Observance Calendar

This calendar contains various observances and holidays that represent the diverse community at Montclair State University. Please note, this is not a comprehensive calendar. The omission of an observance is not an act of exclusion. For questions, email diversity@montclair.edu.

Calendar Key:

Categories: Cultural, International, National, Religious or State.
*Date varies each year

August 1: Beginning of National Civility Month, National Peace Month and National Wellness Month (National)
August 1: Lughnasadh-Imbolc (Religious – Wicca/Neopagan)
August 7: Beginning of Ashura (Religious – Islamic)
August 7: National Purple Heart Day (National)
August 8: End of Ashura (Religious – Islamic)
August 18: Krishna Janmashtami (Celebrated for 2 Days) (Religious – Hindu)
August 22: Ghost Festival (Zhong Yuan Jie) (Religious – Taoist)
August 24: Paryushan Parvarambha (Religious – Jain)
August 31: Ganesh Chaturthi (Religious – Hindu)

September 1: Beginning of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (National)
September 10: Chuseok/Mid-Autumn Festival/Mooncake Festival (Religious – Confucian/Taoist/Buddhist)
September 11: Patriot Day – 9/11 (National)
September 11: Ethiopian Independence Day (Cultural/Religious – Rastafarian)
September 15: Beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month (National)
September 18: National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (National)
September 20: Beginning of International Week of the Deaf (International)
September 23: Mabon (Religious – Wicca/Neopagan)
September 23: Fall Equinox (Religious – Wiccan/Neopagan)
September 23: International Day of Sign Language (International)
September 25: Beginning of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) (Religious – Jewish)
September 26: Beginning of Navaratri (Religious – Hindu)
September 27: End of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) (Religious – Jewish)
September 27: End of International Week of the Deaf (International)
September 27: National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (National)

October 1: Beginning of ADHD Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Depression Education and Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Dwarfism Awareness Month, Dyslexia Awareness Month, Filipino American Heritage Month, Italian American Heritage Month, Learning Disability Awareness Month, LGBTQ History Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month and Polish American Heritage Month (National)
October 2: International Day of Nonviolence (International)
October 4: Beginning of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) (Religious – Jewish)
October 5: American Veterans Disabled for Life Awareness Day (National)
October 5: End of Navaratri (Religious – Hindu)
October 5: End of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) (Religious – Jewish)
October 9: Beginning of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) (Religious – Jewish)
October 10: Beginning of Sukkot (Religious – Jewish)
October 10: World Mental Health Day (International)
October 11: National Coming Out Day (National)
October 15: National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (National)
October 16: End of Sukkot (Religious – Jewish)
October 16: Beginning of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (Religious – Jewish)
October 18: End of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (Religious – Jewish)
October 24: Diwali (Religious – Jain/Sikh/Hindu)
October 25: Beginning of Birth of the Bab (Religious – Baha’i)
October 25: Vikram Samvat New Year (Religious – Hindu)
October 26: Intersex Awareness Day (International)
October 26: Rosh Hashanah (Ends the Evening of October 27, 2023) (Religious – Jewish)
October 26: End of Birth of the Bab (Religious – Baha’i)
October 31: Beginning of Samhain (Religious – Wicca/Neopagan)
October 31: All Hollow’s Eve (Religious – Catholic & Christian)
October 31: Reformation Day (Religious – Christian)
October 31: Samhain (Religious – Wiccan/Pagan)

November 1: Beginning of Diabetes Awareness Month, Epilepsy Awareness Month, Men’s Health Awareness Month, National Native American Heritage Month, National Veterans and Military Family Month and Transgender Awareness Month (National)
November 1: All Saints’ Day/Day of the Dead (Religious – Catholic Christian)
November 1: All Souls’ Day (Religious – Catholic)
November 1: End of Samhain (Religious – Wicca/Neopagan)
November 6: International Stress Awareness Day (International)
November 8: Crowning of Emperor Haile Selassie (Religious – Rastafarian)
November 8: Intersex Solidarity Day (International)
November 8: Guru Nanak Gurparab (Religious – Sikh)
November 11: Veteran’s Day (National)
November 19: International Men’s Day (International)
November 20: International Transgender Day of Remembrance (National)
November 27: Beginning of Advent (Religious – Catholic and Protestant Christian/Orthodox Christian)

December 1: Beginning of Universal Human Rights Month (National)
December 1: World AIDS Day (International)
December 2: International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (International)
December 3: International Day of the Disabled Persons (International)
December 3: International Day of the Disabled Person (International)
December 8: Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Religious – Catholic Christian)
December 8: Bodhi Day (Religious – Buddhist)
December 12: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Religious – Catholic Christian)
December 18: Beginning of Chanukah (Religious – Jewish)
December 21: Yule Winter Solstice (Religious – Wiccan/Neopagan)
December 21: Yalda (Religious – Zoroastrian)
December 24: End of Advent (Religious – Catholic and Protestant Christian/Orthodox Christian)
December 25: Christmas (Religious – Catholic and Protestant Christian)
December 26: End of Hanukkah (Religious – Jewish)
December 26: Beginning of Kwanzaa (Cultural)
December 30: Feast of the Holy Family (Religious – Catholic Christian)
December 31: Watch Night (Religious – Christian)

January 1: New Year’s Day (Cultural, International)
January 6: Epiphany/Three Kings Day (Religious – Christian)
January 7: Lidät (Religious – Rastafarian)
January 15: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday (Observed the following Monday) (National)
January 16: National Religious Freedom Day (National)
January 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day (International)
January 30: Jashne Sadeh (Religious – Zoroastrian)

February 1: Beginning of Black History Month (National)
February 1: Hopi Holy Cycle (Religious – American Indian)
February 1: Chinese/Lunar New Year (Cultural/Religious – Confucianist/Taoist/Buddhist)
February 1: World Hijab Day (Religious – Islamic)
February 1: Imbolc (Religious – Wiccan/Neopagan)
February 3: Setsebun (Religious – Shinto)
February 7: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (National)
February 15: Nirvana Day (Religious – Buddhist)
February 15: Lantern Festival (Religious – Taoist)
February 26: Beginning of Ayyam-i-Ha (Religious – Baha’i)
February 26: Lailat al Miraj (Religious – Islamic)

March 1: Beginning of Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, Multiple Sclerosis Month and Women’s History Month (National)
March 1: End of Ayyam-i-Ha (Religious – Baha’i)
March 1: Disability Day of Mourning (National)
March 1: Maha Shivaratri (Religious – Hindu)
March 2: Ash Wednesday/Beginning of Lent (Religious – Roman Catholic Christian)
March 3: Tibetan New Year/Losar (Religious – Tibetan Buddhist)
March 7: Beginning of Orthodox Great Lent (Religious – Orthodox Christian)
March 8: International Women’s Day (International)
March 9: Ash Wednesday (Religious – Roman Catholic/Protestant Christian)
March 10: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (National)
March 13: Beginning of Deaf History Month (March 13 – April 15) (National)
March 16: Beginning of Purim (Religious – Jewish)
March 17: End of Purim (Religious – Jewish)
March 18: Holi (Religious – Hindu)
March 20: National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (National)
March 21: Ostara Spring Equinox (Religious – Wiccan/Neopagan)
March 21: Shinbun no Hi (Religious – Shinto)
March 21: Beginning of Nowruz (Religious – Parsi/Zoroastrian)
March 21: World Down Syndrome Day (International)
March 22: End of Nowruz (Religious – Parsi/Zoroastrian)
March 22: Hindi New Year (Religious)
March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (International)
March 25: Annunciation (Religious – Catholic/Protestant/Orthodox Christian)
March 26: Purple Day for Epilepsy (International)
March 29: National Vietnam War Veterans Day (National)
March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility (International)

April 1: Beginning of Arab American Heritage Month, Autism Awareness Month, Month of the Military Child, and Paralyzed Veterans Across America Month (National)
April 1: Beginning of Black Women’s History Month (International)
April 2: World Autism Awareness Day (International)
April 2: Beginning of Ramadan (Religious – Islamic)
April 5: Qingming (Religious – Taoist)
April 10: Palm Sunday (Religious – Catholic Christian)
April 10: National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day (National)
April 14: End of Lent (Religious – Catholic & Christian)
April 14: Mahavir Jayanti (Religious – Jainism)
April 14: Maundy Thursday (Religious – Catholic Christian)
April 14: Vaisakhi (Religious – Hindu/Sikh/Buddhist)
April 15: Good Friday (Religious – Catholic and Protestant Christian)
April 15: Beginning of Passover (Pesach) (Religious – Jewish)
April 16: Hanuman Jayanti (Religious – Hinduism)
April 17: Easter (Religious – Catholic and Protestant Christian)
April 17: Palm Sunday (Religious – Orthodox Christian)
April 18: National Transgender HIV Testing Day (National)
April 21: Beginning of Ridvan (Religious – Baha’i)
April 22: Earth Day (International)
April 23: End of Orthodox Great Lent (Religious – Orthodox Christian)
April 23: Passover (Pesach) Ends (Religious – Jewish)
April 24: Pascha/Orthodox Easter (Religious – Orthodox Christian)
April 27: Beginning of Yom Hashoah (Religious – Jewish)
April 27: Lailat al-Qadr (Religious – Islamic)
April 28: End of Yom Hashoah (Religious – Jewish)

May 1: Beginning of Haitian Heritage Month, Indian Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, National Asian American Pacific Islander Month, National Military Appreciation Month and South Asian Heritage Month (National)
May 1: Beltane (Religious – Wiccan/Neopagan)
May 2: Beginning of Eid-al-Fitr (Religious – Islamic)
May 2: End of Ramadan (Religious – Islamic)
May 2: End of Ridvan (Religious – Baha’i)
May 3: End of Eid-al-Fitr (Religious – Islamic)
May 4: National Day of Prayer (Religious – Interfaith)
May 5: Cinco de Mayo (Cultural)
May 5: National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (National)
May 5: National Silence the Shame Day (National)
May 6: Vesak (Buddha Day) (Religious – Buddhist)
May 8: Buddha’s Birthday (Religious – Buddhist)
May 10: World Lupus Day (International)
May 17: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (International)
May 19: National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (National)
May 20: Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) (International)
May 24: Declaration of the Bab (Religious – Baha’i)
May 29: Ascension of Baha’u’llah (Religious – Baha’i)

June 1: Beginning of AIDS Awareness Month, Black Music Month, National Caribbean American Heritage Month, LGBTQ+ Pride Month and PTSD Awareness Month (National)
June 2: Native American Citizenship Day (National)
June 4: Beginning of Shavuot (Religious – Jewish)
June 4: Feast of Pentecost (Religious – Catholic Christian)
June 6: End of Shavuot (Religious – Jewish)
June 8: Caribbean-American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (National)
June 12: Women’s Veteran’s Day (National)
June 16: Corpus Christi (Religious – Catholic)
June 18: Autistic Pride Day (National)
June 19: Juneteenth (National)
June 21: Litha-Yule (Solstice) (Religious – Wiccan/Neopagan)
June 27: National HIV Testing Day (National)

July 1: Beginning of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (National)
July 9: Beginning of Eid-al-Adha (Religious – Islamic)
July 10: End of Eid-al-Adha (Religious – Islamic)
July 18: Nelson Mandela Day (International)
July 23: Emperor Haile Selassie Birthday (Religious – Rastafarian)
July 26: National Buffalo Soldiers Day (National)
July 28: National Disability Dependence Day (National)
July 29: First of Muharram (Religious – Islamic)

August 1: Beginning of National Civility Month, National Peace Month and National Wellness Month National
August 2: Emperor Haile Selassie Birthday Religious (Rastafarian)
August 5: Intersex Awareness Day (International)
August 6: Beginning of Ashura Religious (Islamic)
August 7: National Purple Heart Day National
August 8: End of Ashura Religious (Islamic)
August 18: Krishna Janmashtami (Celebrated for 2 Days) Religious (Hindu)
August 22: Ghost Festival (Zhon Yuan Jie) Religious (Taoist)
August 24: Paryushan Parvarambha Religious (Jain)
August 31: Ganesh Chaturthi Religious (Hindu)

September 1: Beginning of Deaf Awareness Month, National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Suicide Prevention Month National
September 1: Lughnasadh-Imbolc Religious (Wicca/Neopagan)
September 8: Crowning of Emperor Haile Selassie Religious (Rastafarian)
September 10: Chuseok/Mid-Autumn Festival/Mooncake Festival Religious (Confucian/Taoist/Buddhist)
September 11: Patriot Day – 9/11 National
September 15: Beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month National
September 18: National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day National
September 20: Beginning of International Week of the Deaf (International)
September 22: Mabon Religious (Wicca/Neopagan)
September 22: Fall Equinox Religious (Wiccan/Neopagan)
September 23: International Day of Sign Language (International)
September 25: Beginning of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) Religious (Jewish)
September 26: Beginning of Navaratri Religious (Hindu)
September 27: End of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) Religious (Jewish)
September 27: End of International Week of the Deaf (International)
September 27: National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day National

October 1: Beginning of ADHD Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Depression Education and Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Dwarfism Awareness Month, Dyslexia Awareness Month, Filipino American Heritage Month, Italian American Heritage Month, Learning Disability Awareness Month, LGBTQ History Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month and Polish American Heritage Month National
October 2: International Day of Nonviolence (International)
October 4: Beginning of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Religious (Jewish)
October 5: American Veterans Disabled for Life Awareness Day National
October 5: End of Navaratri Religious (Hindu)
October 5: End of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Religious (Jewish)
October 9: Beginning of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) Religious (Jewish)
October 10: Beginning of Sukkot Religious (Jewish)
October 10: World Mental Health Day (International)
October 11: National Coming Out Day National
October 15: National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day National
October 16: End of Sukkot Religious (Jewish)
October 16: Beginning of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah Religious (Jewish)
October 18: End of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah Religious (Jewish)
October 24: Diwali Religious (Jain/Sikh/Hindu)
October 25: Beginning of Birth of the Bab Religious (Baha’i)
October 25: Vikram Samvat New Year Religious (Hindu)
October 26: Intersex Awareness Day (International)
October 26: Rosh Hashanah (Ends the Evening of October 27:) Religious (Jewish)
October 26: End of Birth of the Bab Religious (Baha’i)
October 31: Beginning of Samhain Religious (Wicca/Neopagan)
October 31: All Hollow’s Eve Religious (Catholic & Christian)
October 31: Reformation Day Religious (Christian)
October 31: Samhain Religious (Wiccan/Pagan)

November 1: Beginning of Diabetes Awareness Month, Epilepsy Awareness Month, Men’s Health Awareness Month, National Native American Heritage Month, National Veterans & Military Family Month and Transgender Awareness Month National
November 1: All Saints’ Day/Day of the Dead Religious (Catholic Christian)
November 1: All Souls’ Day Religious (Catholic)
November 1: End of Samhain Religious (Wicca/Neopagan)
November 6: International Stress Awareness Day (International)
November 8: Crowning of Emperor Haile Selassie Religious (Rastafarian)
November 8: Intersex Solidarity Day (International)
November 8: Guru Nanak Gurparab Religious (Sikh)
November 11: Veteran’s Day National
November 19: International Men’s Day (International)
November 20: International Transgender Day of Remembrance National
November 27: Beginning of Advent Religious (Catholic and Protestant Christian/Orthodox Christian)

December 1: Beginning of Universal Human Rights Month National
December 1: World AIDS Day (International)
December 2: International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (International)
December 3: International Day of the Disabled Persons (International)
December 3: International Day of the Disabled Person (International)
December 8: Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Feast of the Immaculate Conception Religious (Catholic Christian)
December 8: Bodhi Day Religious (Buddhist)
December 12: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Religious (Catholic Christian)
December 18: Beginning of Chanukah Religious (Jewish)
December 21: Yule Winter Solstice Religious (Wiccan/Neopagan)
December 21: Yalda Religious (Zoroastrian)
December 24: End of Advent Religious (Catholic and Protestant Christian/Orthodox Christian)
December 25: Christmas Religious (Catholic and Protestant Christian)
December 26: End of Hanukkah Religious (Jewish)
December 26: Beginning of Kwanzaa Cultural
December 30: Feast of the Holy Family Religious (Catholic Christian)
December 31: Watch Night Religious (Christian)

Last Modified: Thursday, August 10, 2023 10:18 am