As part of the Fostering Inclusion objectives of its 2021-25 Strategic Plan to create a more inclusive and equitable educational environment, the University of Maine at Augusta has taken the initiative to introduce a dynamic heritage month calendar. This calendar aims to showcase various days of importance across cultural and religious traditions, provide additional resources for community members to learn about one another’s heritage, and share ongoing online and in-person events at the university, local, and state level that anyone can participate in. The goal of this calendar is to give institutional recognition to the value each member of the university community adds to the institution, highlight the rich tradition and history of various demographics marginalized based on disabled, economic, ethnic, gender, national, religious, sexual, and other identities, emphasize the central and essential role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in any pedagogical project, and help schedule university events and classroom instructions keeping in mind the needs of everyone.

January

  • 7th: Christmas (Eastern Orthodox)
  • 16th (Third Monday): Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • 22nd: Lunar New Year
  • 27th: UN International Holocaust Commemoration Day

February

Black History Month

  • 2nd: Candlemas/Imbolc (Wiccan & Pagan)
  • 5th: Lantern Festival (Chinese)
  • 15th: Nirvana Day (Buddhism)
  • 18th: Maha Shivaratri (Hinduism)
  • 21st: Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday (Christianity)
  • 22nd: Ash Wednesday (Christianity)

March

National Deaf History Month
Women’s History Month
Irish-American Heritage Month

  • 7th: Purim (Jewish)
  • 8th: International Women’s Day
  • 8th: Holi (Hinduism)
  • 17th: St. Patrick’s Day (Christianity)
  • 20th: Farm Workers Awareness Week
  • 20th: Spring Equinox/Ostara (Wiccan & Pagan)
  • 21st: Nowruz (Persian, Kurdish, Zoroastrian, Baha’i)
  • March 23rd-April 21st : Ramadan (Islamic)
  • 31st: Cesar Chavez Day

April

Arab American Heritage Month
National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

  • 2nd: Palm Sunday (Christianity)
  • 5th: Vesak Day (Buddhism)
  • 6th: Passover (Judaism)
  • 7th: Good Friday (Christianity)
  • 8th: Hanamatsuri (Zen Buddhism)
  • 9th: Easter (Christianity)
  • 16th: Easter (Eastern Orthodox)
  • 18th: Yom Hashoah (Judaism)
  • 21st: Ridvan (Baha’i)
  • 22nd: Eid al Fitr (Islam)
  • 24th: Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

May

Jewish American History Month
Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month
Haitian Heritage Month

  • 1st: May Day/International Workers Day
  • 1st: Beltane (Wiccan & Pagan)
  • 5th: Cinco De Mayo (Mexican-American)
  • 27th: Buddha Day (Buddhism)

June

LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

  • 19th: Juneteenth
  • 20th: World Refugee Day
  • 21st: Summer Solstice/Litha (Wiccan & Pagan)
  • 29th: Eid Ul-Adha (Islam)

July

  • 3rd: Dharma Day (Buddhism)
  • 3rd: Guru Purnima (Hinduism)
  • 18th: Nelson Mandela International Day
  • 19th: First Women’s Rights Convention
  • 19th: Al Hijra/New Years Day (Islam)

August

  • 1st: Lammas/Lughnasadh (Wiccan & Pagan)
  • 6th: Hiroshima Day
  • 9th: Nagasaki Day
  • 9th: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
  • 26th: Women’s Equality Day

September

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month (September 15th-October 15th)

  • 5th (First Monday): Labor Day
  • 22nd: Autumn Equinox/Mabon (Wiccan & Pagan)
  • 26th-27th: Rosh Hashanah (Judaism)
  • September 26th-October 5th: Navaratri (Hinduism)

October

LGBTQIA+ History Month
Disability Identity & Culture Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
National Bullying Prevention Month
Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month
Polish American Heritage Month

  • 2nd: International Day of Non-Violence
  • 4th-5th: Yom Kippur (Judaism)
  • 8th: Mawlid-Al-Nabi (Islam)
  • 11th: National Coming Out Day
  • 10th (Second Monday): Indigenous Peoples’ Day
  • 24th-28th: Diwali/Deepavali (Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism)
  • 27th: Birth of Baha’u’llah (Bahai’i)

November

Native American Heritage Month

  • 13th-19th: Trans Awareness Week
  • 1st: Halloween Samhain (Wiccan & Pagan)
  • 1st-2nd: Día de Muertos (Mexican)
  • 20th: Transgender Day of Resilience
  • 25th: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

December

  • 1st: World AIDS Day
  • 3rd: International Day of Persons with Disabilities
  • 8th: Bodhi Day (Zen Buddhism)
  • 8th: Chanukah begins (Judaism)
  • 10th: International Human Rights Day
  • 18th: International Migrants Day
  • 21st: Yule begins (Wiccan & Pagan)
  • 25th: Christmas (Christianity)
  • December 26th-January 1st: Kwanzaa (African American)