WESLEYAN MULTIFAITH CALENDAR

From the Wesleyan Office of Religious and Spiritual Life

The list that follows is not exhaustive. It includes the more notable festivals and holy days that may require appropriate accommodations for students although not all religious traditions below are represented in the Wesleyan community. (If this calendar does not include a significant date of your religious tradition, please let the chaplains at ORSL know.) Every effort has been made to ensure that this information is accurate. Note that some holidays in some traditions are tied to the lunar calendar or to particular cultural patterns that vary by region which make their location in the calendar somewhat more fluid. Dates marked with a double asterisk (**) denote occasions on which the precept of a particular tradition and the practice of nearly all its adherents, includes significant restrictions on academic activity.

We have also included information regarding food and religious observance so that faculty can better understand the diverse needs of the Wesleyan student community.

Islamic Holidays: Regional customs or moon sightings may cause a variation of the date for Islamic holidays, which begin at sundown the day before the date specified for the holiday. The Islamic calendar is lunar and the days begin at sunset, so there may be one-day error depending on when the New Moon is first seen.

Jewish Holidays: Begin at sundown on date listed below, and end aprox. 50 minutes after sunset on the last day of the holiday listed below

For holidays associated with Christianity, the following notations are used to denote observance by particular strands of the Christian tradition: RC-Roman Catholic P-Protestant O-Orthodox

Please visit this link for more religious holidays.
INTERFAITH CALENDAR: Primary sacred times for world religions

2019	DAYS	HOLIDAY	RELIGION
Aug. 10 Aug. 11	Sundown-Sunday Sundown-Monday	*Eid al-Adha (date can vary by a day) Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, and activities on the first day. If planning an evening event, provide food accommodations if requested (Islamic dietary restrictions apply).	Islam
Aug. 10 Aug. 11	Sundown-Sunday Sundown-Monday	*Tisha B’ Av Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on this date. Jewish students may be fasting all day.	Judaism
Aug. 24	Saturday	*Sri Krishna Jayanti (date may vary) Recommended Accommodations*: Avoid scheduling major academic deadlines on this day, since it is likely that Hindu students will be operating on very little sleep.	Hinduism
Sep. 29 Oct. 1	Sundown-Sunday Sundown-Tuesday	*Rosh Hashanah (first 2 days) Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on this date. Students may be observing at home with their families, or on campus. Many students do not write or use technology on these days.	Judaism
Oct. 8 Oct. 9	Sundown-Tuesday Sundown-Wednesday	*Yom Kippur Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on this date. Jewish students may be fasting all day. Students may be observing at home with their families, or on campus. Many students do not write or use technology on these days.	Judaism
Oct. 13 Oct. 15	Sundown-Sunday Sundown-Tuesday	*Sukkot (1st 2 days) Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on the first two days.	Judaism
Oct. 20 Oct. 22	Sundown-Sunday Sundown-Tuesday	Shemini Atzeret Simchat Torah Recommended Accommodations: Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on this date.	Judaism
Oct. 27	Sunday	Diwali (Deepavali) Religious Accommodation: Religious accommodations may be requested.	Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism
Oct. 27	Sunday	Mahavira-Jayanti Religious accommodation may be requested.	Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism
Nov. 8 Nov. 9	Sundown-Friday Sundown-Saturday	Mawlid al-Nabi (dates can vary by a day) Muslim students may be fasting.	Islam
Dec. 22 Dec. 30	Sundown-Monday Sundown-Monday	Hanukkah Recommended Accommodations: Academics and work permitted.	Judaism
Dec. 24 Dec. 25	Tuesday Wednesday	*Christmas Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on this date.	Christianity (RC, P)
Dec. 26 Jan. 1	Thursday Wednesday	Kwanzaa	African American
2020	DAYS	HOLIDAY	RELIGION
Jan. 7	Tuesday	Feast of the Nativity (Christmas)	Orthodox Christian
Feb. 26	Wednesday	Ash Wednesday, Lent begins For Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent. Meat (fish not considered meat) is prohibited on Fridays during Lent. If planning an event please provide food accommodations if requested by the student(s).	Christianity (RC, P)
Mar. 2	Monday	Great Lent begins-Clean Monday	Orthodox Christian
Mar. 9 Mar. 10	Sundown-Monday Sundown-Tuesday	Purim Recommended Accommodations: Purim is not subject to the restrictions on work that affect some other holidays	Judaism
Apr. 8-10 Apr. 15-16	Sundown-Wednesday Sundown-Thursday	*Pesach (first two and last two days) Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, and activities on the first two and last two days of the holiday. Some students will only be eating food that is specifically kosher for Passover. If planning an event please provide food accommodations if requested by the student(s).	Judaism
Apr. 10	Friday	**Good Friday Recommended Accommodations: Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, and activities. Provide food accommodation if requested by student (s). Meat (fish not considered meat) is prohibited on Good Friday.	Christianity (RC, P)
Apr. 12	Sunday	**Easter Sunday (Holy Day of Obligation) Recommended Accommodations: Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, and activities.	Christianity (RC, P)
Apr. 12	Sunday	**Palm Sunday Recommended Accommodations: Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events and activities.	Orthodox Christian
Apr. 17	Friday	*Holy Friday Recommended Accommodations:* Great Friday is a strict day of fasting for many Greek Orthodox Christians in the United States.	Orthodox Christian
Apr. 19	Sunday	*Easter/Pascha Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events and activities.	Orthodox Christian
Apr. 23– May 24	Sundown-Thursday Sundown-Friday	*Ramadan begins Recommended Accommodations:* Be aware of students fasting from sun up to sun down. Iftar (breaking of the fast) is always in the evenings. Please avoid scheduling important academic or event deadlines so that students can break their fast and eat. If planning an event please provide food accommodations if requested by the student(s). (In scheduling final exams, the registrar and accessibility offices are exploring a daily proctored 8 am alternative time slot for students who are fasting.)	Islam
May 23 May 24	Sundown-Saturday Sundown-Sunday	*Eid al-Fitr (date can vary by a day) Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic or event deadlines. If planning an event please provide food accommodations if requested by the student(s).	Islam
May 28 May 30	Sundown-Thursday Sundown-Saturday	*Shavuot Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, and activities on the first two and last two days of the holiday.	Judaism
July 29 July 30	Sundown-Wednesday Sundown-Thursday	*Tisha B’ Av Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on this date. Jewish students may be fasting all day.	Judaism
July 30 July 31	Sundown-Thursday Sundown-Friday	*Eid al-Adha (date can vary by a day) Recommended Accommodations:* Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on this date.	Islam