Haitian Heritage Month is a nationally recognized month and an opportunity for individuals including Haitians and the lovers of Haitian culture to celebrate the rich culture, distinctive art, delicious food and learn the traditions of Haiti and its people. The heritage month is an expansion of the annual Haitian Flag Day which falls on May 18th. Haiti is a Caribbean country mostly populated by African descendants.  In 1804, Haiti gained its independence from French colonizers, making it the first Black republic in the world to free itself from colonial rule. As of the 2018 census, there are 1,084,055 Haitians or people of Haitian descent living in the United States, and approximately 20,000 Haitian immigrants living in CT.

Learn more at the Haitian Heritage Museum online: http://www.haitianheritagemuseum.org/

Each May, organizations around the country of all different backgrounds join in paying tribute to the generations of Jewish Americans who helped form the fabric of American history, culture and society. The designation is an opportunity to educate, explore and celebrate the diverse lives and experiences and contributions of Jewish Americans. 

For more information visit the Jewish American Heritage website.

The date for Easter depends on which church you practice in. Catholics and Protestants follow the Gregorian calendar while Orthodox Christians follow the Juian calendar.  Catholic/Protestant Easter comes earlier and will be March 31 this year, while the Orthodox Christians celebrate May 5th.

The Thursday evening before Easter begins the Easter Triduum—the three-day period which is the holiest period of the Christian year and the most important Christian festival. The Triduum begins with the evening Maundy Thursday service commemorating the Last Supper, and continues through Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday.  Churches are often filled with flowers, special hymns and songs and celebratory rituals.

Easter is an important religious festival that celebrates central events of the Christian faith: Jesus' resurrection, victory over death, and evil or malevolent forces that threaten to crush the spirits and bodies of all humanity, symbolizing eternal life, renewal, new beginnings, freedom, liberation from oppression, healing, and joy.

There are also non-religious customs related to Easter, and some consider this the symbolic start of spring. Family gatherings, Easter dinners, egg dying and egg hunts are common traditions in the United States but there are many different traditions around the world.  Check out Scholastic for Easter traditions around the world.

 It is a joyful and sacred holiday that celebrates G-d’s liberating love and work to free the people from slavery and to bring them out of Egypt. 

The main ritual of Passover is the “Seder” (which means “order”). The Seder is a festive meal that involves the re-telling of the Exodus through stories and song and the consumption of ritual foods, including matzah (unleavened bread) and maror (bitter herbs). Passover is celebrated with family and friends with the Seder on the first two nights of the holiday. During the remainder of the holiday, they will continue to eat unleavened foods. 

For Arab-Americans and other Muslims, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Ramadan, is of great importance. Ramadan is a time where Muslims focus on spiritual reflection, self-control, self-discipline, universal brotherhood, and worship. 

During Ramadan, most Muslims observe: a complete fast from dawn to dusk for up to 30 days. Eid al-Fitr, or the Festival of Sweets, marks the end of Ramadan’s fasting period. Eid is honored with large, community prayer services in the morning and then gatherings and shared meals with friends and family. 

March is Women’s History  Month, a time when we celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States over the course of American history in a variety of fields. The designation dates back to 1981, when Congress authorized the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating the week in March until 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, when Congress designated the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” Presidents have since issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month,” and it has become a widely acknowledged time to honor women and learn more about the work that remains to secure full gender equality. 

March is Women’s History  Month, a time when we celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States over the course of American history in a variety of fields. The designation dates back to 1981, when Congress authorized the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating the week in March until 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, when Congress designated the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” Presidents have since issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month,” and it has become a widely acknowledged time to honor women and learn more about the work that remains to secure full gender equality. 

Bisexual+ Health Awareness Month (#BiHealthMonth), led annually in March, aims to raise awareness about the bisexual+ community’s social, economic, and health disparities; advocates for resources; and inspires actions to improve bi+ people’s well-being. For more information, visit the Bisexual Resource Center or HRC.

Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the most honored festival in China and a major event in other East Asian countries. Sunday, February 10, 2024, marks the first new moon of the lunar calendar and the start of the Year of the Dragon, specifically the Wood Dragon. The New Year is often celebrated with dragon dances, lion dances, gift exchanging and fireworks. Traditions include honoring ancestors and ceremonies to welcome the new year with good luck, good fortune, wealth, prosperity and happiness. The multi-day festival culminates with the Lantern Festival on February 24th, in which the dark winter sky is lit up with the bright promise of the year ahead.

Lunar New Year is celebrated differently throughout Asia and among people of different backgrounds. While many equate Lunar New Year with Chinese New Year, In Vietnam, for instance, Lunar New Year is known as “Tết'' or  “Vietnamese New Year,'' and they have traditional bánh chưng (cake) and decorate their houses with hoađào (peach blossom trees) or hoamai (yellow Mai flower, a type of tree with yellow flowers). In South Korea, Lunar New Year is called Seollal (/sŏllal/) and traditional Korean clothing called hanbok is worn , and ancestral rites are performed and traditional food such as tteokguk (soup with sliced rice cakes) and jeon (pancakes) are enjoyed. Learn more here.

Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, is an annual, month-long celebration of achievements by African Americans and an important time to recognize their central role in U.S. history.  This year’s theme is: African Americans and the Arts. Black History Month originated in 1915, a half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, arising from the work of Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian, and Jesse E. Moorland, a prominent minister.  They founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by Black Americans and other peoples of African descent and group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. 

In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month and it has been recognized in February ever since. Black History Month is a significant time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans —from activists and civil rights pioneers such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks to leaders in industry, politics, science, culture and more. 

For more information, go to Black History Month History.com or The Smithsonian. 

On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill into law, designating the third Monday in January a federal holiday in observance of American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929, dedicated his life to advocating for equality and racial justice. The holiday, which  falls on the third Monday of January each year, is a day to remember and honor Dr. King's message and it is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities. Dr. King wrote, spoke, marched and stood up for what he believed in. For more information, go to: https://nationaltoday.com/martin-luther-king-day/ or The King Center. 

Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture that begins December 26th and goes through January 1st, ending in a communal feast called Karamu. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa celebrations often include songs and dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large traditional meal. On each of the seven nights, the family gathers and a child lights one of the candles on the Kinara (candleholder), then one of the seven principles is discussed. To learn more about the Kwanzaa principles and how it’s celebrated, please visit The History Channel. 

Boxing Day follows on December 26th and originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor but is not primarily known as a shopping holiday. Boxing Day is typically celebrated in the United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and some other British Commonwealth nations. 

Christmas is a religious and cultural holiday, celebrated by Christians and non-Christians, occurs every year on December 25th (some Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th).  For Christians, it is one of the holiest days of the year, marking the birth of Jesus, whom Christians believe is the incarnation of God who took on human form and came to live among humanity to bring light and salvation to a broken world. Christmas has also become a major secular holiday, with many traditions that are loosely connected to the Christian tradition, like Christmas evergreen trees that symbolize life even in the midst of the darkness of winter. For both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas is a holiday emphasizing themes of love, peace, and goodwill toward all.

Please visit here to see how Christmas is celebrated around the world or here to learn more about Christmas. 

The holiday season begins with the celebration of Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah and חֲנֻכָּה‎ or חֲנוּכָּה) starting the evening of December 7th and continuing to the evening of December 15th.

Chanukah is an 8 day Jewish celebration rich in stories and rituals exemplifying renewed dedication to community, values and faith.  The holiday commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century BC where, according to tradition, the Maccabean Jews rose up in revolt against their Greek-Syrian oppressors.  For more information about how Chanukah is celebrated and observed, please visit: What is Chanukah?

On August 3, 1990, then President George H. W. Bush declared the month of November, "National American Indian Heritage Month," now commonly referred to as Native American Heritage Month.  Native American Heritage Month celebrates the cultures, traditions, and contributions of Native people, across American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and American Samoan communities.  The Boys and Girls Clubs of America posted a great article, 8 Ways to Celebrate Native American Heritage Month that you can look at with your children. CT Public/PBS also has many age appropriate resources on CT Public as well as National Park Service.

Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latino and Hispanic communities and how they have contributed to American society.  The term Hispanic or Latino (or the more recent term, Latinx) refers to a person’s culture or origin—regardless of race. On the 2020 Census form, people were counted as Hispanic or Latino or Spanish if they could identify as having Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or “another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.” 

Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 will last from Friday, September 15, 2023 through Sunday, October 15, 2023.   September 15 was chosen as the start of Hispanic Heritage Month because it coincides with the Independence Day celebrations of five “Central American neighbors,” as President Lyndon B. Johnson called them—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Those five nations declared their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. In President Johnson's proclamation, he also acknowledged Mexico, which declared its independence from Spain on September 16, 1810. Chile also celebrates its independence during that week (September 18, 1810 from Spain) and Belize also declared its independence from Great Britain on September 21, 1981.  Mexico, Chile and Belize were added to the initial list of nations celebrated during what is now known as Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Hispanic Heritage Month began as a commemorative week when it was first introduced in June of 1968 by California Congressman George E. Brown. The push to recognize the contributions of the Hispanic community had gained momentum throughout the 1960s when the civil rights movement was at its peak and there was a growing awareness of the United States' multicultural identities. By 1988, Senator Paul Simon (D-Illinois), submitted a similar bill that successfully passed Congress and was signed into law on August 17, 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. On September 14, 1989, President George H.W. Bush became the first president to declare the month long celebration from, September 15 to October 15, as National Hispanic Heritage Month. 

For more information visit History.com website.