Religious Holidays
Calendar of Religious Holidays
Loyola has many religious traditions represented amongst the student population. Below is a listing of many of the major holidays celebrated by our many religious traditions.
We’ve used the following websites as reference: Huffington Post and the Interfaith Calendar. If you find that a date is wrong or a holiday is missing, please let us know!
The following list of dates is provided to assist faculty in making exceptions for students who claim that their faith tradition has a holy day that impacts classroom assignments.
# Denotes that students of this religious traditions are likely to request time off from class for all or some of this holiday.
* Denotes that the date for his Holy Day/Feast does not change annually.
| Date | Name of Holy Day/Feast | Observed by Religious Tradition |
|---|---|---|
| July 27 | # Asalha Puja Day | Buddhism |
| July 31 | * Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus & Patron of the University | Catholicism |
| August 7-9 | * Eid al Fitr | Islam |
| August 15 | * Assumption of Mary | Catholicism |
| August 20-21 | # Eid al Adha | Islam |
| September 2 | Kirshna Janmashtami | Hinduism |
| September 9-11 | # Rosh Hashana (Jewish holidays begin at sundown) | Judaism |
|
September 18-19 |
# Yom Kippur | Judaism |
|
September 20-21 |
#Ashura | Islam |
|
September 23-30 |
Sukkot | Judaism |
|
September 30 - October 2 |
Shemini Atzeret | Judaism |
|
October 1-2 |
Simchat Torah | Judaism |
| October 9-18 | # Navratri | Hinduism (will observe on certain days) |
| October 14 | Durga Puja | Hinduism |
| October 19 | Dussehra | Hinduism |
| November 1 | * All Saints Day | Catholicism |
| November 2 | * All Souls Day | Catholicism |
| November 7 | # Diwali (Students go home on the 2nd day) |
Hinduism |
| November 8-9 | Birth of the Bab | Baha'i |
| November 9-10 | Birth of the Baha'u'llah | Baha'i |
| November 14 | Guru Nanak Dev Sahib's Birthday | Sikhism |
| November 15 | Shichigosan | Shinto |
| November 23 | Niinamesai | Shinto |
| November 24 | Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur | Sikhism |
| November 28 | Ascension of Abdu'l-Baha | Baha'i |
| December 2 | First Sunday of Advent | Catholicism / Christian |
| December 8 | * Feast of the Immaculate Conception | Catholicism |
| December 2-10 | Chanukah | Judaism |
| December 25 | * Christmas | Catholicism / Christian |
| January 1 | * Solemnity of Mary | Catholicism |
| January 1 | Gantan-sai | Shinto |
| January 6 | Epiphany | Catholicism / Christian |
| January 20 | World Religion Day | Baha'i |
| January 20-21 | Tu B'Shevat | Judaism |
| January 21-23 | Mahayana New Year | Buddhism |
| February 3 | Setsubun | Shinto |
| February 8 | Nirvana Day | Buddhism & Jain |
| February 10 | Vasant Panshami | Hinduism |
| March 1-20 | The Nineteen Day Feast | Baha'i |
| March 4 | Maha Shivaratri | Hinduism |
| March 6 | Ash Wednesday | Christian |
| March 6 | # Ramayana | Hinduism |
| March 20 | Nowruz/Naw-Ruz (Baha'i, Zoroastrian, Iranian New Year) | Baha'i |
| March 20-21 | Holi | Sikhism |
| March 20-21 | Purim | Judaism |
| March 21 | Hola Mohalla | Sikhism |
| March 21 | Megha Puja Day | Buddhism |
| April 8 | Vesak | Buddhism |
| April 14 | Palm Sunday | Christian |
| April 14 | # Ramanavami | Hinduism |
| April 14 | Baisakhi New Year | Sikhism |
| April 17 | Sri Mahavir Jayanti | Jain |
| April 18 | # Holy Thursday | Catholicism / Christian |
| April 19 | Good Friday | Catholicism / Christian |
| April 19 | Theravadin New Year | Buddhism |
| April 19-27 | Pesach (Passover) | Judaism |
| April 20 - May 2 | Ridvan | Baha'i |
| April 21 | # Easter | Catholicism / Christian |
| May 1-2 | Yom HaShoah | Judaism |
| May 5 | Ramadan Starts | Islam |
| May 7 | Akshaya Tritiya | Jain |
| May 8-9 | Yom Ha'Atzmaut | Judaism |
| May 23-24 | Declaration of the Bab | Baha'i |
| May 28-29 | Ascension of Baha'u'allah | Baha'i |
| June 3-4 | Eid al-Fitr | Islam |
| June 4 | Ramadan Ends | Islam |
| June 8-10 | Shavuot | Judaism |
| July 9 | Martyrdom of the Bab | Baha'i |
| July 17 | Asala - Dharma Day | Buddhism |
The following list of dates is provided to assist faculty in making exceptions for students who claim that their faith tradition has a holy day that impacts classroom assignments. Please click here for the downloadable PDF file of dates.
