Cincy MultiFaith Calendar

Laila tul Qadr (Islam)
2020-05-19
Translated as the “Night of Power” and is observed on any of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. Muslims believe that the holy book, Quran, was revealed to Prophet Muhammad in this holy month. It is marked with special late night prayers.
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Some students may miss school the next day or arrive a few hours late.

1746 Chhota Ghallughara (Sikh)
2020-05-17
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.
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Students and/Co-Workers may visit their local Gurdwara at some point during the day

Ramadan (Muslim)
2020-04-24 - 2020-05-23
This marks the the holy month where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for 30 days abstaining from food and drinks.
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Holiday Greeting: Ramadan Mubarak
There are evening prayers that some students may attend at the mosque during this month. Mostly middle and high school students will be fasting.

Resurrection Day (Christian)
2020-04-21
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Vaisakhi (Sikh)
2020-04-14
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.
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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 Monday (Christian)
2020-04-13

Easter Sunday (Christian Protestant/ Catholic/ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
2020-04-12
Easter is the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After Christ died on the cross, His body was placed in a sepulchre, where it remained, separated from His spirit, until His Resurrection, when His spirit and His body were reunited

More information from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Easter (Christian)
2020-04-12
A festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his crucifixion. It is the most important day of the Christian calendar.
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Holiday Greeting: Happy Easter

Good Friday (Christian)
2020-04-10
Good Friday is the day on which Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
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A day of fast and abstinence from meat for Catholics over the age of 14.

Holy Thursday/Maundy (Christian)
2020-04-09
Christian: Holy Thursday is the commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, when he established the sacrament of Holy Communion prior to his arrest and crucifixion. Later that evening he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane.
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Vesak (Buddha Day) (Buddhist)
2020-04-08
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.
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Palm Sunday (Christian)
2020-04-05
Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified. In the Gospels, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a young donkey, and to the lavish praise of the townspeople who threw clothes, or possibly palms or small branches, in front of him as a sign of homage. This was a customary practice for people of great respect.
More Information:
Palms for the Lord
Holy Week

St. Joseph (Catholic)
2020-03-19
Feast day of the Carpenter and Stepfather of Jesus and husband of Mary. Patron of the Universal Church. He died in the presence of Jesus and Mary before Jesus began his public ministry. For this reason, St. Joseph is the patron saint of a holy death.
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Hola Mohalla (Sikh)
2020-03-10
Hola Mohalla takes place on the first day of the lunar month of Chet, which generally falls in March. This tradition was established by the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1701 for Sikhs to demonstrate their martial skills in controlled battles. Hola Mohalla became an annual event and continues to be celebrated with martial exhibitions, music and poetry competitions, and horseback riding.
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Holiday Greeting: “Vadhaaiaa Ji” – Congratulations!
Devout Sikhs may be absent this day to celebrate with family and the community at their local Gurdwara

Holi (Hindu)
2020-03-09
This is the “festival of colors” or the “festival of love. The festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, and a festive day to meet others and plaster each other with colored powders and colored water. It is also celebrated as a thanksgiving for a good harvest.

Saint Katharine Drexel (Catholic)
2020-03-03
Feast day of the patron saint of racial justice and of philanthropists. St. Katharine Drexel is the second American-born saint to be canonized by the Catholic Church. She was an American heiress, philanthropist, religious sister, educator, and foundress. She was the American founder of the Blessed Sacrament Sisters for Indians and Colored People (now Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament), a congregation of missionary nuns dedicated to the welfare of American Indians and African Americans.
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Ash Wednesday/Beginning of Lent (Christian)
2020-02-26
The beginning of the 40-day season of Lent. Catholics and Protestants will have ashes applied to their foreheads in the shape of a cross, symbolizing penance, mourning and mortality
A day of fast and abstinence from meat for Catholics over the age of 14.

Tu B'Shvat (Jewish)
2020-02-10

1762 Vadda Ghallughara (Sikh)
2020-02-08
The second Sikh genocide was the mass killing of Sikhs by the Afghani Durrani Forces in February of 1762 during his sixth invasion of India in the present day state of Punjab in India. An estimated 25,000 – 30,000 Sikhs including women and children were killed, which was nearly half of the Sikh population at the time. Sikhs were persecuted for decades prior to this massacre.
More Information:
Vadda Ghallughara – Sikh Holocaust
Sikh Nation’s Sovereign: Jassa Singh Ahluvalia – Harinder Singh
Students and/or Co-Workers may visit their local Gurdwara and pay respects to Sikh Martyrs

Jashan-e Sadeh (Zoroastrian)
2020-01-30
Sadeh is a mid-winter celebration observed by preparing a large community bonfire. The bonfire symbolizes the victory of light over forces of cold and darkness.
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Saraswati Puja (Hindu)
2020-01-29

Makar Sankranti (Hindu)
2020-01-15
This is one of the few holidays observed according to the solar calendar and marks the end of the winter solstice. It is celebrated differently across India with kite flying, bonfires, fairs, sun worship, ceremonial cooking in special pots, sweets based on sesame seeds, dance, etc. It is also a harvest festival.

Buddhist New Year (Buddhist)
2020-01-08
In Theravadin countries, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Lao, the new year is celebrated for three days from the first full moon day in April. In Mahayana countries the new year starts on the first full moon day in January. However, the Buddhist New Year depends on the country of origin or ethnic background of the people. As for example, Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese celebrate late January or early February according to the lunar calendar, whilst the Tibetans usually celebrate about one month later.

Christmas (Christian Orthodox)
2020-01-07

Epiphany of the Lord (Catholic)
2020-01-06
Celebrated 12 days after Christmas, the Epiphany of the Lord is the time when Christians remember the Wise Men (also sometimes called the Three Kings) who visited Jesus.

Three Kings (Hispanic)
2020-01-06
The Feast of Reyes (Fiesta de Reyes or Los Reyes) is celebrated in Spain/Portugal and Latin America on January 6th. The feast celebrates the passage in the Bible in which the Three Wise Men safely arrive to Jerusalem thanks to the guidance of the Star and bring gifts to Jesus. The level of celebration varies from a family gathering to a huge city wide and very anticipated parade depending on the culture/country. For example, both Spain and Puerto Rico celebrate with large parades, and many argue that Reyes is more festive/a larger celebration than Christmas. Despite the differences in the level of “Community Celebration”, all cultures/countries share some traditions around this feast: 1. Family gathering the night before and/or the day of Reyes. 2. Eating the Rosca/Roscon de Reyes, a sweet bread in the shape of a large oval “doughnut” with dried fruit on top. This is a very time consuming sweet to make. Inside the bread there is one (or more than one depending on the size of the Rosca) figurine of “Baby Jesus”. Based on each family’s traditions (mostly guided by the cultural traditions of the country of origin) the person that receives the piece of bread with the figurine will be responsible for hosting the party the next year, bringing tamales for the feast of Candelaria/Candlemas Day (Mexican Tradition), or doing/not doing the dishes, first one to other presents, etc. 3. All kids (and grown up kids) leave their shoes by the window the night before Reyes (Jan 5th) or under the Christmas Tree so the Reyes (Kings) can fill them with gifts during the night. Usually, kids select their favorite shoes, “Church” shoes or the shoes that better represent them (soccer shoes, dance shoes, flip-flops, etc). 4. Kids also leave water outside their home for the camels to drink. (The Three Wise Men travel on camels). It is important also to mention that this feast brings much attention to the idea of the star that guided the Three Wise Men to Jesus and how we should always follow God’s light and path and trust that we will be safe.
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Parkash - Guru Gobind Singh Ji (Sikh)
2020-01-05
The tenth and last human-form Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was in 1667 as Gobind Rai. He became the Guru in 1675 following the martyrdom of his father and the ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur. He was a brilliant poet, philosopher, and warrior. Guru Gobind Singh shaped the Sikh community into a community of equals and gave the Sikhs their mandated physical identity. He charged the Khalsa to restore justice, fight exploitation, and be the wardens of humanity.
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Holiday greetings: “Vadhaaiaa Ji” – Congratulations!
Students and/Co-Workers may visit their local Gurdwara at some point during the day

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God (Catholic)
2020-01-01
A feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ.
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Christmas (Christian)
2019-12-25
Birth of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, and Savior of the world.
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Holiday Greeting: Merry Christmas

Hanukkah (Jewish)
2019-12-22 - 2019-12-30
Hanukkah, also known as Hanukah, Chanukah, and Chanukkah can be spelled many different ways in English. It is an eight-day celebration known as the Festival of Lights marked by the lighting of candles using a special candle holder called a menorah or chanukiah. This holiday commemorates the victory of a small group of Jewish rebels, the Maccabees, over the ruling power, the Greco-Syrians, who wanted to destroy Jewish culture. Traditions include a game involving spinning dreidels (tops), eating potato latkes (pancakes), and giving gifts.
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Holiday Greeting: Happy Hanukkah!
