Religious Dates in 2009
NB:
* Usually begins at sundown the day before this date
** Local customs may vary on this date
Religious leaders may also make changes
For a glossary of religious hoildays, visit our Religious Holiday Definitions page
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January
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 1 | Oshogatsu (or Shogatsu) Festival of St Basil the Great |
Shinto Christian |
| 4 | Epiphany | Christian - Catholic |
| 5 | Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh (Nanakshahi calendar) | Sikh |
| 6 | Christmas Day Theophany Epiphany 10th Tevet |
Armenian Orthodox Christian Christian Jewish |
| 7 | Christmas Day Ashura |
Orthodox Christian Muslim |
| 11 | First Sunday after Epiphany Baptism of the Lord |
Christian Christian |
| 13 | St Hilary's Day | Christian |
| 14 | Makar Sankrant | Hindu |
| 15 | Seijin Shiki (Adults' Day) | Shinto |
| 18 | Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (start) World Religion Day World Religion Day |
Christian Bahai Multifaith |
| 21 | St Agnes | Christian |
| 25 | St Paul's Day | Christian |
| 26 | Chinese New Year | Chinese |
| 27 | National Holocaust Memorial Day National Holocaust Memorial Day Losar (start) |
Jewish Multifaith Buddhist |
| 28 | St Thomas Aquinas | Christian |
| 31 | Birthday of Guru Har Rai (Nanakshahi calendar) Vasant Panchami |
Sikh Hindu |
February
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 2 | Candlemas Imbolc |
Christian Pagan |
| 3 | Rissun (Setsubun) | Shinto |
| 8 | Parinirvana – Nirvana day | Buddhist |
| 9 | Tu B’Shevat | Jewish |
| 11 | Our Lady of Lourdes | Christian |
| 14 | St valentine’s Day | Christian |
| 15 | Nivana Day (alternative date) | Buddhist |
| 23 | Mahashivratri | Hindu |
| 24 | Shrove Tuesday | Christian |
| 25 | Ash Wednesday | Christian |
March
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 1 | St David's Day | Christian |
| 2 | Nineteen Day Fast (start) Beginning of Lent |
Baha'I Christian (orthodox) |
| 3 | Hina-matsuri – Festival of Dollsri | Shinto |
| 5 | St Piran's Day | Christian |
| 6 | Women’s World Day of Prayer | Christian |
| 9 | Fast of Esther Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad |
Jewish Muslim |
| 10 | Purim | Jewish |
| 11 | Hola Mohalla Shushan Purim Holi |
Sikh (lunar calendar) Jewish Hindu |
| 14 | Milad Un Nabi | Muslim |
| 17 | St Patrick's Day | Christian |
| 19 | St Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary | Christian |
| 20 | Spring Equinox – Eoster | Pagan |
| 21 | Naw-Ruz Shubun-sai – Equinox day Jamshedi Noruz (Fasli) |
Bahai Shinto Zoroastrian |
| 22 | Mothering Sunday | Christian |
| 25 | Annunciation | Christian |
| 26 | Khordad Sal (Fasli) | Zoroastrian |
April
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 3 | Rama Navami Swaminarayan Jayanti |
Hindu Hindu |
| 5 | Palm Sundday | Christian |
| 7 | Mahavira Jayanti | Jain |
| 8 | Fast of the Firstborn | Jewish |
| 9 | Hanuman Jayanti Memorial of Christ’s Death Passover (1st Day) Theravada New Year Maundy Thursday |
Hindu Jehovah’s Witness Jewish Buddhist Christian |
| 10 | Good Friday | Christian |
| 12 | East Sunday | Chrisitan |
| 13 | Vaisakhi | Sikh |
| 14 | Birthday of Guru Nanak (Nanakshahi calendar) Hola Mohalla (Nanakshahi Calendar) |
Sikh Sikh |
| 17 | Passover (final day) | Jewish |
| 18 | Birthday of Guru Tegh Bahadur (Nanakshahi calendar) Birthday of Guru Angad Dev (Nanakshahi calendar) |
Sikh Sikh |
| 19 | Easter (Orthodox) | Christian |
| 21 | Ridvan – first day Anniversary of Haile Selassie’s Visit to Jamaica Yom Hashoah |
Bahai Rastafari Jewish |
| 23 | St George's Day | Christian |
| 28 | Yom Hazikaron | Jewish |
| 29 | Ridvan – ninth day Yom Ha’atzmaut |
Bahai Jewish |
May
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 1 | Beltane | Pagan |
| 2 | Ridvan – twelfth day Birthday of Guru Arjan Dev (Nanakshahi calendar) |
Bahai Sikh |
| 9 | Buddha Day | Buddhist |
| 12 | Lag B’Omer | Jewish |
| 21 | Ascension Day | Chirstian |
| 22 | Yom Yerushalayim | Jewish |
| 23 | Declaration of the Bab Birthday of Guru Amar Das (Nanakshahi calendar) |
Bahai Sikh |
| 24 | Ascension Day | Christian |
| 29 | Ascension of Baha'u'llah Shavout (1st Day) |
Bahai Jewish |
| 31 | Pentecost – Whitsun | Christian |
June
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 7 | Trinity Sunday | Christian |
| 11 | Corpus Christi | Christian |
| 14 | All Saints’ Day (Orthodox) | Christian |
| 16 | Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Nanakshahi calendar) | Sikh |
| 21 | Summer Solstice – Litha | Pagan |
| 28 | St Peter’s Day (Catholic) | Christian |
| 29 | St Peter's Day | Christian |
July
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 5 | Birthday of Guru Hargobind (Nanakshahi calendar) | Sikh |
| 7 | Asala – Dharma Day | Buddhist |
| 9 | Martyrdom of the Bab 17th Tammuz |
Bahai Jewish |
| 15 | St Swithin's Day | Christian |
| 20 | Zoroastrain Jamshedi Noruz (Qadimi) | Zoroastrain |
| 23 | Birthday of Guru Har Krishen (Nanakshahi calendar) Birthday of Haile Selassie I |
Sikh Rastafari |
| 25 | Zoroastrian Khordad Sal Qadimi | Zoroastrain |
| 30 | Tisha B’Av | Jewish |
August
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 2 | Raksha Bandhan | Hindu |
| 3 | Transfiguration | Christian |
| 8 | Janmashtami – Krishna Jayanti | Hindu |
| 22 | Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Dormition of the Theotokos |
Christian Christian |
| 29 | Assumption of Mary (Catholic) | Christian |
| 30 | Paryushana Birthday of Marcus Garvey |
Jain Rastafari |
| 24 | Zoroastrian Jamshedi Noruz (Shenshai) | Zoroastrian |
| 28 | Ramadan (start) | Muslim |
| Khordad Sal (Shenshai) | Zoroastrian |
September
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 8 | Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary Feast of the Birth of Mary Nativity of the Theotokos |
Christian Christian Christian |
| 11 | Ethiopian New Year | Rastafari |
| 19 | Navaratri (start) Rosh Hashanah (1st Day) |
Hindu Jewish |
| 21 | Fast of Gedalliah Eid-Ul-Fitr |
Jewish Muslim |
| 22 | Autumn Equinox | Pagan |
| 28 | Dussera Yom Kippur |
Hindu Jewish |
| 29 | Michaelmas/St Michael’s Day | Christian |
October
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 3 | Sukkot | Jewish |
| 9 | Hoshanah Rabbah Birthday of Guru Ram Das (Nanakshahi calendar) |
Jewish Sikh |
| 10 | Shemini Atzeret | Jewish |
| 11 | Simchat Torah | Jewish |
| 13 | St Edward's Day | Christian |
| 17 | Diwali Diwali |
Hindu Sikh |
| 20 | Birth of the Bab | Bahai |
| 21 | Shemini Atzeret Simchat Torah |
Jewish Jewish |
| 31 | Hallowe'en (All Hallows' Eve) Samhain (Hallowe'en) |
Christian Pagan |
November
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 1 | All Saints' Day (Hallowmas, All Hallows') | Christian |
| 2 | All Souls' Day Coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie 1 Birthday of Guru Nanak |
Christian Rastafari Sikh |
| 8 | Remembrance Sunday | Multifaith |
| 11 | Armistice Day | Multi-faith |
| 12 | Birth of Baha'u'llah | Bahai |
| 13 | Birthday of Guru Nanak (Lunar Calendar) | Sikh |
| 15 | Shichigosan (7-5-3 festival) | Shinto |
| 23 | Niinamesei | Shinto |
| 24 | Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (Nanakshahi calendar) | Sikh |
| 26 | Day of the Covenant | Bahai |
| 28 | Ascension of Abdu'l-Baha Eid-Ul-Adha |
Bahai Muslim |
| 29 | Advent Sunday | Christian |
| 30 | St Andrew's Day | Christian |
December
| Date | Occasion | Religion |
| 8 | Bodhi Day Feast of the Immaculate Conception |
Buddhist Christian |
| 12 | Hannukkah | Jewish |
| 13 | St Lucy's Day | Christian |
| 17 | 10th Tevet | Jewish |
| 18 | Al-Hijira | Muslim |
| 21 | Winter Solstice – Yule | Pagan |
| 24 | Christmas Eve | Christian |
| 25 | Christmas Day | Christian |
| 26 | Boxing Day St Stephen's Day |
Christian |
| 27 | Ashura | Muslim |
Every effort has been made to ensure that the events, venue and dates are correct at time of going to press. However, no responsibility can be accepted for omission, change or error
For a glossary of religious hoildays, visit our Religious Holiday Definitions page
