Holiday Calendar January 2009
As I am sitting and daydreaming of the Hanukkah potato latkes with sour cream and applesauce, and also pondering what will be the perfect Christmas cookies this year, I realized January of 2009 is almost too full of holidays. From New Year’s celebrations for many religions and nations, through Martin Luther King’s day and the Barack Obama inauguration, to World Religion Day, it was time to publish the calendar and help with the planning of January 2009 festivities.
Need our help getting ready for the upcoming holidays? Planning an inaugural party and still need a caterer? Contact us – we are merely a phone call or email away!
| Date | Day | Holiday | Faith | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thursday | New Year's Day | Secular | The start of the Western calendar year |
| 1 | Thursday | Circumcision | Christian | Marks the day when Jesus was circumcised |
| 1 | Thursday | Oshogatsu (or Shogatsu) | Shinto | Shinto New Year, the most important celebration of the year, a festive occasion with good feelings and nostalgia. Popular for shrine visits. |
| 1 | Thursday | Festival of St Basil the Great | Christian | St Basil is one of the great fathers of the Orthodox Church. |
| 4 | Sunday | Epiphany | Christian | The Catholic Church in England and Wales moves this festival to the nearest Sunday if it falls on a Saturday or Monday |
| 5 | Monday | Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh (Nanakshahi calendar) | Sikh | Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) was the tenth and last of the Sikh Gurus. He instituted the Five Ks and established the Order of the Khalsa. |
| 6 | Tuesday | Epiphany aka Dia de los Santos Reyes (Three Kings Day) | Christian | Celebrates the visit of the wise men (the magi) to the infant Jesus. In the East, where it originated, the Epiphany celebrates the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. (Catholics and Episcopalians celebrate this separately: see Baptism of the Lord) |
| 6 | Tuesday | Christmas Day (Armenian Orthodox) | Christian | Armenian Christians celebrate Christ's birth at Epiphany, except for Armenians in the Holy Land, who celebrate Christmas on January 19th. |
| 6 | Tuesday | Theophany | Christian | Orthodox churches mark the baptism of Jesus on this day |
| 6 | Tuesday | Fast of 10th Tevet | Jewish | A Jewish fast day. The day on which the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnetzar, King of Babylon, began. The beginning of the whole chain of calamities which finally ended with the destruction of the first temple (Beit Hamikdash). The fast begins at dawn. |
| 7 | Wednesday | Christmas Day (Ethiopian) | Rastafari | Rastafarians believe Ethiopia to be their spiritual homeland, and a place to which they want to return. |
| 7 | Wednesday | Christmas Day (Orthodox) | Christian | Most Orthodox churches use the Julian rather than the Gregorian version of the Western calendar. As a result, they celebrate Christmas 13 days later than other Christian churches. |
| 7 | Wednesday | Ashura | Muslim | Islamic holyday observed on the 10th of the Islamic month of Muharram. Shiite Muslims regard it as a major festival marking the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson, Hussein. |
| 11 | Sunday | First Sunday after Epiphany | Christian | Epiphany takes place on the 6th of January, but most Christians celebrate it on the first Sunday after that date |
| 11 | Sunday | Baptism of the Lord | Christian | Commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. Occurs on the first Sunday after Epiphany. Catholics and Episcopalians celebrate this holy day, but Eastern Christianity celebrates the baptism of Jesus at Epiphany. |
| 13 | Tuesday | St Hilary's Day | Christian | According to tradition, "St. Hilary's is the coldest day of the year." St. Hilary was a fourth century Bishop of Poitiers. |
| 14 | Wednesday | Makar Sankrant (aka Makara Sankranti) | Hindu | Makar Sankrant is one of the most important festivals of the Hindu calendar and celebrates the sun's journey from Sagittarius to Capricorn during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (or the beginning of Uttarayana). The famous Kumbh Mela is also held on Makar Sankranti every 12 years. Hindus gather in large numbers to take a holy dip at Ganga Sagar on this day every year. |
| 15 | Thursday | Seijin Shiki (Adults' Day) | Shinto | Japanese who have reached legal adulthood (20 in Japan) in the previous year attend a shrine to give thanks. |
| 18 | Sunday | Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (start) | Christian | First celebrated in 1908. The days of 18-25 January (regardless of the days of the week involved) were originally chosen because they covered the days between the feast of St Peter and the feast of St Paul. Some churches and regions use a different week. |
| 18 | Sunday | World Religion Day | Bahai | World Religion Day was instituted by the Baha'i community in 1950 to help foster interfaith understanding and harmony. |
| 18 | Sunday | World Religion Day | Multifaith | World Religion Day was instituted by the Baha'i community in 1950 to help foster interfaith understanding and harmony. The message of World Religion Day is that mankind, which has stemmed from one origin, must now strive towards the reconciliation of that which has been split up. Human unity and true equality depend not on past origins, but on future goals, on what we are becoming and whither we are going. |
| 19 | Monday | Martin Luther King Jr's Day | Secular American | The third Monday of January is a US federal holiday to celebrate the birth, the life and the dream of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| 20 | Tuesday | Inauguration Day | Secular American | At 12:00 noon on Inauguration Day 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. |
| 21 | Wednesday | St Agnes | Christian | Patron saint of girls, martyred at the age of 13 for consecrating herself to Jesus rather than marrying the prefect of Rome?s son. |
| 25 | Sunday | St Paul's Day | Christian | Anglicans and Catholics celebrate St Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. |
| 26 | Monday | Chinese New Year aka Spring Festival | Chinese | Chinese New Year 2009, the year of the OX, will fall on January 26th and will mark the 15 day long festivities beginning on the said date and going on till the 9th February. Celebrated as the symbol of spring's celebration. It is celebrated after the fall harvest and before the spring planting season. |
| 27 | Tuesday | Losar (start) | Buddhist | The most important holiday in Tibet, marking the Tibetan New Year. The celebration lasts three days from today. |
| 28 | Wednesday | St Thomas Aquinas | Christian | Doctor of the Church and patron saint of students and theologians. |
| 31 | Saturday | Birthday of Guru Har Rai (Nanakshahi calendar) | Sikh | Guru Har Rai (1630-1661) was the seventh of the Sikh Gurus. |
| 31 | Saturday | Saraswati Puja festival (aka Basant Panchami or Vasant Panchami) | Hindu | Dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music and art and Brahma's wife. The festival marks the beginning of Spring. Traditionally during this festival children are taught to write their first words. The color yellow has a special meaning during this festival, and people usually wear yellow garments during the holiday, and yellow sweets are consumed within the families. |
Is there a holiday we are missing? A note about a holiday you think is worth mentioning? A special holiday recipe you want to share? Feel free to leave a comment or question.
Notes:
- Visit the DC Inaugural Information Website for more on the Barack Obama inauguration schedule and events
- This calendar is a North American holiday calendar using the Gregorian (Western) calendar. Dates might be different from other calendars
- Christian holidays are usually celebrated on the date
- In the Jewish and Muslim calendars a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day
- Jewish public fasts start, with the exception of Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur, at dawn
- For more details you can refer to the When-Is holiday calendar, BBC online holiday calendar or Holidays on the Net
- Before using any information please consult our general disclaimer notice
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