Interfaith Calendar

and key dates for Indigenous Australians

This calendar represents a tangible demonstration of UWA's commitment to supporting cultural and religious diversity within the campus community.

Key dates for Indigenous Australians
Jan 26	Survival Day/Invasion Day
May 26	National Sorry Day
May 27- Jun 3	National Reconciliation Week
Jun 3	Mabo Day
Jul 3 - Jul 10	NAIDOC Week
Aug 4	National Aboriginal and Islander Children's Day
Aug 9	International Day of the Worlds Indigenous People Children's Day

January
1		New Years Day
1		Shogatsu Popular day for shrine visits
7		Christmas Day
14		Makar Sankranti Makar Sankranti is one of the most important festivals on the Hindu calendar and celebrates the sun's journey into the northern hemisphere. This is a popular festival also referred to as the Kite Festival.
15		Seijin Shiki
23		Chinese New Year/Asian Lunar New Year
28		Vasant Panchami Dedicated to Saraswati (Goddess of learning), The festival marks the beginning of Spring

February
3		Rissun (Setsubun) A Spring festival that marks the divison between Winter and Spring and is celebrated with beans
8		Tu B'Shevat Minor Jewish holiday

March
2		Nineteen Day Fast Starts During this period Baha'is go without food or drink from sunrise to sunset
3		Hina Matsuri Celebrates daughters in the family
7		Fast of Esther(Taanit Esther) A fast in commemoration of the fast of Mordechai and Esther. This is not a major Jewish fast.
8		Purim Purim commemorates the time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination by the courage of a young Jewish woman called Esther.
8		Holi The Hindu spring festival
21		Naw Ruz Jamshedi Noruz (Fasli) Baha'i New Year Iranian New Year-Marks the first day of spring and beginning of the Iranian new year (farsizban.persianblog.ir/post/15)
21		Shubun-sai A day for visiting graves
23		Ugadi New Year festival for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in Southern India

April
1		Palm Sunday Last Sunday of Lent
6		Good Friday Commemorates the execution of Jesus by crucifixion
6		Theravada New Year New Year festival for Theravada Buddhi
7		Passover The start of the season of Passover when Jews commemorate the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses. Work is not permitted on the first two and the last two days of Passover
8		Easter Sunday Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - his return from death after the Crucifixion. The most important Christian festival.
14		Passover Final Day The eighth and final day of Passover
15		Easter Orthodox Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - his return from death after the Crucifixion. The most important Christian festival
19		Yom Hashoah The Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. The date is chosen as the closest date (in the Jewish calendar) to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
21		Ridvan-1st Day The start of a 12 day festival when Baha'is celebrate the day when Baha'u'llah said that he was the prophet predicted by the Bab. The most important Baha'I festival.
26		Yom Ha'atzmaut Israels Independence Day
29		Ridvan-9th Day Marks the arrival of Baha'u'llah's family at the Ridvan garden

May
2		Ridvan-12th day Marks Baha'ullah's departure from the Ridvan garden
5		Wesak or Buddha day The most important of the Buddhist festivals. It celebrates the Buddha's birthday, and, for some Buddhists, also marks his enlightenment and death.
23		Declaration of the Bab The Bab was the Forerunner of Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i faith. His mission was to prepare the world for the coming of Baha'u'llah and he declared it in the evening of May 22 1844.
27		Pentecost Sunday The seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and the birth of the Christian Church.
27		Shavuot Shavuot is a two-day festival that marks the time when the first harvest was taken to the Temple. Also known as the Festival of Weeks. Work is not permitted for the duration of the festival.
29		Ascension of Baha'u'llah Anniversary of Baha'u'llah's death in 1892 near Akka, Israel

June
16		Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Guru Arjan Dev was the fifth Sikh Guru and the first Sikh martyr. He also compiled all of the past Gurus' writings into one book, which is now the Sikh holy scripture: the Guru Granth Sahib
29		St Peter and St Paul Day The martyrdoms of both these saints are observed by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran churches. One of the oldest saints' days.

July
3		Asala-Dharma Day The anniversary of the start of Buddha's teaching - his first sermon ,"The Wheel of Truth", after his enlightenment.
8		17th Tammuz An important Jewish fast day
9		Martydom of the Bab Anniversary of Bab's execution in 1850 in Tabriz, Iran
19		Jamshedi Noruz Zoroastrian New Year Day in the Qadimi Calendar
20		Ramadan (start) Ramadan is the Muslim month of Fasting
29		Tisha B'Av A solemn day that commemorates a series of tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the years, many of which have coincidentally happened on this day.

August
2		Raksha Bandhan Raksha Bandhan is the Hindu festival that celebrates brotherhood and love. "Raksha Bandhan" means a thread for protection.
6		Transfiguaration Orthodox Christian feast commemorating the sudden emanation of radiance from the person of Jesus that occurred on the mountain
10		Janmashtami-Kristna Jayanti The Janamashtami festival marks the birth of Krishna, the most highly venerated God in the Hindu pantheon.
19		Eid-Ul-Fitr End of Ramadan when Muslims celebrate the end of fasting and thank Allah for His help with their month lone act of self control

September
17		Rosh Hashanah (1st day) Jewish New Year. A two-day festival during which work is not permitted.
26		Yom Kippur Day of atonement - the most solemn day of the Jewish year

October
1		Sukkot Sukkot or The Feast of Tabernacles, commemorates the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and celebrates the way in which God took special care of them under impossible conditions. Sukkot lasts for seven days, and work is not permitted on the first two days.
7		Hoshanah Rabbah The 7th day of Sukkot
8		Shemini Atzeret Shemini Atzeret can be translated as "the assembly of the eighth (day)." In Israel the festival is combined with Simchat Torah
20		Druga Puja festival starts
24		Druga Puja festival ends
26		Eid-Ul-Adha Festival of Sacrifice marking the day after Arafat. The Day of Arafat is the most important day in the Hajj ritual. This is a four day holiday

November
1		All Saints' Day Saints' Day (also known as All Hallows' Day or Hallowmas) is when Anglicans and Roman Catholics honour all saints, known and unknown, of the Christian church. Orthodox churches celebrate it on the first Sunday after Pentecost.
2		All Souls' Day All Souls' Day is an opportunity for Roman Catholic and Anglo-Catholic churches to commemorate the faithful departed. They remember and pray for the souls of people who are in Purgatory. All Souls' Day is celebrated on 3 November if the 2nd is a Sunday.
12		Birth of Baha'u'llah Celebrates the birth in 1817 of the founder of the Baha'i faith.
13		Diwali Diwali, the festival of lights, is the most popular of all the festivals from South Asia. It is an occasion for celebrations by Hindus as well as Jains and Sikhs. For Sikhs, Diwali is particularly important because it celebrates the release from prison of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind, and 52 other princes with him, in 1619.
13		Diwali Diwali, the festival of lights, is the most popular of all the festivals from South Asia. It is an occasion for celebrations by Hindus as well as Jains and Sikhs
15		Shichigosan A festival to give thanks for children. Often celebrated on the nearest Sunday to the 15th to allow working parents to take part.
15		Al-Hijira Islamic New Year. Marks the migration of the Prophet Mohammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina
23		Niinamesei Labour Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday in Japan and originally a harvest festival
24		Ashura
28		Ascension of Abduu'l-Baha Marks the death of the son of Baha'ullah. This is a minor holiday
28		Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib

December
2		Advent Sunday The beginning of the ecclesiastical year on the Sunday closest to November 30. Advent is the season before Christmas - In Western Christendom, four Sundays are included. In Eastern Christendom, the season is longer and begins in the middle of November
8		Bodhi Day On Bodhi day some Buddhists celebrate Gautama's attainment of enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya, India.
9		Hanukkah Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE. Hanukkah is celebrated at roughly the same time as Christmas, but there is no connection at all between the festivals.
25		Christmas Day