About Religious Observances
The calendar below is a month-by-month listing of religious observances for 2024. This list includes the dates for some of the most important religious celebrations of the major religions. Holy days may include fasting or abstaining from specific food or drink for specified periods ranging from a month to more than a day (25 hours) to daylight hours (sunrise to sundown). Absence from work or classes is also common observance, and some holy days start at sundown and end at sundown/nightfall of the concluding date. Dates may not be fixed to a calendar but based on the actual sighting of the moon and there may be variance by a day.
This list is not meant to be comprehensive. Additional holy day listings can be found on the Interfaith Calendar 2024 and Interfaith Calendar 2025.
Religious Observances 2024
Observance | Religion | Beginning Date | End Date | Day(s) of Week |
---|---|---|---|---|
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary | Christian | Jan 1 | Monday | |
Gantan-sai | Shinto | Jan 1 | Monday | |
Christmas (Feast of the Epiphany) | Eastern Orthodox | Jan 6 | Saturday | |
Feast of the Nativity | Orthodox Christian | Jan 7 | Sunday | |
Imbolc | Wicca/Pagan | Feb 1 | Thursday | |
Lailat al Miraj | Islamic | Feb 6 | Feb 7 | Tuesday - Wednesday |
Lunar New Year | Confucian/Taoist /Buddhist | Feb 10 | Saturday | |
Ash Wednesday | Christian | Feb 14 | Wednesday | |
Holi | Hindu | Mar 8 | Wednesday | |
Ramadan (30 days) | Islamic | Mar 10 | Apr 8 | Sunday - Tuesday |
Orthodox Great Lent | Eastern Orthodox | Mar 18 | May 14 | Monday - Saturday |
Ostara | Wicca/Pagan | Mar 19 | Tuesday | |
Nowruz | Persian/Zoroastrian | Mar 19 | Tuesday | |
Purim | Jewish | Mar 23 | Mar 24 | Saturday - Sunday |
Palm Sunday | Christian | Mar 24 | Sunday | |
Maundy Thursday | Christian | Mar 28 | Thursday | |
Good Friday | Christian | Mar 29 | Friday | |
Easter | Christian | Mar 31 | Sunday | |
Eid al-Fitr | Islamic | Apr 9 | Apr 10 | Tuesday - Wednesday |
Vaisakhi | Hindu/Sikh/Buddhist | Apr 13 | Saturday | |
Ridvan | Bahá?à | Apr 20 | May 2 | Saturday - Thursday |
Mahavir Jayanti | Jain | Apr 21 | Sunday | |
Passover (Pesach-8 days) | Jewish | Apr 22 | Apr 30 | Monday - Tuesday |
Beltane | Wicca/Pagan | May 1 | Wednesday | |
Pascha | Orthodox Easter | May 5 | Sunday | |
Buddha's Birthday | Buddhist | May 15 | Wednesday | |
Feast of Pentecost | Christian | May 19 | Sunday | |
Declaration of the Bab | Bahá?à | May 22 | May 23 | Wednesday - Thursday |
Vesak (Buddha Day) | Buddhist | May 23 | Thursday | |
Ascension of Baha'u'llah | Bahá?à | May 27 | May 28 | Monday - Tuesday |
Shavuot | Jewish | Jun 11 | June 13 | Tuesday - Thursday |
Eid al-Adha | Islamic | Jun 16 | Jun 17 | Sunday - Monday |
Litha-Yule (Solstice) | Wicca/Pagan | Jun 20 | Thursday | |
First of Muharram | Islamic | Jul 7 | Sunday | |
Ashura | Islamic | Jul 16 | Jul 17 | Tuesday - Wednesday |
Lughnasadh-Imbolc | Wicca/Pagan | Aug 1 | Thursday | |
Ganesh Chaturthi | Hindu | Sep 7 | Saturday | |
Mabon | Wicca/Pagan | Sep 21 | Sep 24 | Saturday - Tuesday |
Rosh Hashanah (New Year) | Jewish | Oct 2 | Oct 4 | Wednesday - Friday |
Navratri | Hindu | Oct 3 | Oct 12 | Thursday - Saturday |
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) | Jewish | Oct 11 | Oct 12 | Friday - Saturday |
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles-7 days) | Jewish | Oct 16 | Oct 23 | Wednesday - Wednesday |
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah | Jewish | Oct 23 | Oct 25 | Wednesday - Friday |
Samhain | Wicca/Pagan | Oct 31 | Nov 1 | Thursday - Friday |
All Saints Day/Day of the Dead | Christian/Latinx | Nov 1 | Friday | |
Diwali | Jain/Sikh/Hindu | Nov 1 | Friday | |
Birth of the Bab | Bahá?à | Nov 2 | Saturday | |
Guru Nanak Gurpurab | Sikh | Nov 15 | Friday | |
Advent | Christian | Dec 1 | Dec 24 | Sunday - Tuesday |
Bodhi Day (Rohatsu) | Buddhist | Dec 8 | Sunday | |
Feast of the Immaculate Conception | Christian | Dec 8 | Sunday | |
Our Lady of Guadalupe | Christian | Dec 12 | Thursday | |
Christmas | Christian | Dec 25 | Wednesday | |
Hanukkah | Jewish | Dec 25 | Jan 2 | Wednesday - Thursday |
Kwanzaa | African-American | Dec 26 | Jan 1 | Thursday - Wednesday |