Calendar of Religious Holidays at Colby
The list that follows is not exhaustive; it includes major festivals and holy days for many, though by no means all, religious traditions present in the Colby community. (If it does not include an important date in the religious calendar of your particular tradition, please let us know.)Every effort has been made to insure 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 or by sect, 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.
A note on 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.
Notations for Christian holidays
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| DATES | DAYS | HOLIDAY | RELIGION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/11/2020 - 8/12/2020 | Sundown-Tuesday Sundown-Wednesday | Sri Krishna Jayanti | Hinduism |
| 9/18/2020 - 9/20/2020 | Sundown-Fri Sundown-Sun | Rosh Hashanah (first 2 days) | Judaism |
| 9/20/2020 - 9/21/2020 | Sun Mon | Paryushana-Parva | Jainism |
| 9/27/2020 - 9/28/2020 | Sundown-Sun Sundown-Mon | Yom Kippur | Judaism |
| 10/2/2020 - 10/4/2020 | Sundown-Fri Sundown-Sun | Sukkot (1st 2 days) | Judaism |
| 10/9/2020 - 10/11/2020 | Sundown-Fri Sundown-Sun | Shemini Atzeret Simchat Torah | Judaism |
| 10/17/2020 - 10/26/2020 | Sundown-Sat Sundown-Mon | Navaratri | Hinduism |
| 10/19/2020 - 10/20/2020 | Sundown-Mon Sundown-Tue | Birth of the Báb | Bahá’í |
| 10/28/2020 - 10/29/2020 | Sundown-Wed Sundown-Thu | Mawlid al-Nabi (dates can vary by a day) | Islam |
| 11/11/2020 - 11/12/2020 | Sundown-Wed Sundown-Thu | Birth of Bahá’u’lláh | Bahá’í |
| 11/14/2020 | Sat | Diwali (Deepavali) | Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism |
| 11/30/20 | Monday | Guru Nanak Jayanti | Sikh |
| 12/10/2020 - 12/18/2020 | Sundown-Thu Sundown-Fri | Hanukkah/Chanukah | Judaism |
| 12/24/2020 - 12/25/2020 | Thu Fri | Christmas | Christianity (RC, P, O) |
| 12/26/2020 - 1/1/2021 | Sat Fri | Kwanzaa | African American |
| 1/1/2021 | Fri | Gantan-sai | Shinto |
| 1/7/2021 | Thursday | Feast of the Nativity (Christmas) | Orthodox Christian |
| 2/12/2021 | Friday | Chinese New Year | Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist |
| 2/17/2021 | Wednesday | Ash Wednesday, Lent begins | Christianity (RC, P) |
| 2/25/2021 - 2/26/2021 | Sundown-Thu Sundown-Fri | Purim | Judaism |
| 3/1/2021 - 2/20/2021 | Sunday Friday | Alá’ (Loftiness) 19-day fast, sunrise to sunset each day. | Bahá’í |
| 3/15/2021 | Mon | Great Lent begins-Clean Monday | Orthodox Christian |
| 3/27/2021 - 3/29/2021 4/2/2021 - 4/4/2021 | Sundown-Sat Sundown-Mon | Pesach/Passover (first two and last two days) | Judaism |
| 3/28/2021 - 3/29/2021 | Sundown-Sun Sundown-Mon | Holi – Festival of Colors (date may vary) | Hinduism |
| 3/28/2021 | Sunday | Palm Sunday | Christianity (RC, P, Eastern Orthodox) |
| 4/2/2021 | Friday | Good Friday | Christianity (RC, P) |
| 4/4/2021 | Sunday | Easter | Christianity (RC, P) |
| 4/6/2021 | Tue | Mahavira-Jayanti | Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism |
| 4/8/2021 - 4/9/2021 | Sundown-Thu Sundown-Fri | Yom HaSho’ah | Judaism |
| 4/12/2021 - 5/11/2021 | Sundown-Mon Sundown-Tue | Ramadan (date can vary by a day) | Islam |
| 4/20/2021 - 4/21/2021 | Sundown-Tue Sundown-Wed | Ridván (1st day) of Most Great Festival | Baha’is |
| 4/28/2021 - 4/29/2021 | Sundown-Wed Sundown-Thu | Ridván (9th day) | Bahá’í |
| 4/30/2021 | Friday | Holy Friday | Orthodox Christian |
| 5/1/2021 - 5/2/2021 | Sundown-Sat Sundown-Sun | Ridván (12th day) | Bahá’í |
| 5/2/2021 | Sun | Easter/Pascha | Orthodox Christian |
| 5/12/2021 - 5/13/2021 | Sundown-Wed Sundown-Thu | Eid al-Fitr (date can vary by a day) | Islam |
| 5/16/2021 - 5/18/2021 | Sundown-Sun Sundown-Tue | Shavuot | Judaism |
| 5/22/2021 - 5/23/2021 | Sundown-Sat Sundown-Sun | Declaration of the Báb | Bahá’í |
| 5/28/2021 - 5/29/2021 | Sundown-Fri Sundown-Sat | Ascension of Baha’u’lláh | Bahá’ |
| 7/17/2021 - 7/18/2021 | Sundown-Sat Sundown-Sun | Tisha B’ Av | Judaism |
| 7/19/2021 - 7/20/2021 | Sundown-Mon Sundown-Tue | Eid al-Adha (date can vary by a day) | Islam |
Sources: Williams College Chaplains’ Office, when-is.com, jewfaq.org, bbc.co.uk/religion