Obon (Ullambana)

Urabon, shortened as Obon is a Japanese term translated from the Sanskrit word ‘Ullambana’ which actually means ‘to hang upside down’. It is used to imply the excruciating suffering, be it physical or spiritual, when one is hung upside down. The festival is considered an Invitation to the Dead because it is believed to be […]

Dormition of the Theotokos

The feast of the Dormition or Falling-asleep of the Theotokos is celebrated on the fifteenth of August, preceded by a two-week fast. This feast, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ’s mother. It proclaims that Mary has been “assumed” by God into the heavenly kingdom of Christ […]

National Nonprofit Day

National Nonprofit Day recognizes the goals and positive impacts nonprofits have on communities and the world.

Marcus Garvey Day

Marcus Garvey Day "commemorates Marcus Moziah Garvey, a Jamaican-born Black political activist, publisher, and journalist (to name a few). Garvey was probably the most charismatic Afro-American leader until Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He established a chain of businesses including factories, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and laundries and was the founder of the Negro World newspaper, Black […]

Raksha Bandhan 2024

Originating from Sanskrit, the term Raksha Bandhan translates as “bond of protection.” Observed on the full-moon day during Shravana (July-August), the 5th month in the Hindu lunar calendar, Raksha Bandhan is a popular Hindu holiday celebrating the love between a brother and sister. On this day, a sister ties a threaded amulet, known as a rakhi, around a […]

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

On the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Saint Domingue, today the Republic of Haiti, saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. It is against this background that the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its […]

Jizo Bon Festival

Jizo Bon is a festival that celebrates Jizo Bodhisattva, a guardian deity of children and travelers. It consists of traditions that originated in the ancient capital of Kyoto and were passed down in various parts of the Wakasa region. Around August 23rd or 24th each year, the Jizo Bon Festival is held in villages and […]

National Women’s Equality Day

The United States Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women full and equal voting rights on this day in 1920. Every year on August 26, we commemorate this right with National Women’s Equality Day.

Krishna Janmashtami 2024

Janmashtami, Hindu festival celebrating the birth (janma) of the god Krishna on the eighth (ashtami) day of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada (August–September). The number eight has another significance in the Krishna legend in that he is the eighth child of his mother, Devaki. The occasion is observed especially in Mathura and Vrindavan (Brindaban), the scenes of Krishna’s childhood and early youth. On […]

Janmashtami

Janmashtami, Hindu festival celebrating the birth (janma) of the god Krishna on the eighth (ashtami) day of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada (August–September). The number eight has another significance in the Krishna legend in that he is the eighth child of his mother, Devaki. The occasion is observed especially in Mathura and Vrindavan (Brindaban), the scenes of Krishna’s childhood and early youth. […]