in reflection on the resurrection of Jesus after His crucifixion and death.
- Feast of Ridvan to May 02 (Baha’i) Remembers the 12 days that Baha’u’llah spent in the garden of Ridvan during his exile in Baghdad and when he proclaimed himself as the one announced by the Bab. On the first, ninth and twelfth days, work is suspended.
- Yom HaShoah (Judaism) Commemorates the death of six million Jews in World War II under Nazism (also called Holocaust memorial Day).
- New Moon The moon is at its least visibility.
- Jamal month begins (Baha’i) Jamal, meaning Beauty, is the third month of the Baha’i year.
- Gathering of Nations Pow Wow to Apr 25 (Aboriginal) In Albuquerque, New Mexico various tribes and nations participate, share, teach and exchange traditions with each other.
- Ghambar Maidyozarem to May 04(Zoroastrianism) Celebrates the creation of the sky and the harvesting of the winter crop.
