Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh
Bahá’í
The anniversary of the death of the founder of the Bahá’í faith in Palestine in 1892 C.E. Adherents suspend work on this day.
Ramadān begins
Islam
A holy month of fasting and prayer, in which all adult and physically competent Muslims abstain from food, water, and sexual relations from dawn to sunset. Ramadān ends on June 24th.
Ascension Day
Ascension Day - Christianity (Western and Eastern churches)
The anniversary of Jesus’ ascension heaven, celebrated forty days after Easter. In the Roman Catholic Church, this day is celebrated on Sunday, May 28th
Birth: Gurū Amar Das
Sikhism
Gurū Amar Das (1479 – 1574 C.E.) was the third of the Sikh Gurūs.
Declaration of the Báb
Bahá’í
The celebration of the day in 1844 C.E. when he announced his identity as the Gate or herald of the new age in Shiraz, Persia (modern-day Iran).
‘Azamat
Bahá’í
The beginning of the fourth month of the Bahá’í year, ‘Azamat means “grandeur.”
Restoration of the Aaronic priesthood
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Marking the restoration of this order by John the Baptist and conferred upon the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on this date in 1829 C.E.
Lag B’Omer
Judaism
The 33rd day in the counting of the period between Pesach [Passover] and Shavuot [the giving of the Law]; the festival begins at sundown.
Visakha Puja [Buddha Day]
Buddhism
Celebrated by Theravdin Buddhists on the full moon of the sixth lunar month, this is a triple commemoration of the historical Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death and entrance into nirvana.
Laylat al-Bara’at
Islam
Also called Nisf Sha‘bān. According to Muslim tradition, Allah approaches the earth on this night (the middle day of the eighth month in the Islamic calendar) to call humanity to repentance and grant forgiveness of sins.
Birthday of Gurū Arjan Dev
Sikhism
Gurū Arjan Dev (1563 – 1606 C.E.) was the fifth of the Sikh Gurūs.
Twelfth Day of Ridván
Bahá’í
The conclusion of the Bahá’í festival that commemorates Bahá’u’lláh’s exile in Baghdad leading up to his declaration as the one announced by the Báb in 1863 C.E.
Beltane
Wicca
Celebration of the sacred marriage of the divine forces—and the conception of the sun-child—that are the basis of all creation.
Shavuot [Feast of Weeks]
Judaism
A two-day festival, beginning at sundown, that celebrates the harvest of first fruits and the giving of the Law (or Torah) to Moses at Mt. Sinai. The name Shavuot derives from the Hebrew words for “seven” and “week,” because it marks seven weeks following Pesach or Passover.
Ghambar Maidyozarem
Zoroastrianism (continues through Thursday, May 4)
Celebrating the creation of sky and the harvesting of the winter crops
Akshaya-tritiya [Immortal Third]
Jainism
A day celebrating when Lord Adinatha or Rishabhadeva, the traditional founder of the Jain faith and the first tīrthankar (a being who helps others to cross the great ocean of worldly life and achieve liberation), broke his first year-long fast by drinking juice from a sugar cane.
Jamál
Bahá’í
The beginning of the third month in the Bahá’í calendar, “Jamál” means “beauty.”
Yom Ha-Shoah
Judaism
A day of remembrance for the six million Jews who died because of Nazi atrocities during World War II. The date chosen is the closest date on the Jewish calendar to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943.
Laylat al-Isra’ wa al-Mi’rāj
Laylat al-Isra’ wa al-Mi’rāj - Islam
The commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad’s night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, his ascent into heaven and return on the same night, and his receipt of Allah’s commandment of the five compulsory daily prayers. This celebration begins at dusk.