Nearly every religion celebrates particular events throughout the year. These may honor particular people or notable historical or mythological events, or they may reflect seasonal traditions and divisions of time, such as New Year celebrations.
Zoroastrians celebrate the winter solstice as a triumph of good over evil as nights begin to shorten as the time of daylight lengthens. This celebration is commonly known as Yalda or Shab-e Yalda.
Popular culture commonly makes a wide variety of claims concerning the nature and origin of Halloween, everything from being a Catholic celebration of the saints to harmless childhood fun to a devious Satanic plot. Learn to separate the faction from fiction about what we know (and don't know) about the origins of Halloween.
A variety of faiths claim Halloween (or at least the end of October) as their own or else blame the celebration on someone else. From where does Halloween really come?
Samhain is an end-of-autumn Celtic holiday popularly associated with Halloween. Learn about what we actually know about this holiday, as well as modern celebrations of it by neo-pagans.
Addressing the modern connections between Satanism and Halloween in popular culture, which is largely divorced from the historical Halloween and its connections with Catholicism and folklore.
Nearly every religion sets aside particular days to celebrate, remember or reflect upon aspects of their faith. Here are some of the holidays that occur in the second third of the year from May through August.
Every year, Baha'is celebrate the anniversary of Baha'u'llah's first public acknowledgment of his divine mission during the festival of Ridvan. This is one of two Great Festivals determined by Baha'u'llah.
Nearly every religion sets aside particular days to celebrate, remember or reflect upon aspects of their faith. Here are some of the holidays that occur in the first quarter of the year from January through April.
Like many religions, Scientology honors the birth of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, every year with a holiday. Formal gatherings may be used to mark the day, but Hubbard himself requested that people celebrate it by providing community service.
The Persian New Year is commonly celebrated by two distinct religious groups, the Baha'is and the Zoroastrians.
Baha'is recognizes its own specific calendar, including different division of months and the placement of holidays that are particular to the Baha'i Faith.
Followers of the Baha'i Faith fast during the 19-day month of Ala, which leads up to the new year celebrations of Naw-Ruz at the spring equinox on March 21.
The yearly celebration of Baha'u'llah's declaration of himself as a prophet, celebrated from April 20 to May 2.
A calendar of Zoroastrian holidays in Iran in 2007. Dates may change slightly from year to year, and Parsi Zoroastrians celebrate several holidays on different dates entirely from the Iranian dates listed here.
An overview of the Zoroastrian New Year celebration known as Nowruz.
A discussion on multiple components of the Iranian Zoroastrian calendar, including summaries of the holidays and a discussion on how the year is divided.
The second most important holiday to Rastas is Groundation Day, which celebrates Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica in 1966.
Baha'is recognise a period of fasting similar to that of the Islamic Ramadan. It culminates with the new year celebration of Naw-Ruz, a holiday they share with Persian Zoroastrians.
