Religious Observance Calendar

Religious Observance Calendar

As a higher education institution, NCC highly values diversity of religious expression which includes supporting members of our community who wish to observe religious holidays.

To that end, we have developed a religious observance calendar that identifies many important religious holidays. The calendar can serve as a scheduling resource for faculty and administrators who are strongly encouraged to reference it when planning academic and extracurricular activities so they can avoid conflicts with religious observances.

Keep in mind the calendar it is not all encompassing, and students may choose to observe a holiday from a tradition not included on the calendar. For information about additional holidays from many faith traditions, go to interfaith-calendar.org.

We are encouraging faculty members to respect students’ desires to observe major religious holidays by allowing them to make up work missed on the day or days related to a religious holiday observance, with the clear understanding that they are responsible for any class work missed and for letting faculty know of their plans in advance.

Students or faculty who have questions about religious holiday observances should contact Gina Turner, gaturner@northampton.edu.

Religious Observance Calendar 2023-2024

Holiday Notes:

Muslim Holidays begin at sundown the previous day. Dates may vary depending on interpretations of the lunar calendar.

Dates are assembled from several calendars and begin with the academic year (August through July). Lunar calendars vary based on region and practice.

“Kosher restrictions apply” refers to the dietary guidelines of Jewish law which apply daily throughout the year. Restrictions include pork, shellfish (fish is allowed) and mixing meat with dairy.

“Halal dietary restrictions apply” refers to the foods prohibited according to Islamic dietary law throughout the year. Restrictions include alcohol and pork.

Jewish holidays begin at sundown the previous day.

Buddhist

Buddha’s Enlightenment Day — Also called Rohatsu or Bodhi Day. The day many Buddhist traditions celebrate the enlightenment of the Buddha.
Vesak Day — There are a variety of cultural traditions celebrating Buddha’s Birthday. Many Buddhist cultures celebrate the birth, Awakening, and death of the Buddha on Vesak Day.

Christian

Ash Wednesday — This day marks the beginning of Lent, a six week period of prayer and fasting in anticipation of Easter.
Good Friday — The day Jesus was crucified.
Easter Sunday — The celebration of Jesus being raised from the dead.

Hindu

Diwali — Festival of Lights. This holiday is typically celebrated by families sharing various traditional rituals in their homes.
Holi — Festival of Spring or Festival of Colors. This day is typically celebrated by families in India, Nepal, and other parts of Asia by partaking in various regional traditions.
Ganesh Chaturthi — also called Vinayaka Chaturthi, in Hinduism, 10-day festival marking the birth of the elephant-headed deity Ganesha, the god of prosperity and wisdom. It begins on the fourth day (chaturthi) of the month of Bhadrapada (August–September), the sixth month of the Hindu calendar.

Jewish

Rosh Hashanah — Jewish New Year. It is the beginning of a ten-day period of introspection and reflection.
Yom Kippur — Day of Atonement. It is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar marked with fasting, worship, and repentance.
Sukkot — Festival of Booths. Commemorates the wandering in the desert of the Israelites as well as the fall harvest. While the festival of Sukkot lasts for 8 days, the first day is considered a day of rest.
Hanukkah — Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire.
Passover — Festival of Passover. It commemorates the Exodus of Jews from slavery in Egypt. While the Passover lasts for 8 days, the first night is the most significant and the first day is considered a day of rest.
Shavuot — The word Shavuot means “weeks”, and it marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer. Its date is directly linked to that of Passover; the Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah.

Muslim

Eid al-Fitr — Marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and the holiest month in Islamic tradition. It literally means “breaking the fast.”
Ramadan — The ninth month of the Islamic lunar year and is the time in which Muslims observe fast from sunrise to sunset.
Eid al-Adha — Festival of Sacrifice. Commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael. God provided a sheep to sacrifice in Ishmael’s place.