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Religious Holidays Calendar

In December of 2020 the University Faculty Senate passed the following motion:

Drake University values diversity, equity and inclusion. As part of our commitment to these values, we must support and embrace our students’ various religious traditions and faiths. To ensure equity, Drake University will make a good faith effort to provide reasonable religious accommodations to students whose religious beliefs and practices conflict with an academic requirement unless such an accommodation would create an undue hardship on the university community.

Please consult the following list of religious holidays where observance may compete with the demands of the academic calendar. This list is not a designation of all religious holidays recognized by the University; it is simply an aid for planning purposes. Any instructor with concerns regarding a given holiday, or the academic implications of a particular student’s religious observance, may seek guidance from the chair of their department, dean of their school, or their Provost.

Students can inform instructors of classes they will miss due to religious holidays via this form.

 

2023

 

 

September

4

Labor Day

  6-7 Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu)
 

15-17

Rosh Hashanah* (New Year) (Jewish)

  23 Fall Equinox
  24-25 Yom Kippur (Jewish)
  29 - Oct 6 Sukkot* (Jewish)
 October

8

Mawlid-al-Nabi* (birthday of Mohammad) (Islamic)

 

9

Indigenous People's Day

 

15-24

Navaratri (Hindu)

 

24

Dasara (Hindu)

 

27

Birth of Baha’u’llah* (Baha’i)

  31

Samhain (Wicca)

November 1 -2

Dia de Los Muertos

 

10

Veteran's Day

 

12

Diwali (Hindu)

 

13

Vikram Samvat (Hindu)

 

23

Thanksgiving Day

 

24

Native American Heritage Day

 

28

Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha* (Baha'i)

December

3 - 24

Advent (Christian)

 

8

Bodhi Day (Rohatsu)* (Buddhism)

 

7 - 15

Hanukkah* (Jewish)

 

22

Winter Solstice – Yule* (Wicca)

 

25

Christmas Day (Christian)

2024

   

January

1 New Years Day
  7

Orthodox Christmas (Christian Orthodox)

  15 Martin Luther King Day
  25

Mahayana New Year** (Buddhism)

February 10 Lunar New Year
  8 Maha Shivaratri (Hindu)
  14 St. Valentine's Day (Christian)
  14 Ash Wednesday/Beginning of Lent (Christian)
  15 Nirvana Day** (Buddhist)
  19 President's Day
March 10 Beginning of Ramadan (Islamic)
  17 Rama Navami (Hindu)
  19 Spring Equinox
  21 Naw Ruz (Bahai'i)
  23 - 24 Purim (Jewish)
  25 Holi (Hindu)
  29 Good Friday (Christian)
  31 Easter (Christian)
 April 6 Laylat al Qadr (Islamic)
  9 End of Ramadan (Islamic)
  9 - 10 Eid al-Fitr (Islamic)
  13 Vaisakhi (Sikh)
  22-30 Passover* (Jewish)
May 5 Orthodox Easter (Christian Orthodox)
  15 Buddha's Birthday (Buddhist)
  11-13 Shavuot* (Jewish)
  27 Memorial Day
June 19 Juneteenth
  16-17 Eid al-Adha* (Islamic)
July 4 Independence Day
  6 Muharram (Al Hijrah New Year) (Islamic)

 

 

Source: Interfaith Calendar

Please Note:

* Indicates Holy days that commence at dusk on the evening before the dates given.

** Local or regional customs may use a variation of this date.


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