Welcome to TIO’s Religious Calendar

June - July 2023

  * * *

June 2023

Sunday, June 4

• Trinity Sunday – Christianity (Western churches)
  Marking the celebration of God manifested in three Persons: as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Monday, June 5

• Núr – Bahá’í
  The beginning of the fifth month of the Bahá’í year, meaning “light.”

Thursday, June 8

• Núr – Bahá’í
  The beginning of the fifth month of the Bahá’í year, meaning “light.”

Friday, June 9

• St. Columba of Iona – Celtic Christian
  Commemorates the sixth-century Irish monk and missionary Saint Columba of Iona, also known as St. Columcille.

Sunday, June 11

• Race Unity Day – Bahá’í
  The Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly created this holiday, but it's not a religious event or a Bahá'í holy day. The purpose of the holiday is to recognize and appreciate each other's diversity and come together to make the world a better place.

• Corpus Christi – Christianity [Roman Catholic]
  Named for the Latin phrase “Body of Christ,” this festival is a time when Catholic Christians express their faith in Christ’s real presence in the elements of Holy Communion.

• All Saints – Christianity (Eastern churches)
  Celebrating the lives of those saints, known and unknown, whose prayers and exemplary lives have a positive influence on the lives and Christian faith of others.  Western Christian churches celebrate this festival on November 1st.

Friday, June 16

• Race Unity Day – Bahá’í
  The Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly created this holiday, but it's not a religious event or a Bahá'í holy day. The purpose of the holiday is to recognize and appreciate each other's diversity and come together to make the world a better place.

• Feast of the Sacred Heart – Christianity [Roman Catholic]
  A devotional feast during which Catholic Christians reflect on God’s compassionate love, symbolized by Christ’s heart.

Wednesday, June 19

• Enlightenment of Kwan Yin Bodhisattva – Buddhism [Mahāyāna Pure Land tradition]
  A celebration of the enlightenment of the bodhisattva of compassion—an enlightened being who vows to attain final, supreme enlightenment in order to save all sentient beings from suffering.  In the Pure Land tradition, this bodhisattva frequently accompanies Amida Buddha in icons and other depictions.

• New Church Day – Swedenborgian Christianity (Church of the New Jerusalem)
  Annual commemoration of the visionary document The True Christian Religion, written by Emanuel Swedenborg in 1770 C.E.

Friday, June 21

• Summer Feast (Solstice) – Native American spirituality
  A day to honor the coming and going of the seasons, celebrated with songs, prayers, and story-telling.

• Litha [Midsummer’s Eve] – Wicca
  A celebration of the consummation of the sacred marriage, in which the male divine energy is poured out in the service of life.

Monday, June 24

• Rahmat – Bahá’í
  The beginning of the sixth month of the Bahá’í year, Rahmat means “mercy.”

• Birthday of St. John the Baptist – Christianity (Eastern churches)
  Celebrates the prophet who foretold of the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, whom he later baptized in the Jordan River.

Thursday, June 27

• Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith – Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  Recalling the assassination of the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum while they were incarcerated in Carthage, Illinois, in 1844 C.E.

Saturday, June 29

• Ghambar Maidyoshem begins – Zoroastrianism
  A celebration of the creation of water, the sowing of the summer crops, and the harvesting of grain.  This festival continues through Wednesday, July 3rd.

• Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul – Christianity (Western churches)
  Celebrates the two apostles who preached the Christian gospel in Rome.  In Eastern churches this festival begins at sundown on June 24th.

Friday, June 30

• Chaturmas – Hinduism and Jainism
  This day marks the beginning of a four-month period (ending in November) during which time devotees observe some form of vow.  Penance, fasting, and other religious observances mark this period.  It is considered an inauspicious time for weddings or thread ceremonies.
  
  
  

July 2023

Monday, July 3

• Ghambar Maidyoshem ends – Zoroastrianism
  Ending the celebration of the creation of water, the sowing of summer crops, and the harvesting of grain. 

• Gurū Purnima – Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism
  This day celebrates the ancient Hindu sage Krishna Dvaipayana, also known as Veda Vyāsa, who is credited as the compiler of the sacred Vedas, the author of the Eighteen Puranas (supplementary texts), and credited with writing the Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata.  The term “gurū” refers to a teacher or remover of darkness.  Jains and Buddhists also mark this day as an opportunity to thank their teachers.

• Dharma Day (Asalha Puja Day) – Buddhism
  This day commemorates the historical Buddha’s first sermon, called “Turning of the wheel of Dharma (Dhamma),” following his own enlightenment.  The following day marks the beginning of the three-month Vassa or “Rains Retreat” for Theravadin Buddhist monks and nuns.  This period is a time for training in Dharma studies, meditation practice, and giving religious services to the people.

Tuesday, July 4

• Jashn-e Tirgan – Zoroastrianism
  The festival of water. It is celebrated by splashing water, dancing, reciting poetry, and serving traditional foods such as spinach soup and sholezard. The custom of tying rainbow-colored bands on wrists, which are worn for ten days and then thrown into a stream, is also a way to rejoice for children. Tirgan is the fourth ancient Iranian Festival of seasons, alongside Norouz (Spring), Yalda (Winter) and Mehregan (Autumn).

Wednesday, July 5

• Birthday of Gurū Hargobind Sahib Ji – Sikhism
  Celebrating a renowned martial artist who was named the 6th of the 11 Sikh Gurūs (1595 – 1644 C.E.).

Thursday, July 6

• Birthday of the XIVth Dalai Lama – Tibetan Buddhism
  Celebrating the 84th birthday of His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, born in 1935 C.E. in northeastern Tibet.  The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan government in exile and is revered as the fourteenth in a succession of manifestations of Avalokiteśvara, the enlightened being (bodhisattva) who embodies compassion in Buddhist practice.

Monday, July 8

• Anniversary of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö – Buddhism [Tibetan tradition]
  A celebration of the Tibetan lama (ca. 1893 – 1959) whose mastery of several lineages and insights have had a profound effect on numerous currently teaching lamas.

Sunday, July 9

• Martyrdom of the Báb – Bahá’í
  Anniversary of the martyrdom of the Báb, the forerunner of Báhá’u’lláh, in Persia in 1850 C.E.  The Báb and 20,000 of his followers were killed because of their religious convictions throughout the mid-1800’s.  Work is suspended on this day.

Tuesday, July 11

• Feast Day of St. Benedict – Catholic Christianity  
  Celebrating the life of St. Benedict of Nursia (480 – 547 C.E.), the founder of Western Christian monasticism whose Rule is still widely read and practiced even now.

Thursday, July 13

• Kalimát – Bahá’í
  The beginning of the seventh month of the Bahá’í year, meaning “words.”

Friday, July 14

• Feast Day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha – Catholic Christianity and Native American spirituality
  Celebrating the life and ministry of Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 – April 17, 1680), a Mohawk-Algonquin woman who is the first Native American to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.  She was so recognized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, over three hundred years after her death.

Wednesday, July 19

• Hijra - Islamic New Year
  Al-Hijra is the Islamic New Year. It occurs on the first day of the month of Muharram, which is the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar. In 2023, Al-Hijra begins on the evening of Friday the 29th of July and ends on the evening of Saturday the 30th of July.

Satruday, July 22

• Feast of St. Mary Magdalene – Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran Christian churches
  Also known as the Penitent, Mary Magdalene is celebrated as one of Jesus’ earliest and most faithful disciples, after being healed by him.  She is also recognized as a witness to Jesus’ death and the first recorded witness of his resurrection on Easter.

• Khordad Sal – Zoroastrianism
  The birth anniversary of the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster), according to the Qadimi calendar.

Sunday, July 23

• Birthday of Gurū Har Krishan Sahib Ji – Sikhism
  Marking the birth of the 8th and youngest of the 11 Sikh Gurūs (1656 – 1664 C.E.) in the Nanakshahi calendar.

• Birthday of Emperor Haile Salassi I – Rastafari
  Celebrating the birth of Ras [prince or chief] Tafari Makonnen (1892 – 1975 C.E.), who ruled as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1974 (officially from 1930 to 1974), and who is professed by faithful Rasta believers as God incarnate.

Monday, July 24

• Pioneer Day – Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  Celebrated annually as the anniversary of the entry of LDS pioneers into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, in Utah in 1847 C.E., after a historic trek across 1,300 miles of wilderness.

Tuesday, July 25

• St. James the Great Day - Christian
  Saint James the Greater was one of Jesus' first disciples. James was fishing with his father and John the Apostle when Jesus came to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and called for the fisherman, who were unable to catch any fish that day, to dip their nets in the water once again.

Thursday, July 27

• Day of Ashura
  This marks the tragic 'Battle of Karbala' in which the 7th-century revolutionary leader Husayn ibn Ali was killed. Millions of Muslims across the world observe the day of Ashura to remember Husayn's sacrifice and dignified stance on social justice.

Sunday, July 30

• Oharai-taisai – Shinto
  A purification ceremony to cleanse believers from offenses committed during the first half of the year.  A large ring of woven grasses and reeds is placed at the entrance to Shinto shrines, and people walk through the ring as a symbol of inner purification.

Header Photo: Pexels