Multicultural Calendar

(Statutory Holiday in Canada) USA: On June 29, 1894, the U.S. Congress voted Labour Day as a National Holiday to honour working people’s contribution of labour. The day is celebrated with parades and speeches. —– Canada: National Holiday to honour working people’s contribution of labour. The day is celebrated with parades and speeches.

Onam is a Hindu festival celebrated by the people of Kerala in India. Lasting for four to ten days, it is a harvest festival commemorating the homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali from Patala (the underworld) who visits every Malayali home and during this time.

It is in honour of one of Hindu’s major deities, Ganesh, the elephant-headed god. He is known as the ‘remover of all obstacles’ and is invoked at the beginning of all new undertakings.

Celebrated by the Digambara sect and lasts ten days, each day dedicated to a virtue: humility, honesty, purity, forgiveness, truthfulness, self restraint, asceticism, study, celibacy and detachment.

This day is dedicated to introspection, confession and penance, especially for the Shvetambara sect.

10th Month

The effects of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001 impacted Americans and most other nations and has brought us to focus on the devastation terrorism has caused in the world.

(New Year) Coptic Orthodox Christians are found in all of Africa. They include Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Ethiopia. During the time of Pharoahs 4,000 years ago, the appearance of Soothis (Dog Star) marked the signal that the Nile River would rise, flooding the fertile plains so that planting could begin. The end of the rainy season became known as the New Year.

This day celebrates the creation of earth.

Anniversary of the birth of Prophet Muhammad. Some Muslims mark this occasion by special prayers, whilst other Muslims may mark the occasion by dedicating more time to reading the Quran.

Chuseok is referred to as Korean Thanksgiving Day. It’s a celebration of the harvest and thanksgiving for the bounty of the earth. Family members come from all over the country to visit their ancestral homes.

Respect of the Aged Day, or Keiro No Hi, was established as a national holiday in 1966 to express respect for the elders in the community, and to recognise and thank them for their contributions to society and, last but not least, celebrate their long lives.

‘Festival of Ten Virtues’ is a 10-day fast and meditation for the Jains.

Constitution Day (or Citizenship Day) is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens.

The festival is celebrated with family reunions, moon gazing and eating of moon cakes. In Vietnam, it is called ‘Trung Thu.’ On that night, children form a procession and travel through the streets with bright lanterns, singing and dancing to the beat of drums.

The festival is celebrated with family reunions, moon gazing and eating of moon cakes. In China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, it is known as  the Harvest Moon Festival. On that night, children form a procession and travel through the streets with bright lanterns, singing and dancing to the beat of drums.

Ksamavani is the ‘day of universal forgiveness’ for wrongs committed by them and to them.

Originally, it was meant to be just a simple horse race event but the bavarian character quickly took over and it became a happy gathering of cheerful beer drinkers. The Oktoberfest attracts approximately 7 million visitors each year.