Beginning
two years ago, I have posted
overviews of many of the religious observances for Bahai'ism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, neo-Paganism, Sikhism and Wicca.
As September approaches again, we are now coming upon the start of the cycle of
holidays once more. For many of these holidays (those from religions that
follow calendars that differ from the Gregorian calendar), the dates in
the secular year will differ but the main content of the posts should
not.
To
that end, I would like to give the dates for the holidays in the next
few months paralleling the Fall semester in most US universities (I am, after
all, a professor in the United States).
I have noted only holidays to which I have already written a post. These are those holidays that I would argue are the most important holidays within their religion. Admittedly, there are others which may be of strong importance to those who observe them. Thus, I was unsure whether to include the Christian holiday of Advent Sunday on December 1 (let me know if you think I should write up a blog post for this or others like it if they are important to your own religious practice).
Similarly, I have left out some holidays that are regionally of importance within a religion but not of such significance beyond the regional context.. For example, I have left out the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12) which is primarily observed among Mexican Catholics. Likewise excluded is Onam (this year on September 16) which is primarily observed among Hindus from Kerala state in India.
I have noted only holidays to which I have already written a post. These are those holidays that I would argue are the most important holidays within their religion. Admittedly, there are others which may be of strong importance to those who observe them. Thus, I was unsure whether to include the Christian holiday of Advent Sunday on December 1 (let me know if you think I should write up a blog post for this or others like it if they are important to your own religious practice).
Similarly, I have left out some holidays that are regionally of importance within a religion but not of such significance beyond the regional context.. For example, I have left out the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12) which is primarily observed among Mexican Catholics. Likewise excluded is Onam (this year on September 16) which is primarily observed among Hindus from Kerala state in India.
FALL 2013 RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
The list below gives the date for 2013, the name of the holiday, the main religion observing the holiday and the previous David Victor Vector post on that holiday.
September 4 sunset through September 6 sunset
Rosh HaShanah
Judaism
September 13 sunset through September 14 sunset
Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement
September 18 sunset through September 25 sunset
Sukkot/Festival of Booths/Festival of Tabernacles
Judaism
September 22
Autumnal Equinox/Mabon
Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Neo-Druidism
September 26 sunset through September 27 sunset
Shemini Atzeret
JudaismSeptember 27 sunset through September 28 sunset
Simchat Torah
Judaism
October 9-13
Durga Puja
Hinduism
October 14 sunset through October 15 sunset (depending on the sighting of the moon)
Eid al-Adha/Festival of the Sacrifice
Islam
October 20
Birth of the Bab
Bahai’ism
October 31 sunset through November 1 Samhain
Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Neo-Druidism
November 1
All Saints Day
Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2011/10/samhain-all-saints-day-dia-de-los.htmlNovember 1
Reformation Day
Lutheranism, some Protestant sects
November 2
All Souls Day/Día de los Muertos
Roman Catholicismhttp://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2011/10/samhain-all-saints-day-dia-de-los.html
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2011/10/divali.html
November 12
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2011/11/birthday-of-bahaullah.html
November 12
Birthday of Bahá'u'lláh
Bahai'ismNovember 13 sunset through November 14 sunset (depending on the sighting of the moon)
Ashura
Islam, especially Shi’ahttp://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/11/ashura-2012.html
December 8
Bodhi Day
BuddhismDecember 21Yule
Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Neo-Druidism
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/12/yule.html
December 25Christmas
Western Christian faiths (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism)
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-day.html
A FEW CLOSING REMARKS
Before I go on, I should note that all holidays in Islam begin with the actual sighting of the moon. Therefore, the dates given for Eid al-Adha and Ashura are the likely dates for the holiday depending on the sighting conditions. Some debate exists regarding where the moon sighting should occur (e.g., locally or in Mecca). This may also cause observance to fall on a day before or after that indicated in this list. The date given here does not intend to suggest that one or the other interpretation is correct; this date is merely intended to be information for the date most widely observed in North America.
In all likelihood, I have overlooked a holiday or observance. Please feel free to share this with me.
While the links to many of the holidays above were posted in earlier years, they are regularly updated as the holiday approaches for this year. The dates in this post are (to the best of my knowledge) correct for 2013.
Finally, I would like to ask you to spread the word about this blog. If you are not formally a follower, please do add your name to the list through your Google, Twitter, AIM, Netlog or Yahoo account at
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Thanks so much!
