Start of Ridvan

Ridvan is the name of the most sacred Bahai festival. A 12-day period commemorating Baha’u’llah’s stay in the Garden of Ridvan outside Baghdad where he declared his station as the Manifestation of God.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Bahai

Tradition/Practices: On the first, ninth, and twelfth days, which are Bahá’í Holy Days, work is prohibited. Currently, the three holy days are usually observed with a community gathering where prayers are shared, followed by a celebration.

Date: April 20 – May 2, 2026

Vaisakhi commemorates the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. It marks the beginning of the harvest season and Sikh New Year.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Sikh, Hindu

Tradition/Practices: Vaisakhi, a harvest festival, is celebrated with visits to gurdwaras (places of worship), parades called Nagar Kirtan, singing hymns, sharing free meals (Langar), and wearing traditional attire.

Easter is a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his crucifixion, marking the joyful end to the Lenten season of fasting and penitence.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Christian

Tradition/Practices: Easter is celebrated with a mix of religious observances and secular traditions, including church services, family gatherings, decorating Easter eggs, and Easter egg hunts, often culminating in a special Easter meal.

The day commemorates the Harrowing of Hell while Jesus Christ’s body lay in the tomb.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Christian

Tradition/Practices: Holy Saturday, the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is a time of quiet reflection and waiting, marked by the Easter Vigil service, which marks the beginning of Easter celebrations, often including the lighting of the Paschal candle and the proclamation of the Resurrection narrative.

Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday, commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with his apostles, where he instituted the Eucharist and gave the “new commandment” to love one another.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Christian

Tradition/Practices: Good Friday is observed with solemn reflection and remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion, often through church services, fasting, and the Stations of the Cross, with traditions varying across Christian denominations

Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday, commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with his apostles, where he instituted the Eucharist and gave the “new commandment” to love one another.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Christian

Tradition/Practices: Holy Thursday, commemorating the Last Supper, is celebrated with a special Mass, the “Mass of the Lord’s Supper,” which reenacts the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist and priesthood, often including foot washing and a procession to an “Altar of Repose”.

Passover, also called Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Jewish

Tradition/Practices: The first and second nights of Passover are celebrated with a special family meal called a “Seder”. At the Seder, the story of Jewish slavery, struggle for liberation, and subsequent exodus from Egypt is told, there are foods of symbolic significance and prayers and traditional recitations are performed.

Dates: April 2 – April 9, 2026

Commemorates the death of Jesus Christ.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Jehovah Witnesses

Tradition/Practices: The memorial of Jesus’ death is usually observed with Biblebased talk, passing emblems of unleavened bread and red wine, opening with song/prayer, and free attendance, usually held in Kingdom Halls.

Mahavir Jayanti is the most significant Jain festival, celebrating the birth of Lord Mahavira, the 24th and final Tirthankara born in 599 BCE.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Jain

Tradition/Practices: PMahavir Jayanti is celebrated by Jains through prayer, fasting, and charity to honor the 24th Tirthankara’s teachings of non-violence and compassion.

Eid al-Fitr is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting. The name translates to “festival of breaking the fast” in Arabic.

Religious/Ethnic Group: Muslim

Tradition/Practices: Prayers are offered at the mosque or outdoor spaces to facilitate the large numbers of people attending. Families and
friends then slowly gather together, throughout the day, to enjoy a rich, opulent feast, at which time loved ones also often exchange gifts and money.