Holiday Information

While many of our families celebrate the holidays that are often represented on calendars and in popular media, there are also a wide variety of holidays celebrated around the world and by our families living here in Springfield Township. Representation and education matters!

This publication is designed to provide you with information about important religious holidays celebrated near and far! Please feel free to share this information with your staff and have them incorporate educational information about these holidays in their classroom instruction. All should feel welcome and able to share about holidays that are important to them and their families.

Rosh Hashana or Rosh Hashanah is a religious and festive time when people of the Jewish faith celebrate their religious new year, reflect on the past year and how to improve, and gather for meals and worship. Celebrations include eating symbolic foods, such as challah bread and pomegranate, lighting candles, and listening to the shofar, a trumpet made from a ram's horn.

Rosh Hashana is observed on the first and second days of the Jewish month of Tishrei, typically in September or October.

Yom Kippur is the holiest and most important day in Judaism and is known as the Day of Atonement. This holiday commemorates the day Moses came down from Mount Sinai after seeking divine forgiveness for those who had sinned by worshipping a golden calf idol. On this holiday, many people fast, attend services, and wear white.

Yom Kippur is typically celebrated in late September or early October.

Sukkot is known as the “Festival of Tabernacles” and the “Feast of Booths.” It is one of Judaism’s three central pilgrimage festivals, along with Passover and Shavuot. It is traditional to build a sukkah or temporary hut to dwell in during the holiday and to celebrate water-drawing.

Sukkot is typically celebrated in the week following Yom Kippur.

Ramadan is a 30 day period where Muslims fast during daylight hours and devote themselves to prayer and the study of the Quran. The spiritual rewards of fasting are believed to be multiplied during Ramadan.

Ramadan dates are determined by the lunar calendar and typically occurs in March and April.

Celebrated at the end of the 30-day month of Ramadan, Eid-al-Fitr translates to Festival of the Breaking of the Fast. During this holiday, homes are often decorated and people wear their finest clothing. In some instances, an animal is sacrificed or is purchased for sacrifice according to halal standards and the meat is given to family, friends, neighbors, or the less fortunate as a zakat, or charity.

Eid-al-Fitr is typically celebrated in April.

The Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. It is also known as the Lunar New Year. This festival honors deities as well as ancestors and offers families time to come together to sweep away bad luck and make way for good luck. Popular activities include fireworks and fire crackers, giving money in red paper envelopes, and make a large cake to send to relatives.

Chinese New Year is typically celebrated between January 21st and February 20th.

Dia De Los Muertos or the Day of the Dead is a two day holiday that reunites the living and the dead. Families create ofrendas or offerings to honor their family members who have passed away. Celebrations typically include sugar candy skulls, Mexican marigolds, and traditional foods.

Dia De Los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd.

Diwali is one of the most popular festivals in India and typically celebrated by people who practice Hinduism. This five day festival of light celebrates the victory of light over darkness. Diwali overlaps with the Hindu New Year and is associated with a chance to reset and start anew. Common practices include placing lamps outside of the home, firework displays, buying new kitchen utensils, exchanging gifts, and cleaning the house.

Diwali is typically celebrated in late October and is based on the lunar calendar.

Nowruz is the Iranian or Persian New Year celebrated by various ethicities around the world. It is generally celebrated on the spring equinox or around March 21 on the calendar.

Activities include decorating a table with seven items that begin with the letter sin (s).