Cincy MultiFaith Calendar

Holy Thursday (Christian Orthodox)
2025-04-17
On Thursday of Holy Week four events are commemorated: the washing of the disciples’ feet, the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas.
You can learn more here.

Good Friday (Christian Protestant/ Catholic/ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
2025-04-18
Good Friday is the day on which Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.

More information from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
More information from the Catholic Church
More information from the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

This is a day of fasting and abstinence from meat for Catholics over the age of 14.

Great and Holy Friday (Christian Orthodox)
2025-04-18
On Great and Holy Friday the Orthodox Church commemorates the death of Christ on the Cross. This is the culmination of the observance of His Passion by which our Lord suffered and died for our sins. This commemoration begins on Thursday evening with the Matins of Holy Friday and concludes with a Vespers on Friday afternoon that observes the unnailing of Christ from the Cross and the placement of His body in the tomb.

More information can be found here.

This is a day of fasting and abstinence for most over the age of 14.

Holy Saturday/The Great Vigil of Easter (Catholic/ Protestant/ Episcopal)
2025-04-19
On this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which, by hearing God’s Word and celebrating the Sacraments, we share in Christ’s victory over death. (From the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer)

Vaisakhi – Khalsa Day (Sikh)
2025-04-19
On Vaisakhi in 1699, the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, established the initiated community of Sikhs, the Khalsa, through the Amrit ceremony and became initiated himself too. Vaisakhi holds great significance in the history of the community. Sikhs acquire their formal, distinct identity from this day onward. The identity includes the unique physical appearance and the names of Singh and Kaur. This new community of equals were to dedicate their lives to the service of others and pursuit of justice for all faiths. Vaisakhi has a deep spirit of equality, unity, identity, and commitment for the Sikhs. Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi by organizing religious services, martial arts exhibitions, parades, etc.
More Information
Holiday Greeting: “Vaisakhi di Lakh Lakh Vadhaaiaa Ji” – Infinite Congratulations for Vaisakhi
Students and Co-Workers may be absent this day to celebrate at home with their family and with the entire community at their local Gurdwara

Easter Sunday (Catholic / Christian Protestant/ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
2025-04-20
A festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. After He died on the cross, his body was placed in a tomb, where it remained for three days, separated from His spirit, until on Sunday, when he was resurrected. It is the most important day of the Christian calendar.
More information from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
More information from the Catholic Church
More information from the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Holiday Greeting: Happy Easter!

First Day of Ridvan (The Bahá’í Faith)
2025-04-20
1st Day of Festival of Ridvan-**(There are three holy Days as part of the Festival, the first day, the ninth and the twelfth.) The annual Baha’i Festival commemorates the 12 days when Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Faith, publicly proclaimed his mission as God’s messenger. Begins at sundown on April 19 and ends at sunset on April 20.
Holiday Greeting: Happy Ridvan
Work is to be suspended and children excused from school.
More Information

Easter / Pascha (Christian Orthodox)
2025-04-20
On the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha, Orthodox Christians celebrate the life-giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This feast of feasts is the most significant day in the life of the Church. It is a celebration of the defeat of death, as neither death itself nor the power of the grave could hold our Savior captive. In this victory that came through the Cross, Christ broke the bondage of sin, and through faith offers us restoration, transformation, and eternal life.
Learn more here.

Jashan-e Ardavahisht (Zoroastrian)
2025-04-22
Jashan-e Ardavahisht is a celebration ceremony, a Jashan, performed on Ardibehest day of
Ardibehest month, in honor of Ardavahisht or Ardibehest, a Pehlavi name derived from the ancient Avestan term “Asha Vahishta” from the Gathas of Zarathushtra. Asha stands for “truth, order, righteousness.” Vahishta means ‘the Best’ or ‘the Highest’. So, Asha Vahishta is the Best or the Highest Righteousness which Zarathushtra attributes to Ahura Mazda. Asha is the universal law of righteous precision. It may best be explained by stating that it means “to do the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, and with the right means in order to attain the right result.” It should result in constructive and loving good not only for oneself but also for one’s fellow creatures and for God. It is the positive, beneficial and unselfish precision par excellence. In later Zoroastrian religious history,
the wise men/priests associated Ardavahisht with being the steward/guardian of all those forces that give light, and warmth to our world. To us, Fire is that symbol of light and warmth, and represents God’s Righteousness to us, that’s why a Zoroastrian prefers to pray in front of any form of light. In our temples, the priest keeps an eternal Fire burning on a large urn, adding wood to it five times a day. That holy fire in our temples serves as the medium of one’s concentration and communication with God. Zoroastrians are wrongly believed by many as Fire-Worshippers, when in fact, Fire is an element of great reverence to a Zoroastrian and reminds her/him of God’s Righteousness, and is beneficial to have in some form in front of the devotee, to use as a medium of meditative focus and
concentration, as the devotee worships God/communicates with God, through her/his prayers.

Yom Ha'shoah (Jewish)
2025-04-23 - 2025-04-24
Known in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Ha’Shoah commemorates the approximately six million Jews, and five million others who perished in the Holocaust. Shoah in Hebrew means catastrophe. This is a national public holiday in Israel. In homes and synagogues around the world, Jews will light memorial candles in commemoration of lives lost. The Holocaust and Humanity Center Museum located in Cincinnati’s Union Terminal highlights the history, artifacts, humanity education, and stories of survivors and others who experienced the Holocaust.
More Information
Commonly observed by synagogue attendance or family gatherings. Work is traditionally prohibited; individuals may be absent from school or work.

Feast of Jamal/ Beauty (Baha'i)
2025-04-26 - 2025-04-27
Wherever they live, Baha’is gather every 19 days for what we call a Feast. Observance begins at midnight April 26. This is a members-only event comprising three parts:
1. A spiritual portion that’s the time for prayer and reflection;
2. A business portion for consultation about administrative issues (plans for forming classes, organizing to perform community service, observing holy days, or any ideas or projects community members wish to discuss. It’s also a time when local members can ask their Local Assembly to forward their concerns to the National Assembly;
3. A social portion that can consist of anything from just glasses of water to a full-course dinner.

9th Day of Festival of Ridvan -(The Bahá’í Faith)
2025-04-28 - 2025-04-29
9th Day of Ridvan. There are three holy Days as part of the Festival, the first day, the ninth and the twelfth. The annual Baha’i Festival commemorates the 12 days when Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Faith, publicly proclaimed his mission as God’s messenger.
Holiday Greeting: Happy Ridvan
Work is to be suspended and children excused from school.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridv%C3%A1n

Yom HaZikaron (Jewish)
2025-04-29 - 2025-04-30
Yom HaZikaron is Israel’s Memorial Day, observed both in Israel and in many Jewish communities around the world. A day to remember and honor soldiers who lost their lives fighting in the War of Independence and subsequent battles. It is also a day to remember civilian victims of terrorism.
More Information
Commonly observed by synagogue attendance, family or community gatherings. In Israel, at 12 noon sirens are sounded and the whole country, even cars on highways, will stop for a commemorative moment.

Birth of Guru Arjan Sahib (5th Guru) (Sikh)
2025-04-30
The fifth Master, Guru Arjan, built the Golden Temple of Amritsar to emphasize that the Sikh way was open to all, regardless of caste; the gurdwara was constructed with doors facing all four directions. He compiled the hymns of Sikh Gurus and created the Adi Granth – the foundation of the Guru Granth Sahib – and installed it. He was also the first Sikh Guru to be martyred.
More Information
Traditional Greeting: “Vadhaaiaa Ji” – Congratulations!

Maidyozarem Gahambar (Zoroastrian)
2025-04-30 - 2025-05-04
Maidyozarem (literally: midgreening) Gahambar is a seasonal festival celebrated in mid-spring. It is considered a religious duty to participate in a communal jashan prayer ceremony; as well as, fraternize and share a simple meal with fellow co-religionists from all walks of life, rich and poor.
More Information

12th Day of the Festival of Ridvan (The Bahá’í Faith)
2025-04-30 - 2025-05-01
12th Day of Ridvan. There are three holy Days as part of the Festival, the first day, the ninth and the twelfth. The annual Baha’i Festival commemorates the 12 days when Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Faith, publicly proclaimed his mission as God’s messenger.
Holiday Greeting: Happy Ridvan
Work is to be suspended and children excused from school.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridv%C3%A1n

Yom HaAtzma'ut (Jewish)
2025-04-30 - 2025-05-01
Yom HaAtzma’ut, also known as Israel’s Independence Day, is celebrated on the fifth day of the month of Iyar, which is the Hebrew date of the formal establishment of the State of Israel, when members of the “provisional government” read and signed a Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv. The original date corresponded to May 14, 1948.
More Information
Commonly observed by synagogue attendance, community or family gatherings.

Beltane (Pagan)
2025-05-01
Beltane: is celebrated on May 1st halfway between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. It is the beginning of summer. Among pastoral people this was when the flocks and herds were moved from the lower winter pasture to the higher summer pasture. To ensure fertility, the livestock was herded between two fires. This holiday celebrates fertility and sexuality. This is a time for fun and frolic. Jumping over the fire is part of the ritual.
More Information

Shankaracharya Birth Anniversary (Vedanta)
2025-05-01
This day marks the birth anniversary of Shankaracharya. Shankara taught nondualistic Vedanta and is revered.
For More Information:
https://www.vedanta.gr/?page_id=1075

Vesak - Buddha's Birthday (Buddhism)
2025-05-12
Traditionally, Buddha’s Birthday is known as Vesak or Visakah Puja (Buddha’s Birthday Celebrations). Vesak is the major Buddhist festival of the year as it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on the one day, the first full moon day in May, except in a leap year when the festival is held in June. This celebration is called Vesak being the name of the month in the Indian calendar.
Buddhist Festivals are always joyful occasions. Typically on a festival day, lay people will go the the local temple or monastery and offer food to the monks and take the Five Precepts and listen to a Dharma talk. In the afternoon, they distribute food to the poor to make merit and in the evening join perhaps in a ceremony of circumambulation a stupa three time as a sign of respect to the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. The day will conclude with evening chanting of the Buddha’s teachings and meditation.
More Information

Feast of Azamat / Grandeur (Baha'i)
2025-05-16
Wherever they live, Baha’is gather every 19 days for what we call a Feast. This is a members-only event comprising three parts:
1. A spiritual portion that’s the time for prayer and reflection;
2. A business portion for consultation about administrative issues (plans for forming classes, organizing to perform community service, observing holy days, or any ideas or projects community members wish to discuss. It’s also a time when local members can ask their Local Assembly to forward their concerns to the National Assembly;
3. A social portion that can consist of anything from just glasses of water to a full-course dinner.

1746 Chhota Ghallughara (Sikh)
2025-05-17
The Chhota Ghallughara was the first massacre of Sikhs targeted to wipe out the entire population. Around 7,000 Sikhs were killed, 3,000 were captured and later beheaded, and the persecution lasted several decades. Gurdwaras were destroyed and scriptures were burnt. Anyone caught saying the word “Guru” was sentenced to death.
More Information
Students and/Co-Workers may visit their local Gurdwara at some point during the day

Declaration of the Bab (The Bahá’í Faith)
2025-05-22 - 2025-05-23
Commemorates May 23, 1844 when the Bab, the Martyred Prophet Herald of the Bahá’í Faith, announced in Persia, that he was the Herald of a new messenger from God in Shiraz Persia
Work is to be suspended and children excused from school.
https://www.bahaiblog.net/bahai-calendar/about-the-declaration-of-the-bab/

Ascension of Baha'u'llah (The Bahá’í Faith)
2025-05-27 - 2025-05-28
Baha’is observe the anniversary of the death in exile of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith outside of Akka (Acre) in northern Israel.
Work is to be suspended and children excused from school.
For more information:
https://bahaiteachings.org/prophet-passes-away-ascension-bahaullah

The Ascension of the Lord (Catholic & Episcopal)
2025-05-29
This holy day commemorates the physical ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven in the presence of his 11 apostles, which, according to scripture, occurred 40 days after his resurrection from the dead on Easter.
This is a holy day of obligation for Catholics.
More information can be found here.

The Ascension of the Lord (Orthodox Christianity)
2025-05-29
This holy day commemorates the physical ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven in the presence of his 11 apostles, which, according to scripture, occurred 40 days after his resurrection from the dead on Easter.

Shavuot (Jewish)
2025-06-01 - 2025-06-03
The festival of Shavuot celebrates the giving of Torah (Hebrew Bible) including the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. It also marks the end of the spring harvest, and the beginning of the summer harvest. Shavuot is celebrated by studying Torah together as a community, often late into the night. It is traditional to eat meals containing dairy. Barley and wheat are also food symbols of Shavuot.
More Information
Holiday Greeting: Hag Sameach (Happy Holiday)
Commonly observed by synagogue attendance or family gatherings. Work is traditionally prohibited; individuals may be absent from school or work.

Memorial of 1984 Ghallughara (Sikh)
2025-06-04
The Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, ordered a military assault of one of the most significant and historic sites, the Harminder Sahib (Golden Temple). Prior to the attacks, the Indian military deployed 100,000 troops across Punjab. This Indian military operation attacked innocent civilians who had gathered at the Harminder Sahib complex to commemorate the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev in the early days of June. All communications and phone lines were disabled, roads were blocked, and journalists were not allowed to be present in Punjab. Hundreds of bullet holes were counted on the various buildings in the complex and eyewitness accounts witnessed the deaths of nearly 8,000 while the official government record is less than 500. During this attack, many historic records and manuscripts were destroyed, the library was burned down, and the complex was looted. This military operation is more widely known as Operation Bluestar. Within the next decade, more than 70,000 Sikhs were detained with terrorism charges and hardly one percent of those were eventually convicted of a crime.
More Information:
8 Invasions of Siri Harmandir Sahib
June 1984 Ghallughara Lies List Light
Students and/Co-Workers may visit their local Gurdwara at some point during the day.

Feast of Nur / Light (Baha'i)
2025-06-04

Eid al-Adha (Islam)
2025-06-05 - 2025-06-09
This holiday marks the completion of the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca and is observed by Muslims to commemorate the faith of Abraham. Students will miss school to attend congregational prayers at the mosque and celebrate the holiday with their families/friends.
More Information:
Eid al-Adha 101
Islamic Networks Group
Holiday Greeting: “Eid Mubarak! (Happy Eid)”
