Religious Holidays and Holy Days
Major Religious Holidays and Celebrations 2020-2021
Below is a list of holidays, traditional days of observances and important days of religious significance. This is not a comprehensive list of dates and a more detailed list can be found at www.interfaith-calendar.org.
Please take note of the dates in UPPER CASE and RED. These require abstinence from all secular activity and fall under the attendance policy adopted by the University Senate and the Board of Trustees.
Miami excuses class absences for religious observances. Students must give written notification to their instructors within the first two weeks of class of the religious event that prohibits class attendance and the date that will be missed, if officially known. For such an absence, Miami expects the instructor to provide students with reasonable accommodations for completing missed work. Read the full policy
The following template may be used as a guide when communicating an absence with a professor:
Sample email request to miss class for a religious holiday
Dear Professor __________,
In celebration of the religious holiday ________________, I am requesting to miss class on ____________ (add additional holidays/dates as needed). My plan to get information on what I miss in class is ____________________ (for example, indicate if you would like to meet with the professor outside of class). I respectfully request this in accordance with the University Class Attendance policy website and associated holiday calendar.
Thank you,
___________
Dates with an asterisk (*) indicate holy days beginning at sundown the day before this date.
Dates with two asterisks (**) indicate that regional customs or moon sightings may cause a variation of this date.
| DATE | HOLIDAY |
|---|---|
| May 23-24, 2020 | * ** Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan) Islam |
| June 7, 2020 | Pentecost Christian |
| June 14, 2020 | All Saints Day Orthodox Christian |
| July 9, 2020 | * Martyrdom of the Bab Baha’i |
| DATE | HOLIDAY |
|---|---|
| July 31-August 3, 2020 | * ** Eid al Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) Islam |
| August 12, 2020 | ** Krishna Janmashtami Hindu |
| August 22, 2020 | ** Ganesh Chaturthi Hindu |
| August 29, 2020 | * ** Ashura (Tenth of Muharram) Islam |
| September 19-20, 2020 | * ROSH HASHANAH Jewish |
| September 28, 2020 | * YOM KIPPUR Jewish |
| September 29, 2020 | Saint Michael and All Angels Christian |
| October 3-9, 2020 | * Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) Jewish |
| October 10, 2020 | * Shemini Atzeret (Eighth day of Sukkot) Jewish |
| October 11, 2020 | * Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law) Jewish |
| October 17-24, 2020 | ** Navaratri Hindu |
| October 20, 2020 | * BIRTH OF THE BÁB Baha’i |
| October 24, 2020 | ** VIJAYA DASAMI (LAST DAY OF NAVARATRI) Hindu |
| November 1, 2020 | All Saints Day Christian |
| November 12, 2020 | * BIRTH OF THE BAHA’U’LLAH Baha’i |
| November 14, 2020 | ** DEEPAVALI (DIWALI) Hindu ** BANDHI CHLOR DIVAS (Coincides with DIWALI) Sikh |
| November 29, 2020 | Advent (First Sunday) Christian |
| November 30, 2020 | ** Gurupurab Guru Nanak Dev Ji Sikh |
| December 8, 2020 | ** Rohatsu (Bodhi Day) Buddhism |
| December 11-18, 2020 |
* Hanukkah |
| December 25, 2020 |
Christmas |
| December 26, 2020 - January 1, 2021 | Kwanzaa African/Interfaith |
| DATE | HOLIDAY |
|---|---|
| January 5, 2021 | ** Gurupurab Guru Gobind Singh Ji Sikh |
| January 6, 2021 | Christmas Eve Orthodox Christian (Old Calendar) |
| January 7, 2021 | Christmas Orthodox Christian (Old Calendar) |
| January 14, 2021 | New Year Orthodox Christian (Old Calendar) |
| February 12, 2021 | Lunar New Year Chūnjié (Chinese New Year) Losar (Tibetan New Year) Seolnal (Korean New Year) Tết Nguyên Đán (Vietnamese New Year) |
| February 17, 2021 |
Ash Wednesday (Lent Begins) |
| February 26, 2021 | * Purim (Feast of Esther) Jewish |
| March 28, 2021 | Palm Sunday Christian |
| March 28- April 8, 2021 | * Pesach (Passover) Jewish |
| March 28-29, 2021 | * PESACH (Passover first two days) Jewish |
| March 29, 2021 | ** Hola Mohalla (Coincides with Holi) Sikh |
| April 1, 2021 | Maundy Thursday Christian |
| April 2, 2021 | Good Friday Christian |
| April 4, 2021 | Easter Sunday Christian |
| April 4, 2021 | Palm Sunday Orthodox Christian |
| April 7-8, 2021 | * PESACH (Passover last two days) Jewish |
| April 11, 2021 | Easter Orthodox Christian |
| April 13, 2021 | * ** First day of Ramadan (30 days) Islam |
| April 14, 2021 | ** Vaisakhi Sikh |
| DATE | HOLIDAY |
|---|---|
| May 14-16, 2021 | * ** Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan) Islam |
| May 23, 2021 | Pentecost Christian |
| May 30, 2021 | All Saints Day Orthodox Christian |
| July 9, 2021 | * Martyrdom of the Bab Baha’i |
While other religious holidays listed or not listed may not necessarily require abstinence from all secular activity, one should be sensitive to certain other observations that may involve fasting, a dietary change, or special celebrations that may occur during the day or in the evening. Jewish and Islamic days begin at sundown of the day preceding the date shown and end at sundown of the (last) date shown. Orthodox and observant Conservative Jews stop all work-related activities from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday to observe Shabbat (Sabbath). Other religious traditions include similar practices. For example, Seventh-day Adventists observe the Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. For more information on religious holidays, visit the Center for American and World Cultures. The Interfaith Calendar and other sources were used to develop this document. Revisions to the calendar should be directed to provost@MiamiOH.edu.