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Happy January! Let us celebrate New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, World Braille Day, and the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival!
January holidays and observances:
New Year's Day
New Year's Day
January 1st
New Year's Day was celebrated on Thursday, January 1, 2026, which marked the start of the Gregorian calendar year. Across the world, people welcomed the new year with fireworks, parades, parties, personal resolutions, and more! In the United States, New Year's Day is a federal holiday, with schools, government offices, and most businesses closed.
People have celebrated the New Year for over 4,000 years.
About 1 in 4 Americans falls asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Some towns drop unusual objects at midnight, like a giant pickle or a Hershey’s Kiss, instead of the Times Square ball.
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Martin Luther King Jr Day
January 19
Martin Luther King Jr is one of the pivotal leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s. His influential work is honored and remembered every year on the third Monday of January, a federal holiday. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work centered on nonviolent activism, taking inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's movements in India. He is credited with the organization of nationwide movements that challenged segregation, discrimination, and racial injustice. These movements include the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the Nonviolence and Peace Movement, and the Birmingham Campaign, just to name a few. His platform encouraged Black Americans and supporters to protest peacefully to force others to hear their voices. He also wrote many important pieces of literature, the most well-known being the Letter from a Birmingham Jail, where he argued that people have a moral duty to take direct, nonviolent action against unjust laws rather than wait for change. He also gave speeches in front of thousands of people, the most well-known being the "I have a dream" speech, where he voiced his dream of a world that "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers". His efforts eventually led to his devastating assassination on April 4, 1988. Today, we can continue his legacy through honoring his name, his efforts, and his beliefs.
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World Braille Day
World Braille Day
January 4th
World Braille Day is observed on January 4th to honor Louis Braille, the inventor of the tactile reading system that transformed information for those who are blind. This day highlights accessibility, independence, and equal rights for people with visual impairments. In North Carolina, the Governor Morehead School for the Blind, located in Raleigh, celebrates Braille literacy by hosting events such as the Braille Challenge, where students can compete in reading comprehension, spelling, and proofreading. These activities show how Braille continues to empower individuals and build community.
Louis Braille lost his sight at age 3 after an accident with his father’s tool.
He invented Braille at just 15 years old, inspired by a military code system.
Braille allows blind individuals to read personal documents like bank statements independently, protecting their privacy.
The Governor Morehead School has been serving visually impaired students since 1845.
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Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
January 5th - February 1st
The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is an annual celebration that takes place in Harbin, China. This festival features a variety of ice and snow sculpture competitions, winter sports, winter activities, celebrations, parades, different events, and five theme parks. The festival receives an average of 18 million annual visitors and generates 4.4 billion dollars for China. The festival originated from Harbin's traditional garden party and ice and lantern show that began in 1963. However, the Chinese Cultural Revolution paused the festivities until 1985. Then in 2001, the festival got its current name following a successful merger with Heilongjiang's International Ski Festival.
Click the picture for more information about the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival!
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