Religious Calendar For 2011

The following is an inclusive, interfaith calendar of holidays and festivals for 2011. If you have additions or corrections, please leave a comment.

JANUARY

Jan. 1

• Mary, Mother of God (Catholic)


• Feast of St. Basil (Orthodox Christian)


• Gantan-sai - New Years (Shinto)

Jan. 5

• Epiphany Eve (Christian)


• Guru Gobindh Singh birthday (Sikh)

Jan. 6

• Epiphany (Christian)


• Feast of the Theophany (Orthodox Christian)


• Dia de los Reyes (Hispanic Christian)


• Nativity of Christ (Armenian Orthodox Christian)

Jan. 7

• Nativity of Christ (Orthodox Christian)

Jan. 9

• Baptism of the Lord Jesus (Christian)

Jan. 13

• Maghi (Sikh)

Jan. 14

• Makar Sankrant (Hindu)

Jan. 16

• World Religion Day (Baha'i)

Jan. 17

• Blessing of the Animals (Hispanic Catholic Christian)

Jan. 19

• Timkat (Ethiopian Orthodox Christian)

Jan. 19-21

• Mahayana New Year (Buddhist)

Jan. 20

• Tu B'shvat (Jewish)

Jan. 25

• Conversion of Saint Paul (Christian)

FEBRUARY

Feb. 2

• Candlemas (Christian)


• Imbolc - Lughnassad (Wicca/Pagan)

Feb. 3

• Setsubun-sai (Shinto)


• Chinese New Year (Confucian/Taoist/Buddhist)

Feb. 6

• Four Chaplains Sunday (Interfaith)


• Triodion begins (Orthodox Christian)

Feb. 8

• Vasant Panchami (Hindu)

Feb. 14

• Saint Valentine's Day (Christian)

Feb. 15

• Nirvana Day (Buddhism/Jain)


• Mawlid an Nabi - Muhammad's birthday (Islam)

Feb. 18-25

• Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Christian)

Feb. 20

• Mawlid an Nabi - Muhammad's birthday (Shiite Islam)

Feb. 24

• Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Christian)

Feb. 26-March 1

• Ayyám-i-Há - Intercalary Days (Baha'i)

Feb. 27

• Sunday of the Last Judgment (Orthodox Christian)

MARCH

March 1

• Saint David of Wales (Christian)

March 2-20

• Nineteen Day Fast (Baha'i)

March 3

• Maha Shivaratri (Hindu)

March 6

• Cheesefare Sunday (Orthodox Christian)


• Transfiguration Sunday (Christian)

March 7

• Clean Monday - Great Lent begins (Orthodox Christian)

March 8

• Shrove Tuesday (Christian)

March 9

• Ash Wednesday - Lent begins (Christian)

March 13

• Orthodox Sunday (Orthodox Christian)


• Birthday of L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology)

March 17

• St. Patrick's Day (Christian)


• Fast of Esther (Jewish)

March 19

• Magha Puja Day (Buddhist)


• Saint Joseph's Day (Christian)


• Holi (Hindu)

March 20 (Equinox)

• Hola Mohalla (Sikh)


• Holi (Hindu)


• Mabon (Wicca/Pagan southern hemisphere)


• Ostara (Wicca/Pagan northern hemisphere)


• Purim (Jewish)

March 21

• Shushan Purim (Jewish)


• Nowrūz - New Year (Baha'i/Persian/Zoroastrian)

March 25

• Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian)

March 28

• Khordad Sal - Birth of Prophet Zaranhushtra (Zoroastrian)

APRIL

April 4

• Ugadi - New Year (Hindu)

April 5

• Qingming (Chinese traditional)

April 12

• Ram Navami (Hindu)


• Swaminarayan Jayanti (Hindu)

April 14

• Baisakhi (Sikh)

April 16

• Lazarus Saturday (Orthodox Christian)

April 17

• Palm/Passion Sunday (Christian)


• Mahavir Jayanti (Jain)

April 18-21

• Theravadin New Year (Buddhist)


• Hanuman Jayanti (Hindu)

April 18

• Lord's Evening Meal (Jehovah's Witness)


• Hanuman Jayanti (Hindu)

April 19-26

• Pesach (Passover) (Jewish)

April 19-June 7

• Sefirat HaOmer (Jewish)

April 21

• First Day of Ridvan (Baha'i)


• Maundy Thursday (Christian)

April 22

• Good (Holy) Friday (Christian)

April 23

• Black Saturday (Christian)


• St. George Day (Christian)

April 24

• Easter (Christian)

April 29

• Ninth Day of Ridvan (Baha'i)

April 30

• St. James the Great Day (Orthodox Christian)

MAY

May 1

• Yom HaSho'ah (Jewish)


• Beltane - Samhain (Wicca/Pagan)

May 2

• Twelfth Day of Ridvan (Baha'i)

May 5

• National Day of Prayer (Interfaith USA)

May 9

• Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Jewish)

May 17

• Buddha Day - Visakha Puja (Buddhist)

May 22

• Lag B'Omer (Jewish)

May 23

• Declaration of the Bab (Baha'i)

May 29

• Ascension of Baha'u'llah (Baha'i)

JUNE

June 2

Ascension of Jesus (Christian)

June 8-9

• Shavuot (Jewish)

June 9

• Saint Columba of Iona (Celtic Christian)

June 10

• All Saints (Orthodox Christian)

June 12

• Pentecost (Christian)

June 16

• Guru Arjan Dev martyrdom (Sikh)

June 19

• All Saints (Orthodox Christian)


• New Church Day (Swedenborgian Christian)


• Trinity Sunday (Christian)


• Timkat (Ethiopian Orthodox Christian)

June 21 (Solstice)

• First Nations Day (Canadian Native People)


• Litha (Wicca/Pagan northern hemisphere)


• Yule (Wicca/Pagan southern hemisphere)

June 23

• Corpus Christi (Catholic)

June 28

• Lailat al Miraj (Islam)

June 29

• Saints Peter and Paul (Christian)

JULY

July 1

• Sacred Heart of Jesus (Catholic)

July 9

• Martyrdom of the Bab (Baha'i)

July 11

• Saint Benedict Day (Catholic)

July 15

• Lailat al Bara'ah (Islam)


• Asalha Puja Day (Buddhist)


• Saint Vladimir Day (Christian)

July 13-16

• Ulambana - (Japanese Buddhist)

July 19

• Fast of 17th of Tamuz (Jewish)

July 24

• Pioneer Day (Mormon)

July 23

• Birthday of Emperor Haili Selassi I (Rastafari)

July 25

• St. James the Great Day (Christian)

AUGUST

Aug. 1

• Lammas (Christian)


• Fast in honor of Holy Mother of Lord Jesus (Orthodox Christian)


• Ramadan begins (Islam)

Aug. 2

• Lughnassad - Imbolc (Wicca/Pagan)

Aug. 6

• Transfiguration of the Lord (Orthodox Christian)

Aug. 7

• Laylat al Kadr (Islam)

Aug. 9

• Tisha B'Av - begins at sundown Aug. 8 (Jewish)

Aug. 13

• Raksha Bandhan (Hindu)

Aug. 13-15

• Obon (Shinto)

Aug. 15

• Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary (Catholic)


• Dormition of the Theotokos (Orthodox Christian)

Aug. 22

• Janmashtami - Krisha Jayanti (Hindu)

Aug. 26

• Lailat al Kadr (Islam)

Aug. 29

• Beheading of John the Baptist (Christian)

Aug. 31

• Eid al Fitr (Islam)

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 1

• Ganesh Chaturthi (Hindu)


• Ecclesiastical New Year (Orthodox Christian)

Sept. 2-10

• Paryushana Parva (Jain)

Sept. 8

• Nativity of Mary (Christian)

Sept. 14

• Elevation of the Life Giving Cross - Holy Cross Day (Christian)

Sept. 23 (Equinox)

• Mabon (Wicca/Pagan northern hemisphere)


• Ostara (Wicca/Pagan southern hemisphere)

Sept. 27

• Meskel (Ethiopian Orthodox Christian)

Sept. 28-Oct. 5

• Navaratri (Hindu)

Sept. 29-30

• Rosh Hashanah - begins at sundown Sept. 28 (Jewish)

Sept. 29

• Michael and All Angels (Christian)

OCTOBER

Oct. 2

• Fast of Gedaliah (Jewish)

Oct. 4

• St. Francis Day (Catholic)

Oct. 5

• Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Day (Islam)

Oct. 6

• Dasera (Hindu)

Oct. 8

• Yom Kippur - begins at sunset Oct. 7 (Jewish)

Oct. 10

• Thanksgiving - Canada (Interfaith)

Oct. 13-19

• Sukkot (Jewish)

Oct. 19

• Hoshanah Rabah (Jewish)

Oct. 20

• Birth of the Báb (Baha'i)


• Shemini Atzeret - begins sundown Oct. 19 (Jewish)


• Installation of Scriptures as Guru Granth (Sikh)

Oct. 21

• Simhat Torah (Jewish)

Oct. 22

• New Year (Jain)

Oct. 24-28

• Deepavali (Hindu)

Oct. 26

• Diwali (Jain/Hindu/Sikh)

Oct. 28

• Milvian Bridge Day (Christian)

Oct. 30

• Reformation Day (Protestant Christian)

Oct. 31

• All Hallows Eve (Christian)

NOVEMBER

Nov. 1

• All Saints' Day (Christian)


• Samhain - Beltane (Wicca/Pagan)

Nov. 2

• All Souls' Day (Catholic)

Nov. 4-7

• Hajj (Islam)

Nov. 6

• Eid al Adha (Islam)

Nov. 10

• Guru Nanak Dev Sahib birthday (Sikh)

Nov. 12

• Birth of Baha'u'llah (Baha'i)

Nov. 15

• Nativity Fast begins through Dec. 24 (Orthodox Christian)

Nov. 20

• Christ the King (Christian)

Nov. 24

• Thanksgiving (Interfaith)


• Gkuru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom (Sikh)

Nov. 26

• Day of Covenant (Baha'i)


• Al-Hijra - New Year (Islam)

Nov. 27

• First Sunday of Advent (Christian)

Nov. 30

• Saint Andrew's Day (Christian)

DECEMBER

Dec. 5

• Ashura (Islam)

Dec. 6

• Saint Nicholas Day (Christian)

Dec. 8

• Bodhi Day - Rohatsu (Buddhism)


• Immaculate Conception (Catholic)

Dec. 12

• Feast day - Our Lady of Guadalupe (Catholic)

Dec. 16

• Posadas Navidenas (Christian)

Dec. 21-28

• Hanukkah (Jewish)

Dec. 22 solstice

• Yule (Christian)


• Yule (Wicca/Pagan northern hemisphere)


• Litha (Wicca/Pagan southern hemisphere)

Dec. 25

• Christmas (Christian)


• Feast of the Nativity (Orthodox Christian)

Dec. 26

• Zarathosht Diso - Death of Prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroastrian)


• Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr (Christian)

Dec. 28

• Holy Innocents (Christian)

Dec. 30

• Feast of the Holy Family (Catholic Christian)

Dec. 31

• Watch Night (Christian)

Comments

[bbertaud]

12:29 AM on 02/05/2011

Festivus is missing....

[Slacktoo]

01:56 AM on 01/07/2011

"Yule (Christian)"

Huh??

[ManuOB1]

10:51 AM on 01/04/2011

Oh dear. The Week for Christian Unity is Jan. 18-25, not Feb. 18-25 as posted here. Either this is a typo or Christians are even more divided than we realize.

[Expatmom]

11:15 AM on 01/03/2011

New Orleans--Tuesday, March 8th--MARDI GRAS!!! Be there!

[LiberalMormon]

11:09 PM on 01/02/2011

Pioneer Day is not a religious hoilday for Mormons in the sense that most of these are religious holidays. It marks the day that the first main party of Mormon pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley. It is more like "founders day" in other communities, excpet that these founders were religious pioneers/refugees, so there is an inherent religious flavor. There are public rememberances, parades, etc., especially in the western US, but no special religious services or anything like that. Outside of Utah or maybe a few other western states, it probably goes unobserved by many if not most Mormons.

[Murphdogg]

04:35 PM on 01/03/2011

Thanks. As a non-LDS Utah resident (recent transplant), I was wondering. Didn't really seem to match my observations.

[TOS100]

11:25 AM on 01/02/2011

Superstition has a schedule. For most it's:

Easter: Go to church.

Christimas: Go to church.

All the other days: Say you believe in the bible, but never make time to read it.

[Indigo River]

11:08 PM on 01/02/2011

Ignorance and apathy finally have a face.

[logicanada]

11:07 PM on 01/01/2011

My religious calendar for 2011 is,

is,

is,

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. . . ..

[Pdubya]

10:54 PM on 01/01/2011

life is a series of "nows". every day is a holiday.

[Hirnlego]

04:40 PM on 01/01/2011

2011: -

(fantastic)

[WSAY]

04:00 PM on 01/01/2011

January 1 - Take some time to actually think about what religion means and start to realize that it is a superstition of days gone by.

January 15 - Buy yourself I copy of “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins. Now read it.

February 15 - Buy a copy of "Letting Go of God." It is an audio CD, so this is easy. Listen to it. (There is also a DVD version.)

February 17 - Walk away from that silly superstition that you have come to believe only because your parents believe it or because of where you were born. Start to realize that if you were born in the Middle East, you would be Muslim today. If you were born in Ireland you would probably be Catholic. If you were born in Israel, you would probably be Jewish. Start to realize that that what you believe to be the absolute truth is nothing more than inculcation and propaganda. Walk away from the myth and stop wasting what little life you still have in front of you.

[mcmutter]

12:52 PM on 01/02/2011

Religion has always been the opiate of the masses, a way to control people ....

read "The Bad Popes" .... Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Popes-Sutton-History-Classics/dp/0750933372/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293990686&sr=8-1

[LintLass]

07:45 PM on 01/02/2011

You know, you didn't start out that way, but you New Atheists really are starting to sound just like missionaries of certain religions. :)

[ManuOB1]

10:56 AM on 01/04/2011

I agree. Two groups who are absolutely convinced in their own opinion and hold everyone else's in contempt: evangelical Christians and New Atheists.

[Wendy1844]

01:19 PM on 01/01/2011

Thanks for including almost all the Baha'i holy days. There's just one not on the list: The Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, November 28.

[CognitoErgoSum]

01:14 AM on 01/01/2011

If anyone wants a particular holiday greeting, they should wear a button specifying what greeting they would like. It would save retail emplyees and other customer service people a lot of liability.

[onionman]

09:19 PM on 12/31/2010

October 9th- John Lennon's birthday for those of us who want to imagine a better world.

[inthedesert]

07:21 PM on 12/31/2010

OMG...when will I have to move my bowels? I just finished reading The Evolution of God by Robin Wright. Wow..what an eye-opener...and a mind expander. I highly recommend it.

[CupOJoe]

04:36 PM on 12/31/2010

In the spirit of Festivus, let me say how disappointed I am in this list, and in all the authors have done over the course of the year. Frankly, the lot of you couldn't put two coherent sentences together if your lives depended on it.

Now one of you has to come to my place and defeat me in a Feat of Strength.