In the spirit of diversity and inclusion, we provide the following Multifaith Holy Days & Festivals realizing that it is not exhaustive.
01 Wednesday
New Year’s Day (Canada/International)
New Moon
January = Mndioo Giizis / K'aliyee (Aboriginal)
Spirit Moon (Ojibwe). K’aliyee is the time of the cold north wind (Other).
Temple Day (Buddhism)
North American Buddhists of all schools attend a special service in the local temple.
Shogatu/Gantan-sai (Shinto)
The Japanese welcome the New Year with prayers for renewal of hearts, good health and prosperity and wear their best clothes to visit shrines in large numbers, some at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Over the next 7 days, people visit one another's homes to offer good wishes for the coming year.
Ghambar Maidyarem Dec 31, 2011-Jan 04 (Zoroastrianism)
Celebrates the creation of animals and is a time for equitable sharing of food.
05 Sunday
Birth of Guru Gobind Singh Ji (Sikhism)
The tenth and final Sikh master created the Khalsa, the Brotherhood of the Pure, and declared the Scriptures, the Adi Granth, to be the Sikh's Guru from that time on.
06 Monday
Christmas / Epiphany / 3 Kings Day (Christianity)
Some Eastern churches celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus as Christ. Some Eastern churches celebrate Epiphany, the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Some Western and South American churches celebrate Epiphany or 3 Kings Day as when wise men from the East visited Bethlehem with gifts for the Christ child.
07 Tuesday
Christmas / Nativity (Christianity-Eastern)
Eastern Orthodox and Coptic (Egyptian) churches celebrate Christmas or Nativity according to the Julian calendar, 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar (Dec 25) used by Western churches.
13-14 Monday-Tuesday
13 Monday
Lohri (Hinduism / Sikhism)
Bonfires are lit to mark the increase of the sun and the lengthening of days.
14 Tuesday
Eid-Maulad-Un-Nabi (Islam)
The anniversary of the death of Prophet Mohammad (also used to celebrate his birth, date unknown) is celebrated by different observances in various countries for 9 days with colourful fairs, parades and feasts.
Seijin no hi or Coming-of-Age Day (Shinto)
A national holiday in Japan in which young women and men 20 years of age go to shrines wearing traditional clothing and their families proclaim their adult status to the kami or spirits and pray for their health and well being as they grow older.
New Year (Christianity-Eastern)
Coptic (Egyptian) and Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate New Year by the Julian calendar, 13 days after the Gregorian calendar.
Makar-Sankranti (Hinduism)
Denotes the gradual lengthening of days in the northern hemisphere.
15 Wednesday
World Religion Day (Various)
Some groups and institutions utilize January 15 or another weekday in January to publicly recognize World Religion Day (see January 19 below).
16 Thursday
Full Moon
Tu B'Shevat (Arbour Day) (Judaism)
The 15th of the month of Shevat celebrates Judaism’s connection with nature as the new year's day for trees and the first of the year tradition of tithing the fruit of trees. The day can involve environmental actions like tree planting plus special meals including the 7 fruits of the land from Deuteronomy 8:8 (barley, dates, figs, grapes, olives, pomegranates, wheat), each representing a spiritual idea.
Mahayana New Year
Celebrated on the first full moon in January for Mahayana Buddhists (Tibet, China, Vietnam and Korea), Confucians and Daoists.
19 Sunday
Theophany/Timkat (Christianity-Eastern)Eastern churches celebrate this day as the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and the later miracle at Cana when Jesus turned water into wine.
Sultan (Baha'i)
Sultan, meaning Sovereignty, is the 17th month of the Baha'i year and involves an annual celebration of the teachings of unity found in all religions, Baha'is invite representatives of other traditions to address a common theme.
World Religion Day (Baha’i & Others)
Annually, the third Sunday in January is celebrated to emphasize commonalities among world religions.
30 Thursday
New Moon
31 Friday
Chinese New Year 4712 (Year of the Horse) to February 02
“Kung Hei Fat Choi” is a 3-day festival to start the Year 4712 by the lunar calendar. The Chinese decorate their homes and buy new clothes and shoes to celebrate.
Should you wish your faith’s days to be included, please contact the Chaplain for consideration.
Phone: 416.675.6622 ext.4427
Email: chaplain@humber.ca