Rosh Hashanah (Jewish)
Evening of Friday, September 15 and ends evening of Sunday, September 17

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the two "High Holy Days" in the Jewish religion.  Rosh Hashanah commemorates the Jewish New Year and marks the beginning of a contemplative 10-day period. Jewish families will spend a significant amount of time in synagogue during this period. No major assignments/assessments should be due on Monday, September 18.

Yom Kippur (Jewish)
Evening of Sunday, September 24 and ends Monday, September 25

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It is a day of atonement, and many Jewish families fast for 25 hours in order to focus on matters of the spirit and ask for forgiveness. Jewish families will spend a significant amount of time in synagogue during this period.  New Trier will be closed on Yom Kippur, Monday, September 25 and classes will resume Tuesday, September 26.

Diwali (Hindu)
Sunday, November 12

Diwali is an Indian holiday known as the Festival of Lights. Diwali takes place each year after the conclusion of harvest and to coincide with the new moon between mid-October and mid-November. Diwali’s date changes each year, and it is marked by religions across the Indian subcontinent and the rest of the world.  It is also celebrated as an official holiday in numerous countries, and people of all religions participate in the festival in these countries. It signifies the victory of good over evil and is often celebrated with lights shining outside of houses, temples and buildings. The festival and rituals last five days.  This year Diwali starts on Friday, November 10 and ends Tuesday, November 14. Some students may take Monday, November 13 off.  Tuesday, November 14 is the Hindu New Year for some, but not all, Hindu families. 

Hanukkah (Jewish)
Evening of Thursday, December 7 and end evening of Friday, December 15

Hanukkah is an eight-night Jewish celebration, also known as the Festival of Lights, traditionally marked by lighting the menorah, eating traditional foods, and playing games.  This year the first Hanukkah candle is lit the evening of Thursday, December 7 and ends at nightfall on Friday, December 15.

Hanukkah celebrates events that took place over 2,300 years ago.  It marks the miraculous victory of the Jews, led by the Maccabees, in the face of religious oppression.

Christmas (Christian)
Monday, December 25 

Families are busy putting up decorations.  Boughs of holly and evergreen are assembled and placed about the house.  Trees are chosen and decorated with sparkling trinkets, lights, and ornaments.  It is a season of giving and receiving presents, sending greetings; a time to sing songs, eat sumptuous meals and celebrate. Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.  No one knows the exact date of Christ’s birth, but most Christians observe Christmas on December 25.  On Christmas Eve, December 24, many go to church where they take part in special religious services.

The story of Christmas comes chiefly from the Gospels of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew in the New Testament.  According to Luke, an angel appeared to shepherds outside the town of Bethlehem and told them of Jesus’ birth.  Matthew tells how the wise men, called Magi, followed a bright star that led them to Jesus.

The first mention of the celebration of Christmas occurred in A.D. 336 in an early Roman calendar, which indicates December 25 as the day of observance.  This celebration was probably influenced by pagan festivals held at that time.  The ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god, and Mithras, the god of light.  Various peoples in northern Europe held festivals in mid-December to celebrate the end of the harvest season.  As part of all these celebrations, the people prepared special foods, decorated their homes with greenery, and joined in singing and gift giving.  These customs gradually became part of the Christmas celebration.

Kwanzaa (African American / Pan African)
Evening of Tuesday, December 26 and ends Monday, January 1

Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates family, community, and culture.  Celebrated from December 26 to January 1, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. Kwanzaa is:

• • a time of ingathering of the people to reaffirm the bonds between them.
  • a time of special reverence for the creator and creation in thanks and respect for the blessings, bountifulness and beauty of creation.
  • a time for commemoration of the past in pursuit of its lessons and in honor of its models of human excellence.
  • a time of recommitment to our highest cultural ideals in our ongoing effort to always bring forth the best of African cultural thought and practice. 
  • a time for celebration of the Good, the good of life and of existence itself, the good of family, community, and culture, the good of the awesome and the ordinary, in a word the good of the divine, natural and social.

Kwanzaa has seven core principles, or Nguzo Saba:

1. 1. Umoja: Unity - To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
   2. Kujichagulia: Self-Determination - To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
   3. Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility - To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and solve them together.
   4. Ujamaa: Cooperative Economics - To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
   5. Nia: Purpose - To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
   6. Kuumba: Creativity - To always do as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.  
   7. Imani: Faith - To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Kwanzaa draws from the cultures of various African peoples and is celebrated by millions of Africans throughout the world African community.  These various African peoples celebrate Kwanzaa, because it speaks not only to African Americans in a special way, but also to Africans as a whole, in its stress on history, values, family, community, and culture.  Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one, thus available to and practiced by Africans of all religious faiths who come together based on the rich, ancient and varied common ground of their African heritage.

Lunar New Year (Chinese)
Saturday, February 10 and ends Saturday, February 24

Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year or Chunjie, Vietnamese Tet, Korean Solnal, Tibetan Losar, also called Spring Festival, is typically celebrated in China and other Asian countries that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later. The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, so the dates of the holiday vary slightly from year to year.

This is the Year of the Dragon. The New Year falls on Saturday, February 10, and the main celebration runs through the Lantern Festival on Saturday, February 24. Approximately 10 days before the beginning of the new lunar year, houses are thoroughly cleaned to remove any bad luck that might be lingering inside, a custom called “sweeping of the grounds.” Students may take Friday, February 9 off from school in preparation for the New Year.

Traditionally, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day are reserved for family celebrations, including religious ceremonies honoring ancestors. Also, on New Year’s day, family members receive red envelopes (Hongbao) containing small amounts of money. Dances and fireworks are prevalent throughout the holidays, culminating in the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the last day of the New Year’s celebrations. On this night colorful lanterns light up the houses, and traditional foods such as yuanxiao (sticky rice balls that symbolize family unity), fagao (prosperity cake), and yusheng (raw fish and vegetable salad) are served.

Holi (Hindu)
Evening of Sunday, March 24 and ends evening Monday, March 25

Holi is a Hindu festival known as the “Festival of Colors” or “Festival of Spring”.  Holi is a joyous and colorful holiday. On the day of Holi people show love and respect to their close ones by throwing brightly colored powder in the air.  It is a day when people get together and the vibrancy of colors brings in positivity.  Holi takes place over two days and is the celebration of the triumph of good over evil as well as a day to celebrate love, happiness, good harvest and the changing of the seasons from winter to spring.  It is celebrated throughout the world, but especially in India. 

Ramadan (Muslim)
Evening of Sunday, March 10 and ends evening of Monday, April 8

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the holiest month of the year for Muslims. The month commemorates the divine revelation of Muslims' sacred scripture, the Qur’an. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. For 30 consecutive days, observant Muslim students and faculty will abstain from food and water for 13 hours (dawn to dusk) and partake in daily evening prayer services.  The month encourages reflection, self-improvement, and record numbers of charitable giving and acts of service in the global Muslim community.

Muslim students and faculty may find it challenging to partake in strenuous activities or events involving food. Absences may occur for Friday congregational prayers and during the last ten days of Ramadan, which include Layl-at-ul Qadr, also known as the “Night of Power". The end of Ramadan is marked by Eid al-Fitr, a three-day celebration. Eid al-Fitr is a joyous Islamic holiday that involves waking up early, participating in a special congregational prayer, dressing in one’s finest clothes, decorating the house, preparing special foods, and exchanging gifts. Some students may take Monday, April 8 or Tuesday, April 9 off for Eid al-Fitr. 

Students who observe Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr will have limited time and energy to study and do homework and may require accommodations in KW class and athletics.

Good Friday (Christian)
Friday, March 29 

Good Friday is also called Holy Friday and is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday.  It commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death.

Easter (Christian)
Sunday, March 31

Easter is an important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year.  In Christian belief, Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion.  Many Christian denominations celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday, two days after Good Friday.  The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously interpreted to be between 26 and 36 AD.  The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week which also marks the end of Lent, a season of prayer and penance.

Easter is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar.  It falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the Moon.  Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon whose 14^th day is on or after March 21. Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism, but also for its position in the calendar.

Passover (Jewish)
Evening of Monday, April 22 and ends evening of Tuesday, April 30

Passover is one of the Jewish religion’s most widely observed holidays. It commemorates the story of the Israelites’ exodus from ancient Egypt and liberation from bondage.

On the first (and in many homes, the second) night of Passover, many Jewish families will participate in a seder, a lengthy, ritualized meal that retells the story of the exodus. Another way that families observe Passover is by removing leavened products (bread) from their homes and eating matzo instead.  

Eastern Orthodox Pascha (Christian)
Sunday, May 5

An estimated 300 million Christians belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, which traces its development to the earliest church established by St. Paul and the Apostles. Its followers practice the original ancient traditions of the most Holy Day of the year, Pascha (Easter).

In this tradition, the Resurrection of the Lord is related to the Passover of the Jews, which during the Old Testament was observed after the vernal equinox. Orthodox and Western Christians celebrate at different times because the Orthodox Church still follows the old Julian calendar (a reformed Roman calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC). Protestants and Roman Catholics use the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII and adopted by the Catholic countries of Europe. 

Juneteenth (African American, observed as an official federal and state holiday)
Wednesday, June 19

January 1,1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million enslaved peoples living in the Confederate states to be free (this did not apply to border states that remained loyal to the Union). Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and gave word to enslaved African Americans that they were free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Also known as "Emancipation Day" or "Freedom Day," Juneteenth traditions include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and reading works by prominent African American writers. There are also celebratory events such as rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family gatherings, street parties, historical reenactments and Miss Juneteenth contests. New Trier will be closed on Wednesday, June 19 and summer school classes will resume Thursday, June 20 and no major assignments/assessments should be due.  

Eid al-Adha (Muslim)
Evening of Sunday, June 16 and ends evening Monday, June 17

Eid-al-Adha is a major Muslim holiday marking the end of the annual five-day Hajj, or pilgrimage, of more than 2 million Muslims from around the world to the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Practicing Muslims also fast from dawn to dusk the day before Eid-al-Adha, which is a day of atonement and one of the holiest days of the Islamic year.