Religious Holy Days | Adelphi University

A listing of the current semester's religious observances.

We continue to expand and update this list. We apologize for any dates we may have missed. Please email auinterfaith@adelphi.edu to request a date be added.

For a calendar of non-religious commemorative days, weeks and months, please visit our Calendar of Cultural Commemoration and Awareness.

Be mindful when scheduling programming, meetings, events or assignments.

Spring 2025

January

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
January 1	Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God	Christian/Catholic	The feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ.
January 10	Fast of 10 Teves*	Judaism	Commemorating the siege laid to Jerusalem by the Babylonian King Nevuchadnetzar, leading ultimately to the destruction of the Temple and the exiling of the Jewish people from Israel.
January 7	Christmas	Orthodox Christian	Celebration of the Birth of Jesus
January 13	Lohri	Sikh	Lohri marks the end of winter and is a traditional welcome of longer days and the sun’s journey to the northern hemisphere.
January 27	Isra and Mi’raj	Muslim	The Israʾ and Miʿraj are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621

February

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
February 2	Presentation of Jesus at the Temple	Orthodox Christian	The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or in the temple) is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem.
February 12	15 Shevat – New Year for Trees	Judiasm	New year for trees. Commonly known as Tu Bishvat, this day marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. Represents rebirth
February 25	Maha Shivaratri	Hindu	Celebrated annually in honor of Lord Shiva. This solemen festival marks a remebrance of overcoming darkenss and ignorance
February 28- March 29	Ramadan*	Muslim	A holy month of fasting, introspection and prayer for Muslims, the followers of Islam. It is celebrated as the month during which Muhammad received the initial revelations of the Quran, the holy book for Muslims

March

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
March 5	Ash Wednesday	Christian/Catholic	Marks the begining of Lent
March 5 – April 19	Lent*	Christian/Catholic	Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days
March 13	Fast of Esther (fast begins at dawn)*	Judaism	The fast commemorates two events in the Book of Esther: Esther and the Jewish community of Shushan having fasted for 3 days and 3 nights before she approached the king (Esther 4:16), and a fast which was observed on the 13th of Adar, when the Jews fought a battle against their enemies.
March 13-14	Purim*	Judaism	Commemorates the (Divinely orchestrated) salvation of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian empire from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews.
March 13	Holi	Hindu	Represents the arrival of spring and triumph of good over evil.
March 14-15	Shushan Purim	Judiasm	In cities that were protected by a surrounding wall at the time of Joshua, Purim was celebrated on the 15th of the month of Adar on what is known as Shushan Purim, since fighting in the walled city of Shushan continued through the 14th day of Adar.
March 17	St. Patrick’s Day	Christian/Catholic	Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron Saint of Ireland
March 18-May 4	Lent*	Orthodox Christian	A 40-day season of fasting, reflection, and preparation before Easter. To replicate the sacrifice and withdrawal of Jesus into the desert.
March 19	Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Virgin Mary	Christian/Catholic	Feast day for St. Joesph
March 25	The Annunciation	Orthodox Christian	Celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son through a virgin birth and become the mother of Jesus Christ.
March 25	The Annunciation of the Lord	Christian/Catholic	Feast Day celebrating angel Gabriel visit to Mary and Mary’s consent to give birth to Jesus.
March 31	Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord	Christian/Catholic	Commemorating the resurrection of Jesus.

April

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
April 9-10	Eid al-Fitr	Muslim	Religious holiday of Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.
April 12-20	Pesach/Passover (First days)**	Judaism	Celebrates our freedom and liberation from Egyptian slavery.
April 12-13	Pesach/Passover (Intermediate days)	Judaism	Celebrates our freedom and liberation from Egyptian slavery.
April 13	Palm Sunday	Orthodox Christian	The remembrance of the Entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem
April 13	Vaisakhi	Sikh	commemorates the formation of Khalsa panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.
April 17	Holy Thursday	Christian/Catholic	Commemorates the Washing of the Feet and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles
April 18	Good Friday	Christian/Catholic	Commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary
April 20	Easter (Pasha)	Orthodox Christian	On the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha, Orthodox Christians celebrate the life-giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

May

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
May 3	Good Friday	Orthodox Christian	A day of remembrance of Jesus’s death on the cross.
May 11-12	Pesach Sheni	Judaism	Second Passover. Customary to eat Matzah today. Marks the day when someone who was unable to participate in the Passover offering in the proper time would observe the mitzvah exactly one month later.
May 15-16	Lag BaOmer	Judaism	Celebrates the life of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and the end of a plague which wiped out 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva.
May 29	The Ascension of the Lord	Christian/Catholic	Celebration of the assent of Jesus into Heaven

June

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
June 8	Pentecost	Christian/Catholic	Commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the disciples.
June 15	Trinity Sunday	Christian/Catholic	A feast in honor of the holy Trinity following the Sunday after Pentecost.
June 19	Corpus Christi Sunday	Christian/Catholic	Is the celebration of the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of the Eucharist.

Summer 2025

June

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
June 1-3	Shavuot**	Judaism	Celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
June 6-7	Eid al-Adha	Muslim	The Muslim festival marking the culmination of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham.
June 8	Pentecost	Christian/Catholic	Commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the disiciples.
June 15	Trinity Sunday	Christian/Catholic	A feast in honor of the holy Trinity following the Sunday after Pentecost.
June 19	Corpus Christi Sunday	Christian/Catholic	Is the celebration of the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of the Eucharist
June 27	Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus	Christian/Catholic	A movable feast, it is celebrated each year on a Friday in the spring on the nineteenth day after Pentecost.
June 28	The Immaculate Heart of Mary	Christian/Catholic	The Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Marian devotion focuses on the Blessed Mother’s interior life, celebrating her joys and sorrows, her virtues, and her love for God.
June 24	Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist	Christian/Catholic	The Nativity of John the Baptist is a high-ranking liturgical feast, kept in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran churches.
June 26	Puri Rath Yatra	Hindu	Celebrated by devotees of the Hindu God, Lord Krishna, the Rath Yatra is the festival of chariots.
June 26-27	Muslim New Year	Muslim	The Islamic New Year, also called the Hijri New Year or Arabic New Year, is the day that marks the beginning of a new lunar Hijri year and is the day on which the year count is incremented.
June 29	Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul	Christian/Catholic	The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome of these apostles

July

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
July 4-5	Ashura	Muslim	Also known as Yawm Ashura, Ashura is the tenth day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. It marks the day that Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was martyred in the Battle of Karbala.
July 9	Martyrdom of the Báb	Bahá’í	This holiday commemorates the 1850 execution of the co-founder of the Baha’i faith.
July 10	Guru Purnima	Hindu	Guru Purnima is a day to pay ode to the selfless contributions of a Guru.
July 13	Fast of 17 Tammuz* (begins at dawn)	Judaism	Commemorates the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls by the Babylonian King Nevuchadnetzar, leading ultimately to the destruction of the Temple and the exiling of the Jewish people from Israel.
July 29	Nag Panchami	Hindu	Nag Panchami is a day devoted to the Nag Devta or the snake god in the Hindu tradition. Every year, this day is celebrated during the auspicious month of Sawan, according to the Hindu calendar

August

Date	Observance	Religion	Description
August 6	Transfiguration of the Lord	Christian/Catholic/Orthodox	The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated by various Christian communities in honor of the transfiguration of Jesus.
August 2-3	Tish’a B’Av*	Judaism	Marks the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem, as well as many other terrible things which happened on that calendar date.
August 8	Varalakshmi Vrat	Hindu	The worshipping the goddess of wealth and prosperity, Lakshmi, many devotees come together to celebrate Varalakshmi Vratam every year.
August 8	Raksha Bandhan	Hindu	Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is an important Hindu festival, dedicated to brothers and sisters. On this auspicious day, sisters tie a thread on her brother’s wrist and pray for his long and prosperous life. In return, the brother gives a token of love to his loving sister.
August 15	Dormition of the Theotokos	Orthodox Christian	It celebrates the “falling asleep” (death) of Mary the Theotokos (“Mother of God”, literally translated as God-bearer), and her being taken up into heaven (bodily assumption).
August 15	Solemnity of the Assumption	Christian/Catholic	The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life.
August 22	The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Christian/Catholic	Time to remember the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God.

Please note that the Jewish holidays begin at sundown on the date listed, with the exception of some fast days which begin at dawn. These exceptions are noted on the applicable dates. Muslim holidays also begin at sundown on the date listed

*indicates observation may require practices that will impact daily schedules (such as needing to be at a house of worship, fasting, etc.)

** indicates observers may not be able to use electronics

Interfaith Center

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