JANUARYPoverty in America Awareness Month
1Global Family Day/World Peace Day
4World Braille Day
18-22NO NAME-CALLING WEEK Annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling and bullying of all kinds. 
20Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
23World Freedom Day
25Chinese New Year
26International Customs Day
27International Holocaust Remembrance Day
FEBRUARYBlack History Month
1NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY Commemorates the signing of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in 1865. 
12LUNAR 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. 
15Nirvana Day
20World Day of Social Justice
25Mardi Gras
26Ash Wednesday
MARCHDevelopmental 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
8International Women’s Day
8United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace
9–10Purim
11World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film
14Pi Day
16St. Urho day
17St. Patrick’s Day
20VERNAL 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.
21International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
21World Down Syndrome Day
21Naw-Ruz (Baha’i New Year)
25International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
31Equal Pay Day, CESAR CHAVEZ DAY honors the Mexican American farm worker and celebrates the contributions of labor leader and activist Cesar Chavez.
APRILCommunity Service Month
Earth Month
Autism Awareness Month
Arab-American Heritage Month
Tartan (Scottish-American) Heritage Month
Celebrate Diversity Month
2World Autism Awareness Day
7International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda
8–16Passover
11National Day of Silence
13Ramadan Starts
15Youth Homelessness Matters Day
20Festival of Ridvan
20–21Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah)
22Earth Day
23Gathering of Nations
24ARMENIAN MARTYRS’ DAY Memorializes the genocide of approximately 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 in Turkey.
MAYNational 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
1INTERNATIONAL 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
3WORLD 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.
5Cinco de Mayo
8Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for those who Lost their Lives during WWII
13Eid al-Fitr is the “Festival of Breaking the Fast” and is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marking the end of Ramadan. 
21World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
22International Day for Biological Diversity
24Ramadan Begins
JUNENational Caribbean American Heritage Month
AIDS Awareness Month
LGBT Pride Month
Black Music Month
5WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY (WED) The United Nations’ most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.
8Race Unity Day
12Loving 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. 
19Juneteenth
20WORLD 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.
26ANNIVERSARY 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.
JULYFrench-American Heritage Month
4Filipino-American Friendship Day
11World Population Day
26Americans with Disabilities Act Signed “Disability Independence Day”
AUGUSTNational Civility Month
9International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
12INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY Celebrates young people and the integral role they play in helping to create a world fit for children.
19World Humanitarian Day
21SENIOR CITIZEN DAY Recognizes the many contributions older adults make in communities across the United States.
23International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
26Women’s Equality Day
SEPTEMBERHispanic Heritage Month
National Guide Dog Month
5INTERNATIONAL 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.
7Labor Day
8INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY Call to action for universal literacy.
12National Native American Day
15International Day of Democracy
16Mexican Independence Day
18–20Rosh Hashanah
21International Day of Peace
22AUTUMNAL 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.
27–28Yom Kippur
OCTOBERBullying 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
2International Day of Non-Violence
5WORLD TEACHER’S DAY Held annually to commemorate teacher organizations worldwide
6German American Heritage Day
10World Mental Health Day
11Indigenous Peoples Day; Día de la Raza
16Spirit Day–Anti Bullying
17International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
19World Humanitarian Action Day
22International Stuttering Awareness Day
31Halloween
31Day of the Dead
NOVEMBERNational American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month
4DIWALI • Hindu Also called Deepavali, “Festival of Lights”, it celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. 
11Veterans Day/Armistice Day
13World Kindness Day
15-19AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK Celebrates public education and honorsindividuals who are making a difference in ensuring every child in the U. S. receives a quality education.
16International Day for Tolerance
17International Students’ Day
20Transgender Day of Remembrance
DECEMBERUniversal Human Rights Month
1World AIDS Day
3International Day for People with Disabilities
10International Human Rights Day
10–18Hanukkah
20International Human Solidarity Day
21WINTER 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. 
25Christmas
26–1Kwanzaa
29WOUNDED KNEE DAY On December 29, 1890 more than 200 Lakota Sioux were massacred by U.S. troops at Wounded Knee in South Dakota.