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Holidays & Observances
Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latino and Hispanic communities. Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 will last from Friday, September 15, 2023 through Sunday, October 15, 2023. The event commemorates how those communities have influenced and contributed to American society at large.
The reasoning behind choosing these specific 31 days is that it coincides with the Independence Day celebrations of several Latin American countries. September 15th marks the Independence Day celebrations in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, which all declared independence from Spain on that day in 1821. Mexico declared independence from Spain on September 16th, 1810, while Chile declared independence from Spain on September 18th, 1810 and Belize declared independence from Great Britain on September 21st, 1981.
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 actually began as a commemorative week when it was first introduced in June of 1968 by California Congressman George E. Brown. President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first Hispanic Heritage Week presidential proclamation the same day.
Hispanic Heritage Month provides an additional opportunity to explore the incredible impact Latinas and Latinos have had on the United States for generations. The Latino presence in America spans centuries, predating Spain’s colonization of what is now part of the United States, and they have been an integral part of shaping our nation since the Revolutionary War. Through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Treaty of Paris that followed the Mexican-American and Spanish-American wars, the United States gained territories in the Southwest and Puerto Rico. This incorporated the people of this area into the United States and further expanded the presence of Hispanic Americans.
Today, the Latino population in the United States today is over 60 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This makes up 18.9% of the total population and is the largest racial or ethnic group. Latinos continue to help fuel our economy and enrich our nation as entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, entertainers, scientists, public servants, and much more.
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October is Italian-American Heritage Month which recognizes the contributions and achievements of Italian-Americans. According to the Italian American Studies Association, the current population of Italian Americans (i.e. Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry) is about 18 million, corresponding to about 5.4% of the total population of the United States. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, with significant communities also residing in many other major U.S. metropolitan areas.
Italian-Americans have made many contributions to the U.S., especially in art, humanities, and sciences. In 1880, Italians began migrating to the U.S. to flee rural poverty in Southern Italy and Sicily, and today, Americans of Italian descent are the nation's fifth-largest ethnic group.
Italian-American Heritage Month was first celebrated in 1989 with a proclamation of the United States Congress and President George H. W. Bush. This year marks the 35th anniversary of that proclamation.
Each year Italians around the country take time to celebrate their heritage, history, and culture with festivals and parades. The largest parade occurs on Columbus Day in New York City and has over 35,000 marchers!
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In October, Americans observe National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) by paying tribute to the accomplishments of the men and women with disabilities whose work helps keep the nation’s economy strong and by reaffirming their commitment to ensure equal opportunity for all citizens. NDEAM celebrates the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities past and present and showcases supportive, inclusive employment policies and practices that benefit employers and employees.
This effort to educate the public about the issues related to disability and employment began in 1945, when Congress enacted Public Law 176, declaring the first week of October each year as National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week. In 1962, the word “physically” was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. Some 25 years later, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
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Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement—is considered the most important holiday in the Jewish faith. Falling in the month of Tishrei (September or October in the Gregorian calendar), it marks the culmination of the 10 Days of Awe, a period of introspection and repentance that follows Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. According to tradition, it is on Yom Kippur that God decides each person’s fate, so Jews are encouraged to make amends and ask forgiveness for sins committed during the past year. The holiday is observed with a 25-hour fast and a special religious service. Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah are known as Judaism’s “High Holy Days.”
According to tradition, the first Yom Kippur took place after the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and arrival at Mount Sinai, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Descending from the mountain, Moses caught his people worshipping a golden calf and shattered the sacred tablets in anger. Because the Israelites atoned for their idolatry, God forgave their sins and offered Moses a second set of tablets.
According to tradition, God judges all creatures during the 10 Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, deciding whether they will live or die in the coming year. Jewish law teaches that God inscribes the names of the righteous in the “book of life” and condemns the wicked to death on Rosh Hashanah; people who fall between the two categories have until Yom Kippur to perform “teshuvah,” or repentance. As a result, observant Jews consider Yom Kippur and the days leading up to it a time for prayer, good deeds, reflecting on past mistakes and making amends with others.
Traditions and Symbols of Yom Kippur
Traditions and Symbols of Yom Kippur
Pre-Yom Kippur feast: On the eve of Yom Kippur, families and friends gather for a bountiful feast that must be finished before sunset. The idea is to gather strength for 25 hours of fasting.
Breaking of the fast: After the final Yom Kippur service, many people return home for a festive meal. It traditionally consists of breakfast-like comfort foods such as blintzes, noodle pudding and baked goods.
Wearing white: It is customary for religious Jews to dress in white—a symbol of purity—on Yom Kippur. Some married men wear kittels, which are white burial shrouds, to signify repentance.
Charity: Some Jews make donations or volunteer their time in the days leading up to Yom Kippur. This is seen as a way to atone and seek God’s forgiveness. One ancient custom known as kapparot involves holding a live chicken or bundle of coins and circling it over one’s head while reciting a prayer. The chicken or money is then given to the poor.
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Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra,Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Durga Puja and Navaratri. It is observed on the tenth day of the month of Ashvin, the seventh in the Hindu lunisolar calendar.The festival typically falls in the Gregorian calendar months of September and October.
Vijayadashami is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian subcontinent.In the southern, eastern, northeastern, and some northern states of India, Vijayadashami marks the end of Durga Puja, commemorating goddess Durga's victory against the buffalo-demon Mahishasura to restore and protect dharma. In the northern, central, and western states, it marks the end of Ramlila and commemorates the deity Rama's victory over the demon-king Ravana. Alternatively, it marks a reverence for Durga one of the aspects of the feminine power (Shakti)
Vijayadashami celebrations include processions to a river or ocean front that involve carrying clay statues of Durga,Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya, accompanied by music and chants, after which the images are immersed in the water for dissolution and farewell. In other places, towering effigies of Ravana, symbolising evil, are burnt with fireworks, marking evil's destruction. The festival also starts the preparations for Diwali, the important festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after Vijayadashami.
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Sukkot is a weeklong Jewish holiday that comes five days after Yom Kippur. Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the miraculous protection G‑dprovided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. We celebrate Sukkot by dwelling in a foliage-covered booth (known as a sukkah) and by taking the “Four Kinds” (arba minim), four special species of vegetation.
The first 2 days (sundown on October 16 until nightfall on October 18 in 2024) of the holiday (one day in Israel) are yom tov, when work is forbidden, candles are lit in the evening, and festive meals are preceded by Kiddush and include challah dipped in honey.
The intermediate days (nightfall on October 18 until sundown on October 23 in 2024) are quasi holidays, known as Chol Hamoed. We dwell in the sukkah and take the Four Kinds every day of Sukkot (except for Shabbat, when we do not take the Four Kinds).
The final 2 days (sundown on October 23 until nightfall on October 25 in 2024) are a separate holiday (one day in Israel): Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah. Following the seven joyous days of Sukkot, is the happy holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. The first day is called Shemini Atzeret and people still dwell in the sukkah, but without a blessing. Yizkor, the memorial for the departed, is also said on this day. The second day is known as Simchat Torah, during which the annual Torah reading cycle is completed. This joyous milestone is marked with dancing, traditionally following seven circuits known as hakafot, as the Torah scrolls are held aloft. Both days are celebrated by nightly candle lighting, festive meals at both night and day, and desisting from work. In Israel, the entire holiday is compacted into one heady 24-hour period.
Of all the Jewish holidays, Sukkot is the only one whose date does not seem to commemorate a historic event. The Torah refers to it by two names: Chag HaAsif (“the Festival of Ingathering,” or “Harvest Festival”) and Chag HaSukkot (“Festival of Booths”), each expressing a reason for the holiday.
In Israel, crops grow in the winter and are ready for harvest in the late spring. Some of them remain out in the field to dry for a few months and are only ready for harvest in the early fall. Chag HaAsif is a time to express appreciation for this bounty.
The name Chag HaSukkot commemorates the temporary dwellings made to shelter our ancestors on their way out of Egypt (some say this refers to the miraculous clouds of glory that shielded us from the desert sun, while others say it refers to the tents in which they dwelled for their 40-year trek through the Sinai desert).
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For the fourth year in a row, the United States will officially observe Indigenous Peoples Day alongside Columbus Day. Indigenous Peoples' Day celebrates the history and contributions of Native Americans.Observing this day is a way to center and celebrate the histories, resilience, and contributions of Indigenous peoples. It is a time to focus on contemporary Native communities, dispel myths and misinformation, and support more accurate and authentic representations of Native Americans. In 2024, the holiday falls on Monday, October 14.
On May 24, 2023, after a recount of the original Annual Town Election vote of May 2 and & by a narrow margin of 15 votes the residents of the Town of Westford passed a ballot question that made the 2nd Monday in October Indigenous Peoples’ Day, superseding previous local references to Columbus Day.
President Biden became the first U.S. president to issue a proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2021, writing, "Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society." While the Joe Biden administration has officially recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day since 2021, it is not yet a federal holiday. More than a dozen states recognize some version of the holiday in place of Columbus Day. Some states and cities, however, still celebrate Columbus Day or Italian Heritage Day.
As of 2023, some 29 states do not celebrate Columbus Day and have renamed it or replaced it with Indigenous Peoples Day. Some states recognize Indigenous Peoples Day via proclamation, while others treat it as an official holiday. Among the states where the holiday is observed or honored are Alaska, Minnesota, Vermont, Iowa, North Carolina, California, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Virginia, Oregon, Texas, as well as South Dakota, which celebrates Native Americans’ Day, Hawaii, which celebrates Discoverers' Day, and Alabama, which celebrates American Indian Heritage Day. Washington, D.C. also recognizes the holiday.
There has been some effort to formally designate Indigenous Peoples’ Day a federal holiday. The Indigenous Peoples' Day Act, reintroduced in Congress on October 2, 2023, would designate the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day nationwide.
“Our country has long failed to recognize and acknowledge its dark history of erasure and harm brought upon the first inhabitants of the Americas,” said California Congresswoman Norma Torres in a statement. “By designating Indigenous Peoples’ Day a federal holiday, we take a small but important step toward recognizing the injustices in our nation’s history and uplifting the vibrant traditions, history, and culture of all Indigenous communities—an integral part of the cultural fabric of the United States.” The bill currently has 56 cosponsors in the House of Representatives and 11 cosponsors in the Senate.
Ways to Celebrate
TBD
Additional Resources
Check out Indigenous Peoples’ Day Massachusetts to learn more about efforts to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a state holiday.
Unlearning Columbus Day Myths: Celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day
What is Indigenous Peoples Day? A day of celebration, protest and reclaiming history
Tips for Talking and Teaching About Indigenous People
Native Now: How to Talk in a Respectful Way About and With Native Peoples
National Museum of the American Indian: Terminology
Native Knowledge 360° Essential Understandings about American Indians: A framework from NMAI that highlights key concepts about the rich and diverse cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of Native Peoples
Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. Though it was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states it since late 18th century it did not become a federal holiday until 1937. The first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in the US took place on October 12, 1792. Organized by the Society of St. Tammany, also known as the Columbian Order, it commemorated the 300th anniversary of Columbus’ landing.
Although his explorations were financed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, Columbus was a native of Genoa, Italy, and over the years Italian Americans took up the cause of honouring his achievement. The 300th anniversary of his landing was celebrated in New York City in 1792 by the Society of St. Tammany, or Columbian Order, and the 400th anniversary, in 1892, by presidential proclamation nationwide. During the latter half of the 19th century, the day began to be celebrated in cities with large numbers of Italian Americans, and in 1937 it became a national holiday by presidential proclamation. The day came to be marked by parades, often including floats depicting the ships of Columbus, and by public ceremonies and festivities. By the quincentennial in 1992, the holiday was an occasion for discussing the European conquest of American Indians, and some people objected to celebrating the event.
For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus’ achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage. But throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have proposed since the 1970s including Indigenous Peoples' Day, now celebrated in many U.S. states and cities.
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Diwali, also known as Deepavali (the name means “row of lights” in Sanskrit ), is a major Hindu festival that has great cultural and spiritual significance. It symbolises the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. The lighting of diyas (historically oil lamps made from clay or mud with a cotton wick dipped in oil or ghee) represents the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness.
It is one of the most anticipated and widely celebrated festivals in India and across many parts of the world among Hindus. Diwali is a five-day-long celebration that commences with Dhanteras and ends with Bhai Dooj. It is often considered the festival of lights, joy, prosperity, and happiness. Celebrated with great enthusiasm and joy, Diwali falls on the darkest night of the year in the Hindu month of Kartik, called Kartik Amavasya.
People celebrate Diwali by lighting up their homes and streets with diyas and candles, dressing up in new clothes, exchanging gifts, and indulging in delicious traditional food.
Ways to Celebrate
Say phrases like “Happy Diwali” or “Shubh Diwali”
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The Two Festivals are the anniversaries of the births of Baha’u’llah and the Báb In the Muslim lunar calendar these fall on consecutive days, the birth of Baha’u’llah on the second day of the month of Muḥarram 1233 A.H. (12 November 1817), and the birth of the Báb on the first day of the same month 1235 A.H. (20 October 1819), respectively. They are thus referred to as the “Twin Birthdays.” (The Kitab-i-Aqdas)
Followers of the Baha'i faith believe the Báb helped awaken people to a new period in human history. The Báb, which translates to 'the gate', was born Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad on October 20, 1819 in what was then Shiraz, Persia, now Iran. He was a prophet and a leader of the Bahá'í revelation who was often likened to John the Baptist. He encouraged people to purify themselves for the coming of the messenger of God. He encouraged people to let go of superstition, dogma and dependence on clergy, and to view their fellow human beings as beautiful creations of God, worthy of respect.
The day of the Birth of the Báb begins with prayers and devotional readings. It continues with a festive social gathering either at home or in a place of worship. In keeping with the essence of Bahá'í, the celebrations are open to all.
How to Celebrate
Wishing a celebrant “Happy Birth of the Báb” or “Happy Twin Birthdays” is welcome.
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The Two Festivals of the Bahá'is are the anniversaries of the births of Baha’u’llah and the Báb and in the Muslim lunar calendar these fall on consecutive days, the birth of Baha’u’llah on the second day of the month of Muḥarram 1233 A.H. (12 November 1817), and the birth of the Báb on the first day of the same month 1235 A.H. (20 October 1819), respectively. They are thus referred to as the “Twin Birthdays.” (The Kitab-i-Aqdas)
Following the martyrdom of the Báb, God summoned Baha’u’llah—meaning the “Glory of God”—to deliver a new Revelation to humanity.
Baha’u’llah envisioned a future where all of humanity operates as one family. He taught the principle of the oneness of humanity —that every human being has a unique purpose to help bring about a unified world, that justice enables each of us to fulfill this potential, and that the inequalities between women and men, black and white, rich and poor, East and West must dissolve.
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Halloween, is a holiday observed on October 31 and is noted for its pagan and religious roots and secular traditions. In much of Europe and most of North America, observance of Halloween is largely nonreligious, celebrated with parties, spooky costumes, jack-o’-lanterns, pumpkin carvings, and the giving of candy. But the holiday also marks the beginning of Allhallotide, a three-day Christian triduum dedicated to remembering the dead that begins with Halloween (October 31) and is followed by All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2).
Halloween had its origins in the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britainand Ireland. On the day corresponding to November 1 on contemporary calendars, the new year was believed to begin. That date was considered the beginning of the winter period, the date on which the herds were returned from pasture and land tenures were renewed. During the Samhain festival the souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes, and those who had died during the year were believed to journey to the otherworld. People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in those ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies, and demons came to be associated with the day. The period was also thought to be favourable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death. When the Romans conquered the Celts in the 1st century CE, they added their own festivals of Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead, and of Pomona, the goddess of the harvest.
In the 7th century CE Pope Boniface IV established All Saints’ Day, originally on May 13, and in the following century, perhaps in an effort to supplant the pagan holiday with a Christian observance, it was moved to November 1. The evening before All Saints’ Day became a holy, or hallowed, eve, from which the word "Halloween" evolved. By the end of the Middle Ages, the secular and the sacred days had merged. The Reformation essentially put an end to the religious holiday among Protestants, although in Britain especially Halloween continued to be celebrated as a secular holiday. Along with other festivities, the celebration of Halloween was largely forbidden among the early American colonists, although in the 1800s there developed festivals that marked the harvest and incorporated elements of Halloween. When large numbers of immigrants, including the Irish, went to the United States beginning in the mid 19th century, they took their Halloween customs with them, and in the 20th century Halloween became one of the principal U.S. holidays, particularly among children.
As a secular holiday, Halloween has come to be associated with a number of activities. One is the practice of pulling usually harmless pranks. Celebrants wear masks and costumes for parties and for trick-or-treating, thought to have derived from the British practice of allowing the poor to beg for food, called “soul cakes.” Trick-or-treaters go from house to house with the threat that they will pull a trick if they do not receive a treat, usually candy. Halloween parties often include games such as bobbing for apples, perhaps derived from the Roman celebration of Pomona. Along with skeletons and black cats, the holiday has incorporated scary beings such as ghosts, witches, and vampires into the celebration. Another symbol is the jack-o’-lantern, a hollowed-out pumpkin, originally a turnip, carved into a demonic face and lit with a candle inside. Since the mid-20th century the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has attempted to make the collection of money for its programs a part of Halloween.
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