Rosh Hashanah

• 2022: September 15th – 17th
• What is it: Jewish New Year (10 Days of Penitence – but first 2 days are observed as full holidays)
  • Concludes with Yom Kippur
• Traditions:
  • Day long services in synagogue to pray and personally reflect
  • Eating apples dipped in honey to evoke a sweet new year
  • Wine (Manischewitz – kosher certified) and pomegranates (righteousness) also symbolic
  • Blowing Shofar (ram’s horn) on both mornings of the holiday

Yom Kippur

• 2022: SEptember 24th – 25th
• What is it: Holiest day of year 
• A solemn day of atonement and repentance (has special power to cleanse our mistakes & wipe the slate clean)
• Traditions:
  • Fasting, praying, refraining from work & pleasure
  • Teshuva: theme of the week -> “to return” aka repentance
    • 4 steps: regret, cessation, confession, resolution 
  • 5 prayers in one day (Maariv, Shacharit, Mussaf, Mincha, and Neilah)

Hanukkah

• 2022: December 7th-15th
  • Observed for 8 days & nights
  • What is it: Festival of Light that celebrates recovery of Judaism 
  • Time to appreciate all we have to be thankful for

• Traditions:
  • Lighting menorah (nine-branched candelabrum with 8 candles & shamash -> helper candle)
  • Represents an eternal flame and each candle is lit at each nightfall
  • Singing many special, religious songs
    • Maoz Tzur (sung after lighting the candles, S’vivon sov sov sov, etc.)

Easter

• 2023: March 31st
• • Starts with Holy Week on Palm Sunday 
  • Spy Wednesday is when Jesus was betrayed 
• What is it: celebrates resurrection of Jesus from the dead 
• Traditions: church celebrations, gift giving, egg hunt 
  • Late night vigils 

Christmas

• 2023: December 25th (eve is the 24th)
• • **January 7th for some eastern orthodox 
• What is it: celebrating the birth of christ 
  • Arguably most observed holiday in western world 
    • All retail closes (most hospitality)
• Traditions: celebrations with family, gift giving, festivals, decorating, caroling, church services 

Vaisakhi

• 2023: April 13th
• What is it: Festival that celebrates the founding of the Sikh community
  • Celebrated by much of India, most prevalent in northern india 
  • Observed by some Hindus 
• Traditions: harvest festival, generally uplifting & celebratory 
• Religious gatherings, processions 

Holi

• 2023: March 25th
• What is it: Ancient festival of colors that celebrates the arrival of spring
  • Also celebrated by some Sikhs & Jains 
• Traditions: celebrated by dancing, greetings
  • Throwing of colored powder (gulal) 

Diwali

• 2022: Begins November 12th 
• What is it: Five day festival of lights that celebrates victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance 
  • Associated w/ lakshmi goddess of prosperity 
• Traditions: Celebrated by worship & prayer, exchanging gifts & hosting feasts 
  • Fireworks and festivities are an essential part of the occasion
  • Houses & shops decorated with small oil lamps called diyas

Ramadan

• 2023: March 10th – April 9th
  • Last 29-30 days. End of Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the next crescent moon.
• What is it: Holy month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community
• Traditions: 
  • Fasting for those able (not elderly or young) 
  • Regarded as mandatory for practicing muslims
    • Intense study of the Quran

Eid Al-Fitr

• 2023: April 10th
• What is it: “The Festival of the Breaking of the Feast” – marks the end of Ramadan
• Traditions:
  • Fitr celebrates end of fast with large meals and charity 
  • Parades, processions and outdoor celebrations
  • Greeting others with “Eid Mubarak” or “Blessed Eid”

Eid Al-Adha

• 2022: June 16th – 19th
  • Determined by the sighting of the next crescent moon
• What is it: “The Feast of Sacrifice” – the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, Ismail as ordered by Allah
• Traditions: 
  • Starts with symbolic sacrifice of an animal (divided into threes to be shared equally among family, friends and the need
  • Followed by a large festive meal, exchanging of gifts, and donating of feast
  • Devout practitioners pilgrim to mecca

Kwanzaa

• 2022: December 26th-January 1st
• What is it?: a pan-African holiday that celebrates African family community and culture
  • Seven day celebration of traditional festivals
• Traditions:
• • • • Celebrate with feasts (karamu), music, dance, arts, etc
      • End the week with a big celebration dedicated to the reflection and recommitment to the Nguzo Saba (The 7 principles)

Lunar New Year

• 2023: February 10th
  • Lasts up to 2 weeks 
• What is it: Festival that begins with the first new moon of the new lunar calendar
  • Observed by many east & south east asian cultures
  • Superstitious and family oriented 
• Traditions:
  • “Sweeping of the Grounds”: thoroughly cleaning your houses to remove bad luck
  • Celebrating with traditional dances and fireworks (culminates in the Lantern Festival on the last day)
  • Eating traditional foods like yuanxiao (sticky rice balls that symbolize family unity), fagao (prosperity cake), and yusheng (raw fish and vegetable salad) handing out red envelopes 

Black History Month

• When: February
• What is it?:  A  month to celebrate the contributions of Black Canadians and their communities who, throughout history, have done so much to make Canada a culturally diverse, compassionate, and prosperous country.
  • Opportunity to understand histories and give visibility to the people and organizations creating change.

National Day for Truth & Reconciliation

• When 2023 : Sept 30th
• What is it?: A Day for Canada to recognize the atrocities of treatment of indigenous youth in residential schools 
  • An official statutory holiday (very new)
  • A day of reflection and learning
  • Commemorated through the wearing of orange shirts and many local events

Asian Heritage Month

• When: May
• What is it?: A time to celebrate the achievements, contribution, and history of those of Asian heritage to Canada
  • A month of learning and awareness

National Indigenous History Month

• When: June
• What is it?: A time to celebrate history and contribution of indigenous people to Canada 
  • Recognize spirit of pride and preservation 
  • Serves as means to educate masses

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

• When: December 3rd, 2022
• What is it?: Observance promoted by the UN to highlight rights and well-being of persons with disabilities at every level of society
  • Day to raise awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of political, social, economic, and cultural life.

Pride Month

• When: June
• What is it?: A month that celebrates strength, self determination of LGBT2SQ+
  • Serves to bolster awareness, as opposed to discussing differences and stigma 
  • Pride parade is large parade to celebrate empowerment 
  • Many companies may create rainbow theme/coloured products (BUT many of been criticized for doing little to help the cause and only profit, others use it as platform to voice concern)
• Manitoba Rainbow Directory: check out some local MB businesses!

Women’s History Month

• When is it?: October
• What is it?: A time to celebrate history and contribution of women who made a lasting impact to Canada
  • A month of learning and reflection

International Transgender Day of Visibility

• When is it? March 31, 2023
• What is it?: A day dedicated to celebrating transgender people and their contributions to Canadian society
  • Brings awareness to the people facing discrimination worldwide

Red Dress Day

• When is it?: May 5, 2024
• What is it?: Red Dress Day is the national day in Canada of awareness for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people (MMIWG2S). As a direct result of colonization, we still face the ongoing crisis of violence and missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada.

National Indigenous Peoples Day

• When is it?: June 21, 2024
• What is it?: National Indigenous Peoples Day is recognized as a holiday at the national level in Canada. It is a day representing the cultures, history, and resilience of the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples in Canada.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

• When is it?: September 30, 2024
• What is it?: The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or commonly known as Orange Shirt Day, is a day to honor and recognize the children that never returned home and the survivors of the residential school system. This is a day to commemorate the history of the residential school system, and recognize the truths and harms of the past. This also serves as a day to shed light on reconciliation and how we can take action to correct the wrongdoings of the past.

Louis Riel Day

• When is it?: February 17, 2025
• What is it?: Louis Riel Day is a day to honor a prominent political Metis leader of the past, and founder of the province of Manitoba. This day serves to honor Riel’s legacy, and to celebrate Metis culture and traditions.

Ribbon Skirt Day

• When is it?: January 4, 2025
• What is it?: Ribbon Skirt Day is a relatively newly recognized holiday in Canada which occurs on January 4th each and every year. First occurring in 2023. The Ribbon Skirt is an Indigenous spiritual symbol for womanhood and the connection to Mother Earth. Ribbon skirts used to only be worn for ceremonies, but there is growing popularity amongst the Indigenous population to wear the ribbon skirt in day-to-day activity. National Ribbon Skirt Day came about after an Indigenous girl in Saskatchewan was shamed for wearing her handmade ribbon skirt to elementary school.