Expanding our knowledge of the diverse cultural and faith traditions of our patients, faculty members, staff members and students helps strengthen our relationships with one another and positively impacts the quality of patient care.
The Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity and the Department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy have created a Religious and Cultural Observances Toolkit to provide general information about cultural and religious observances, and how they may impact interactions with colleagues, students, and patients and their family members.
Use these fact sheets as guides for supporting our patients, staff members, faculty members and students. Please keep in mind that they are intended to provide a general overview, and the information may not apply to all individuals in any given culture or faith.
For More Information
For additional information, or to recommend additional religious or cultural observances we should highlight, please contact the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity at diversity@jhmi.edu or Paula Teague, senior director of the Department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy, at pteague1@jhmi.edu.
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Religious and Cultural Observances Toolkit
2022 Religious & Cultural Observances | Date |
January | |
---|---|
New Year's Day | Jan 1 |
Epiphany (Three Kings Day) | Jan 6 |
Orthodox Christmas | Jan 7 |
Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti Sikh | Jan 9 |
Makar Sankranti Hindu | Jan 14 |
Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Jan 17 |
February | |
National Black History Month | |
Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) | Feb 1 |
President's Day | Feb 21 |
Ayyám-i-Há Baha'i | Feb 25-Mar 1 |
March | |
National Women's History Month | |
Maha Shivaratri Hindu | Mar 1 |
Month of Fast Baha'i | Mar 2-20 |
Ash Wednesday and Lent - Eastern and Western Traditions | Mar 2 |
Losar Buddhist | Mar 3-5 |
Clean Monday (Lent Begins for Eastern Orthodox Churches) | Mar 7 |
Purim Jewish | Mar 16-17 |
Tao-te Tien-tsun (High Pure One) Taoist | Mar 17 |
St. Patrick's Day | Mar 17 |
Holi Hindu | Mar 18 |
Taoist Festival honoring the Shen of Water, East and Spring | Mar 20 |
Nowruz/Naw-Ruz Baha'i | Mar 20 |
Transgender Day of Visibility | Mar 31 |
April | |
National Arab American Heritage Month | |
Ugadi/Gudi Padwa Hindu | Apr 1 |
Ramadan (Month of Fasting) Islam | Apr 2- May 2 |
Qingming Festival Chinese | Apr 5 |
Palm Sunday | Apr 10 |
Vaisakhi Sikh/Hindu | Apr 14 |
Memorial of Jesus' Death Jehovah Witness | Apr 15 |
Good Friday/Holy Friday | Apr 15 |
Passover Jewish | Apr 15-23 |
Easter (Western Christianity) | Apr 17 |
Festival of Ridvan Baha'i | Apr 20- May 2 |
Easter (Greek/Eastern Orthodox) | Apr 24 |
Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) | Apr 27-28 |
May | |
Jewish American Heritage Month Military Appreciation Month | |
Beltane Wiccan | May 1 |
Eid-al Fitr Islam | May 2-3 |
Cinco de Mayo Mexican Heritage | May 5 |
Visakha Puja Buddhist | May 6 |
Armed Forces Day | May 21 |
Declaration of the Báb Baha'i | May 24 |
Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh Baha'i | May 29 |
Memorial Day | May 31 |
June | |
Caribbean-American Heritage Month National Immigrant Heritage Month | |
Dragon Boat Festival Chinese | Jun 3 |
Shavuot Jewish | June 4-6 |
Pentecost (Western Christianity) | Jun 5 |
Pentecost (Greek/Eastern Orthodox) | Jun 12 |
Juneteenth (Emancipation and End of Slavery) | Jun 19 |
World Refugee Day | Jun 20 |
Taoist Festival honoring Shang-Ti | Jun 21 |
July | |
Independence Day | Jul 4 |
Martyrdom of the Báb Baha'i | Jul 10 |
Eid al-Adha Islam | Jul 9-10 |
Al-Hijra/Muharram Islam New Year | Jul 29- Aug 27 |
August | |
Thiru Aadi Pooram Hindu | Aug 1 |
Ashura Islam | Aug 7-8 |
Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi) Hindu | Aug 11 |
Dormition of the Theotokos Orthodox | Aug 15 |
Krishna Janmashtami Hindu | Aug 18 |
September | |
Hispanic Heritage Month | Sep 15-Oct 15 |
Labor Day | Sep 5 |
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary | Sep 8 |
Chinese Celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival | Sep 10 |
Exaltation of the Holy Cross | Sep 14 |
Mabon (Autumnal Equinox) | Sep 23 |
Taoist Festival honoring Shen of Winds, West, Autumn | Sep 23 |
Rosh Hashanah Jewish | Sep 25-27 |
Navratri Hindu | Sep 26- Oct 4 |
October | |
German American Heritage Month Italian American Heritage Month National Disability Employment Awareness Month Polish American Heritage Month | |
Double Ninth Festival Chinese | Oct 4 |
Yom Kippur Jewish | Oct 4-5 |
Vijayadashami/Dussehra Hindu | Oct 5 |
Sukkot Jewish | Oct 9-16 |
Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah Jewish | Oct 16-18 |
Diwali (Indian Festival of Lights) | Oct 24 |
Twin Holy Days Baha'i | Oct 25-27 |
Samhain Gaelic | Oct 31-Nov 1 |
November | |
National Native American Heritage Month | |
All Saints' Day | Nov 1 |
Dia de los Muertos Mexican Heritage | Nov 1-2 |
Veterans Day | Nov 11 |
Transgender Day of Remembrance | Nov 20 |
Thanksgiving Day | Nov 24 |
Native American Heritage Day | Nov 25 |
Day of the Covenant | Nov 26 |
Ascension of Abdu'l-Bahá Baha'i | Nov 28 |
Nativity Fast (Eastern Orthodox) | Nov 28 - Jan 6 |
December | |
Advent | Dec 1-24 |
Hanukkah Jewish | Dec 18-26 |
Dongzhi Festival Chinese | Dec 21 |
Yalda (Winter Solstice) | Dec 21 |
Yule (Winter Solstice) Wiccan | Dec 21-Jan 1 |
HumanLight Humanist | Dec 23 |
Christmas Day | Dec 25 |
Kwanzaa | Dec 26-Jan 1 |
Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti Sikh | Dec 29 |