Human Rights Office: corImportant Faith Dates
Important Faith Dates
Compiled by Queen's Interfaith Council, this list represents festivals/holy days on which students, faculty and staff may be absent from work/class. The Queen's Inter-Faith Council recommends that, when possible, the University accommodate requests for absences on religious grounds. If there are any questions concerning a request for accommodation based on a religious holy date which is not on this list, please ask the student/staff member to call the Chaplain's Office at 533-2186.
The dates of some holidays, particularly those that are calculated according to a lunar calendar and rely on sightings of the New Moon (e.g. Islamic holidays), vary according to region. Other observances and dates (e.g Buddhist holidays) vary across culture and strands of traditions.
Representatives from the Hindu and Baha'i state that, although their holy days/festivals begin at sundown the night before, members of their faith group are not required to miss night classes.
In the Jewish tradition, Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday night. Religious Jews do not work or attend classes from sundown Friday to sundown on Saturday night. The most important faith date for Jews is Yom Kippur which is observed for a full twenty-four hours. Most Jews will not attend work or classes during that time. All Jewish festivals begin at sundown but do not require people to miss work or classes. However, some students may leave Kingston to celebrate with their families and may request the time away from classes.
While we have made every effort to verify the accuracy of this list, errors may remain. Please contact the Chaplain's Office 533-2186 if you notice any errors.
Month Religion Observance January 06 Christian** Epiphany 07 Christian* Christmas 14 Hinduism Makar Sankranti Mid-month Native Mid-winter ceremonies- requires absence from work/class February 01 Islam Id al-Adhá*** 18 Hinduism Mahashivaratr 21 Islam First Day of Muharram*** 23 Christian* Lent begins 25 Christian** Ash Wednesday March 01 Islam `Ashura'*** 06 Hinduism Holi 07 Judaism Purim**** 20 Bahá'í Naw Rúz 30 Hinduism Ramanavami April 04 Christian** Palm Sunday 05 Judaism Pesah (Passover)**** 09 Christian** Good Friday 09 Christian* Holy Friday 10 Christian* Holy Saturday 11 Christian** Easter 11 Christian* Pascha (Easter) 12 Hinduism Vaisakhi 14 Sikhism Vaisakhi 21 Bahá'í Ridvan May 01 Islam Mawlid al-Nabiy*** 04 Buddhism Wesak 23 Bahá'í Declaration of the Báb
26 Judaism Shavuot**** 29 Bahá'í Ascension of the Baha'u'llah June July 09 Bahá'í Martydom of the Bab August 30 Hinduism Raksha Bandhan September 06 Hinduism Sri Krishna Jayanti 16 Judaism Rosh Hashanah 17 Hinduism Ganesh Chaturthi 25 Judaism Yom Kippur **** 30 Judaism Sukkot **** October 08 Judaism Simhat Torah 15 Islam Fasting month of Ramadan begins 20 Bahá'í The birth of the Báb 22 Hinduism Dassehra November 12 Hinduism Diwali 12 Bahá'í The birth of Bahá´u´lláh 14 Islam Fasting month of Ramadan ends 26 Sikhism Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev December 08 Judaism Hannukkah**** 25 Christian** Christmas
* Julian (Eastern) Calendar
** Gregorian (Western) Calendar
*** Tentative dates subject to the sighting of the moon each month
**** All Jewish holy days begin the day before the holy day at sundown- Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) - Protecting Religious Rights
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