JANUARY | Poverty in America Awareness Month |
1 | Global Family Day/World Peace Day |
4 | World Braille Day |
18-22 | NO NAME-CALLING WEEK Annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling and bullying of all kinds. |
20 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
23 | World Freedom Day |
25 | Chinese New Year |
26 | International Customs Day |
27 | International Holocaust Remembrance Day |
FEBRUARY | Black History Month |
1 | NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY Commemorates the signing of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in 1865. |
12 | LUNAR NEW YEAR • Confucian, Daoist and Buddhist Also known as the Spring Festival, an important festival celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. |
15 | Nirvana Day |
20 | World Day of Social Justice |
25 | Mardi Gras |
26 | Ash Wednesday |
MARCH | Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month |
Greek-American Heritage Month | |
Gender Equality Month | |
Irish-American Heritage Month | |
Ethnic Equality Month | |
National Women’s History Month | |
National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month | |
8 | International Women’s Day |
8 | United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace |
9–10 | Purim |
11 | World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film |
14 | Pi Day |
16 | St. Urho day |
17 | St. Patrick’s Day |
20 | VERNAL EQUINOX Marks the first day of the season of spring. The sun shines nearly equally on both hemispheres when it’s spring in the Northern Hemisphere and simultaneously fall in the Southern Hemisphere. |
21 | International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination |
21 | World Down Syndrome Day |
21 | Naw-Ruz (Baha’i New Year) |
25 | International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade |
31 | Equal Pay Day, CESAR CHAVEZ DAY honors the Mexican American farm worker and celebrates the contributions of labor leader and activist Cesar Chavez. |
APRIL | Community Service Month |
Earth Month | |
Autism Awareness Month | |
Arab-American Heritage Month | |
Tartan (Scottish-American) Heritage Month | |
Celebrate Diversity Month | |
2 | World Autism Awareness Day |
7 | International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda |
8–16 | Passover |
11 | National Day of Silence |
13 | Ramadan Starts |
15 | Youth Homelessness Matters Day |
20 | Festival of Ridvan |
20–21 | Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) |
22 | Earth Day |
23 | Gathering of Nations |
24 | ARMENIAN MARTYRS’ DAY Memorializes the genocide of approximately 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 in Turkey. |
MAY | National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month |
Haitian Heritage Month | |
Indian Heritage Month | |
Jewish-American Heritage Month | |
Mental Health Month | |
South Asian Heritage Month | |
Personal History Awareness Month | |
Speech and Hearing Awareness Month | |
Older Americans Month | |
1 | INTERNATIONAL WORKER’S DAY Also known as May Day, it celebrates the social and economic achievements of workers worldwide. The day commemorates the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago |
3 | WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY Serves as an occasion to inform the public of violations of the right to freedom of expression and as a reminder that many journalists brave death or jail to bring people their daily news. |
5 | Cinco de Mayo |
8 | Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for those who Lost their Lives during WWII |
13 | Eid al-Fitr is the “Festival of Breaking the Fast” and is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marking the end of Ramadan. |
21 | World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development |
22 | International Day for Biological Diversity |
24 | Ramadan Begins |
JUNE | National Caribbean American Heritage Month |
AIDS Awareness Month | |
LGBT Pride Month | |
Black Music Month | |
5 | WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY (WED) The United Nations’ most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. |
8 | Race Unity Day |
12 | Loving Day: Observes the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia which struck down the miscegenation laws remaining in 16 states barring interracial marriage. |
19 | Juneteenth |
20 | WORLD REFUGEE DAY raises awareness about the plight of refugeesSUMMER SOLSTICE Marks the first day of the season of summer. The length of time between sunrise and sunset is the longest of the year with the sun shining the farthest from the Southern Hemisphere and the closest to the Northern Hemisphere. |
26 | ANNIVERSARY OF LEGALIZATION OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN THE U.S. On June 26, 2015, in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples. |
JULY | French-American Heritage Month |
4 | Filipino-American Friendship Day |
11 | World Population Day |
26 | Americans with Disabilities Act Signed “Disability Independence Day” |
AUGUST | National Civility Month |
9 | International Day of the World’s Indigenous People |
12 | INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY Celebrates young people and the integral role they play in helping to create a world fit for children. |
19 | World Humanitarian Day |
21 | SENIOR CITIZEN DAY Recognizes the many contributions older adults make in communities across the United States. |
23 | International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition |
26 | Women’s Equality Day |
SEPTEMBER | Hispanic Heritage Month |
National Guide Dog Month | |
5 | INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CHARITY Recognizes the role of charity in alleviating human suffering, as well as of the efforts of charitable organizations and individuals, including the work of Mother Teresa. |
7 | Labor Day |
8 | INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY Call to action for universal literacy. |
12 | National Native American Day |
15 | International Day of Democracy |
16 | Mexican Independence Day |
18–20 | Rosh Hashanah |
21 | International Day of Peace |
22 | AUTUMNAL EQUINOX Marks the first day of the season of fall. The sun shines nearly equally on both hemispheres when it’s fall in the Northern Hemisphere and simultaneously spring in the Southern Hemisphere. |
27–28 | Yom Kippur |
OCTOBER | Bullying Prevention Month |
Domestic Violence Awareness Month | |
Down Syndrome Awareness Month | |
Family History Month | |
Filipino-American Heritage Month | |
Italian-American Heritage Month | |
LGBT History Month | |
National Disability Employment Awareness Month | |
National German Heritage Month | |
Global Diversity Awareness Month | |
Polish-American Heritage Month | |
2 | International Day of Non-Violence |
5 | WORLD TEACHER’S DAY Held annually to commemorate teacher organizations worldwide |
6 | German American Heritage Day |
10 | World Mental Health Day |
11 | Indigenous Peoples Day; Día de la Raza |
16 | Spirit Day–Anti Bullying |
17 | International Day for the Eradication of Poverty |
19 | World Humanitarian Action Day |
22 | International Stuttering Awareness Day |
31 | Halloween |
31 | Day of the Dead |
NOVEMBER | National American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month |
4 | DIWALI • Hindu Also called Deepavali, “Festival of Lights”, it celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. |
11 | Veterans Day/Armistice Day |
13 | World Kindness Day |
15-19 | AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK Celebrates public education and honorsindividuals who are making a difference in ensuring every child in the U. S. receives a quality education. |
16 | International Day for Tolerance |
17 | International Students’ Day |
20 | Transgender Day of Remembrance |
DECEMBER | Universal Human Rights Month |
1 | World AIDS Day |
3 | International Day for People with Disabilities |
10 | International Human Rights Day |
10–18 | Hanukkah |
20 | International Human Solidarity Day |
21 | WINTER SOLSTICE Marks the first day of the season of winter. The length of time between sunrise and sunset is the shortest of the year with the sun shining closest to the Southern Hemisphere and the farthest from the Northern Hemisphere. |
25 | Christmas |
26–1 | Kwanzaa |
29 | WOUNDED KNEE DAY On December 29, 1890 more than 200 Lakota Sioux were massacred by U.S. troops at Wounded Knee in South Dakota. |
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