Appendix H: Cultural Days of Observance 2021 and 2022

4 Paryushan-Parvarambha (Jain)*

6-8 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish)*

7 Labour Day* (Canadian)

6-10 Mennonite Heritage Week*

10 Ganesh Chaturthi (Hindu)* / World Suicide Prevention Day

15 International Day of Democracy / Yom Kippur*

19 Powley Day (Ontario)

20-27 Sukkot (Judaism)*

24 Bisexual Awareness Day

21-25 International Week of the Deaf

25 Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre (WISC) Pow Wow*

26 Hoshana Rabbah*

27-29 Shemini Atzeret (Judaism)*

30 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Canadian) / Orange Shirt Day 

German Heritage Month

Canadian Islamic History Month

Latin American Heritage Month

Women’s History Month (Canada)

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

1 National Senior Day

4 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls National Day of Remembrance

6-14 Navratri (Hindu)*

10 World Mental Health Day

11 Thanksgiving* (Canada) / National Coming Out Day / International Day of the Girl / National Indigenous Peoples Day (US)*

14 Dussehra (Hindu)*

18 Healthcare Aide Day / Persons’ Day (Canada) / Mawlid al Nabi (Islam)*

20 International Pronouns Day*

25 Haldimand Treaty of 1784 Anniversary

31 Halloween

Financial Literacy Month

1 All Saints’ Day

1-5 Treaties Recognition Week (Ontario)*

4 Diwali (Sikh, Hindu, Jain)*

6 Birth of the Bab (Bahá’í)*

7 Inuit Day (International) / Birth of Bahá’u’lláh (Bahá’í)*

8 National Indigenous Veterans Day

10 International Accounting Day

11 Remembrance Day (Canadian)

16 Louis Riel Day (Ontario)*

19 Guru Nanak’s Birthday – Bikrami (Sikh)*

20 Trans Day of Remembrance

22-28 Canada History Week*

25 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women [start of 16 days]

27 Holodomor Memorial Day* / Ascension of Abdu’l-Bahá (Bahá’í)*

28 First day of Hanukkah* [starts in the evening]

November 28–January 6, 2022: Nativity Fast (Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic) *

3 International Day of Persons With Disabilities

6 Last day of Hanukkah* / National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

10 Human Rights Day [end of 16 days]

13 Aga Khan’s Birthday (Islam Ismaili)*

18 International Migrants Day

24 Christmas Eve (Christian)

25 Christmas Day (Christian)

26 Boxing Day / Kwanzaa / Death of Prophet Zarathustra (Zoroastrian)

1 New Year’s Day

4 World Braille Day

6 Christmas (Armenian Apostolic Church)

7 Christmas (Christian-Coptic and Eastern Orthodox)

14 Orthodox New Year (Orthodox Christian)

16-17 Tu B’Shevat (Jewish)*

17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day* / Tu B’Shevat (Arbor Day)

20 Bodhi Day (Buddhism)

24 World Day for African and Afro-descendant Culture / International Day of Education

27 International Holocaust Remembrance Day

29 National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia

Black History Month

1 Chinese/Lunar New Year*

2 Groundhog Day

4 World Cancer Day

5 Vasant Panchami (Hindu)*

6 International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

11 International Day of Women and Girls in Science

14 Valentine’s Day

15 National Flag of Canada Day

16 Magha Puja (Buddhism)*

17 Louis Riel Day (MB)*

20 World Day of Social Justice (United Nations)

21 Family Day* / International Mother Language Day / Mi’Kmaq and Nova Scotia Heritage Day*

23 Pink Shirt Day*

Women’s History Month (US)

Irish History Month

1 St. David’s Day / Isra and Mi’raj / Zero Discrimination Day / Maha Shivaratri (Hindu)*

2 Ash Wednesday, Start of Lent (Christian, to April 14)*

2-20 Nineteen Day Fast (Bahá’í)

3 Losar (Tibet)* / Chotrul Duchen (Tibetan Buddhists)*

8 International Women’s Day

14 Commonwealth Day

16-17 Purim (Jewish)*

17 St. Patrick’s Day / Holi (Hindu)*

21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination / Nowruz/New Year (Bahá’í)* / Persian New Year*

24 Right to Truth Day

25 International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

26 Birth Anniversary of Prophet Zarathustra (Zoroastrian)*

31 International Trans Day of Visibility

Sikh Heritage Month

Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month

1 Hindu New Year (first day of Chaitra)*

2 Start of Ramadan (Islam) to sundown May 1st* / World Autism Awareness Day

7 World Health Day

10 Palm Sunday (Christian)* / Ram Navami (Hindu)*

13-15 Songkran (Thailand)*

14 International Day of Pink / Khmer New Year (Cambodia)* / Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Myanmar, Sri Lanka)* / Vaisakhi (Sikh)*

15-18 Good/Holy Friday (Christian, Easter Orthodox)*/ Easter (Christian)* / Easter Monday (Christian)*

15-23 Passover/Pesach (Jewish)*

16 Theravada New Year (Buddhism)*

April 21-May 3: Feast of Ridvan (Bahá’i)*

22 Earth Day / Orthodox Good Friday

23 Holy Saturday (Coptic-Christian and Eastern Orthodox)*

24 Easter/ Pasha (Coptic-Christian and Eastern Orthodox)*

25 Easter Monday (Coptic-Christian and Eastern Orthodox)*

27 Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah)

28 Laylatul Qadr (Night of Power)

Asian Heritage Month

Canadian Jewish Heritage Month

Mental Health Awareness Month

3 Eid ul Fitr (Islam)* to sundown May 3rd

5 Yom Ha’atzmaut / Dutch Heritage Day

6 Vesak (Buddhist)*

8 Mother’s Day*

17 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia

21 International Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

23 Victoria Day* (Canadian)

24 Declaration of the Bab (Bahá’í)*

29 Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (Bahá’í)

Indigenous History Month

Pride Month

Italian Heritage Month

Filipino Heritage Month

4 Shavuot (Jewish)*

5 World Environment Day

19 Father’s Day*

20 World Refugee Day

21 National Indigenous People’s Day

24 Saint Jean Baptiste Day

27 Canadian Multicultural Day

28 Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval

1 Canada Day (Canadian)

9 Nunavut Day

10 Huron Tract Treaty of 1827 Anniversary / Martyrdom of the Bab (Bahá’í)*

10-11 Eid ul Adha*

11 Imamat Day (Islam Ismailli)*

13 Asala Dharma Day (Buddhist)*

18 Nelson Mandela Day

30 Muharram (Islam)*

1 Civic Holiday* (Canadian)/ Emancipation Day

9 International Day of the World’s Indigenous People

12 Raksha Bandhan (Hindu)*

13 Obon (Japanese Buddhist)*

15 National Acadian Day

15-19 Public Service Pride Week*

17 Marcus Garvey Day (Jamaica)

18 Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu)*

19 World Humanitarian Day

23 International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition / Paryushan-Parvarambha (Jain)*

31 Ganesh Chaturthi (Hindu)*

5 Labour Day* (Canadian)

5-9 Mennonite Heritage Week*

10 World Suicide Prevention Day

15 International Day of Democracy

19 Powley Day (Ontario)

19-23 International Week of the Deaf

24 Bisexual Awareness Day / Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre Pow Wow*

25-27 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish)*

September 26-October 5: Navratri (Hindu)*

30 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Canadian) / Orange Shirt Day

German Heritage Month

Canadian Islamic History Month

Latin American Heritage Month

Women’s History Month (Canada)

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

1 National Senior Day

4 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) National Day of Remembrance / Yom Kippur* / Dussehra (Hindu)*

8 Mawlid al Nabi (Islam)*

9-16 Sukkot (Judaism)*

17-19 Shemini Atzeret (Judaism)*

10 Thanksgiving* (Canada) / World Mental Health Day / National Indigenous Peoples Day (US)*

11 National Coming Out Day / International Day of the Girl

12-13 Karva Chauth (Hindu)

16 Hoshana Robbah*

18 Healthcare Aide Day / Persons’ Day (Canada)

19 International Pronouns Day*

24 Diwali (Sikh, Hindu, Jain)*

25 Haldimand Treaty of 1784 Anniversary

26 Birth of the Bab (Bahá’í)*

27 Birth of Bahá’u’lláh (Bahá’í)*

31 Halloween

Financial Literacy Month

1 All Saints’ Day

1-4 Treaties Recognition Week (Ontario)*

7 Inuit Day (International) / Guru Nanak’s Birthday –Bikrami (Sikh)*

8 National Indigenous Veterans Day

10 International Accounting Day

11 Remembrance Day (Canadian)

20 Trans Day of Remembrance

20-26 Canada History Week*

25 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women [start of 16 days]

26 Holodomor Memorial Day*

28 Ascension of Abdu’l-Bahá (Bahá’í)*

November 28-January 6, 2023: Nativity Fast (Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic)*

1 World AIDS Day

2 International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

3 International Day of Persons With Disabilities

6 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

10 Human Rights Day [end of 16 days]

13 Aga Khan’s Birthday (Islam Ismaili)*

18 International Migrants Day

18-26 Hanukkah (Jewish)*

20 International Human Solidarity Day

24 Christmas Eve (Christian)

25 Christmas Day (Christian)

26 Boxing Day / Kwanzaa / Death of Prophet Zarathustra (Zoroastrian)