Today@Dal

Each year the Dalhousie Office of Human Rights, Equity & Harassment Prevention (HREHP) develops a mosaic calendar of religious holidays and cultural dates for faculty, staff and students.

See below for a sample of April dates to observe, reflect, celebrate or promote throughout the university community. The complete calendar is available on the website, http://hrehp.dal.ca/Calendar/

Reminder: The Jewish/Muslim calendar date begins at sundown of the night beforehand. Thus all holiday observances begin at sundown on the secular dates listed, with the following day being the first full day of the holiday
 
April 2

World Autism Awareness Day

April 4

Bikarami Samvat (HI)
(New Year’s Day) - Year 2069 begins

April 7

Last day of classes

April 8

Ramanavami (HI)
Ram Navami is the celebration of the birthday of Rama, a divine figure in Hinduism

April 9

Jalal (Baha’i)
(Glory), the 2nd Baha’i month

April 9-25

Exam period

April 13

Mahavira Jayanti (JA)
In Jainism, Mahavira Jayanti is the most important religious holiday. It celebrates of the birth of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara

April 13

Passion/Palm Sunday (CH)
On Palm Sunday Christians celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, the week before his death and resurrection. For many Christian churches, Palm Sunday, often referred to as "Passion Sunday," marks the beginning of Holy Week, which concludes on Easter Sunday. The Bible reveals that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds greeted him with waving palm branches, and by covering his path with palm branches. Immediately following this great time of celebration in the ministry of Jesus, he begins his journey to the cross.

Mahavira Jayanti (JA)
In Jainism, Mahavira Jayanti is the most important religious holiday. It celebrates of the birth of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara

April 14 

(JW) – Memorial of Christ’s Death
The Memorial of Christ’s Death, the only holy day observed by Jehovah Witnesses, is observed 14 days after the first new moon following the Vernal Equinox (on the date seen in Jerusalem).

April 15-22

Passover (Pesach) (JU)
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. This time commemorates Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. No leavened bread is consumed and special prayers are made. No work permitted (April 15-17 or April 21-22).

April 18

University closed.
Good Friday
This day commemorates the death by crucifixion of Jesus.  Good Friday occurs two days before Easter Sunday. It is the day when Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which plays an important part in the Christian faith. It is also a statutory holiday in all Canadian provinces and territories except Quebec, where it is partially observed. Good Friday is the day when Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.  The crucifixion was the culmination of a number of events in Holy Week, including: the triumphal return of Jesus to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus; and the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday.

April 20

Easter Sunday
Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. On Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is typically the most well-attended Sunday service of the year for Christian churches. Christians believe according to Scripture, that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his death on the cross. As part of the Easter season, the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion is commemorated on Good Friday, always the Friday just before Easter. Through his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for sin, thus purchasing for all who believe in him, eternal life in Christ Jesus.

April 21 – May 2

Ridvan (BA)
Ridvan commemorates the 12 days that Baha'u'llah spent in the garden of Ridvan in the last days of his exile in Baghdad, and during which time he proclaimed himself as the one announced by the Bab. On the first, ninth, and twelfth days of Ridvan   work is suspended

April 27

Yom Hashoah (JU)
Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day"), known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its accessories, and for the Jewish resistance in that period. In Israel, it is a national memorial day and public holiday. It was inaugurated on 1953, anchored by a law signed by the Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion and the President of Israel Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. It is held on the 27th of Nisan (April/May), unless the 27th would be adjacent to Shabbat, in which case the date is shifted by a day. In other countries there are different commemorative days.

April 30 – May 4

Ghambar Maidyozarem (ZO)
Celebration of creation of sky and harvesting of winter crops.