1. Calendar of Equality and Diversity Events and special days 2016
This calendar focuses on 9 key faiths: Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Shinto, Jainism and Bahai.
This does not mean other religions, beliefs or non-belief are not equally valued. The calendar highlights key diversity days; main faith days observed or celebrated and awareness raising dates.
Sources of information used include: external faith bodies, diversity organisations and national faith calendars. This calendar has been produced accurately at the time of publication. Some dates may vary regionally as they are determined by the lunar calendar. Holy days begin at sunset the day before the date shown.

2. January
4th World Braille Day
27th Holocaust Memorial Day

3. February All month LGBT History Month
1st Setsebun Sai (Shinto) (the day before the beginning of spring in Japan. The name literally means "seasonal division", celebrated yearly at the beginning of February as part of the Spring Festival)
8th Chinese New Year (falls between mid-January and mid-February, please check for specific dates)
9th Shrove Tuesday (Christian) (a day in February or March preceding Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent)
10th Feb – 24th March Ash Wednesday and Lent (Christian) (Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Lent lasts 40 days and commemorates the forty days Jesus spent in the desert fasting.
15th Nirvana Day (Buddhist & Jain) (festival that remembers the death of the Buddha when he reached Nirvana at the age of 80)

4. March First two weeks LGBT Fostering and Adoption week
2nd – 20th Nineteen Day Fast (Baha’i) (19 day sunrise-to-sunset fast. Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Baha’i. Its chief purpose is spiritual; to reinvigorate the soul and bring the person closer to God)
7th Maha Shrivarati (Hindu) (all-day fasting and an all-night-vigil in reverence of the God Shiva)
8th International Women’s day
14th – 18th National Apprenticeships week
21st Naw Ruz (Baha’i) (New Year, the first day of the Baha’i calendar year and is the celebration of the traditional Iranian new year holiday, is celebrated throughout the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia)
23rd Magha Puji (Sangha Day) (Buddhist) (celebration in honour of the Sangha, or the Buddhist community. It is a chance for people to reaffirm their commitment to Buddhist practices and traditions)
25th Good Friday (Christian) (commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ)
27th Easter Sunday (Christian) (festival and holy day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead)
31st International Transgender day of visibility

5. April 2nd World Autism Awareness Day 8th Hindu New Year
14th Vaisakhi, Sikh New Year
15th Festival of Ramanavami (Hindu) (commemorates the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu)
19th Mahavir Jayanti (Jain) (the most important religious holiday for Jains. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, twenty fourth and the last Tirthankara (Teaching God) of the present time cycle)
18th – 24th Parkinson’s Awareness week
22nd Buddhist Theravada New Year
22nd – 30th Pesach / Passover (Jewish) (commemoration of the Jews liberation by God from slavery in Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses)

6. May 2nd – 8th Deaf Awareness week
3rd Lailat al Miraj (Islam) (commemorates the Prophet Muhammad's night-time journey from Mecca to the 'Farthest Mosque' in Jerusalem where he ascended to heaven, was purified, and given the instruction for Muslims to pray five times daily)
5th Yom HaShoah (Jewish) Jewish remembrance day for the Holocaust
15th – 21st Dementia Awareness week
15th Visakha Puja / Vesak Day (Buddhist) (commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha)
16th – 22nd Mental Health Awareness week
17th International day against homophobia
21st Lailat al Bara’ah (Islam) (takes place two weeks before Ramadan. It is the time when Muslims seek forgiveness for their sins and believe that on this night one's destiny is fixed for the year ahead)
23rd Declaration of the Báb (Baha’i) (Commemorating when the Bab, the prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith, announced in Persia, that he was the herald of a new messenger of God)
29th Ascension of Baha’u’llah (Baha’i) (Observance of the anniversary of the death in exile of Baha`u`llah, the prophet-founder of the Baha’i Faith)

7. June All month Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month
6th June – 5th July 2016 Ramadan (Islam) (an important holy period, a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Mohammed)
6th – 12th Carers Week
11th Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Day, Borough Gardens, Dorchester
16th martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Sikh) (commemoration of the first martyr of the Sikh faith)
20th World Refugee Day
21st World Humanist Day
24th – 30th Deafblind Awareness week

8. July
6th 2016 Eid al Fitr (Islam) (celebrating the end of fasting of Ramadan and thanking Allah for the help and strength he gave them throughout Ramadan)
8th – 10th Bourne Free, Bournemouth Pride
9th Martyrdom of the Bab (Baha’i) (commemorates the martyrdom of Bab, one of the two founding figures of the faith)
13th – 15th Obon (Buddhist) (honours the spirits of ones ancestors, it is believed that each year during Obon the ancestors’ spirits return to visit relatives)
15th – 17th Tolpuddle Martyrs festival
19th Asalha Puja Day (Dharma Day) (Buddhist) (celebrates the Buddha’s first sermon in which he established the doctrine that came to him following his enlightenment)

9. August
6th One World Festival, Dorchester (dates vary, please check for specific dates)
25th Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu) (celebration of the birth of the deity Krishna)

10. September
11th Eid-al-Adha (Islam) (honours the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son, as an act of submission to God’s command, before God intervened)
6th Paryushan Parva (Jain) (the most important Jain religious observance of the year it is a time of intensive study, reflection, and purification)
23rd Bi-Visibility Day

11. October All month Black History Month
1st – 11th Navaratri Festival (Hindu) (‘nine nights’ is one of the greatest Hindu festivals, symbolises the triumph of good over evil. Navratri takes place at the beginning of October around harvest time)
2nd – 4th Rosh Hashanah Jewish New Year
3rd – 9th Dyslexia Awareness Week
11th – 12th 2016 Yom Kippur (Jewish) (the holiest day of the year in Judaism, its central themes are atonement and repentance)
11th October International Coming out day
30th Diwali (Hindu, Jain & Sikh) (festival of lights spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness or good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. One of the most import dates in the Hindu calendar)

12. November Transgender awareness week (beginning of November, date TBC)
13th – 20th InterFaith week
14th Birth of Baha’u’llah (Baha’i) (celebrates the birth of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith)
14th Birthday of Guru Nanak (Sikh) (Holy day celebrates the birth of Guru Nanak the founder of Sikhism)
14th – 18th National anti-bullying week
19th International Men’s Day
20th Transgender day of remembrance
22nd Nov – 22nd Dec Disability History Month

13. December 1st World Aids day
3rd International day for people with disabilities
10th Human Rights Day
22nd Nov – 22nd Dec Disability History Month
24th – 31st Chanukah Festival of Lights (Jewish) (commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple (the second temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt)
24th Christmas Eve (Christian) (refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day)
25th Christmas Day (Christian) (annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ)