Accommodating Religious and Cultural Practices

Swarthmore College values and works to cultivate a culture of inclusion, mutual respect and belonging for all campus community members from a variety of faith traditions and cultures. 

Towards that effort, we encourage all faculty, staff and students to consult this calendar of religious celebrations and dates of note when planning for course curriculum and programming for the community. We ask all members of the Swarthmore community to please 

  • Be aware of these holidays when planning due dates and major events.
  • Attempt to accommodate those who may need time off for religious observances on and around these dates.
  • Be sensitive to those observing holidays who may be fasting (e.g., for Yom Kippur, Ramadan, Ash Wednesday, and Good Friday).

Academic Year 2025-26 Major Religious Holidays

Start Date

End Date

Name of Observance

Faith Tradition

Possible Types of Observance

August 2August 3Tisha B'Av*JudaismFasting, Possible work restriction
August 15 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary*Catholicism and Orthodox ChristianityWork restriction
August 15August 16Krishna Janmashtami*HinduismWork restriction, Fasting, Late night worship, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines
August 26August 27Ganesh ChaturthiHinduismFasting, Food accomodations
September 4September 5MawlidIslam-SunniWork restriction
September 9September 10MawlidIslam-Shi'iWork restriction
September 15September 16Mawlid al-Nabi*IslamWork restriction
September 22September 24Rosh Hashanah (High Holiday)*JudaismFood accomodations, Work restriction, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines
September 22October 2Navarātrī/Durga PujaHinduismLate night worship, Food accomodations
October 1October 2Yom Kippur (High Holiday)*JudaismFasting, Work restriction, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines
October 6October 8First two days of Sukkot*JudaismWork restriction, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines
October 13October 15Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah*JudaismWork restriction, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines, Food accomodations
October 20October 21,Diwali/Deepawali/Divali/Bandi Chhor Divas*Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, BuddhismWork restriction, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines
October 22October 24Birth of Báb/Birth of Baháúllah*BaháʼíWork restriction
November 5 Guru Nanak Jayanti/Gurpurab*SikhismWork restriction
November 24 Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib*SikhismWork restriction
December 8 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception*CatholicismWork restriction
December 24December 25Christmas (Gregorian Calendar)ChristianityAvoid scheduling events and deadlines
2026
January 1 Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God*ChristianityWork restriction
January 1January 3Gantan-sai*ShintoWork restriction
January 7 Christmas (Julian Calendar)*Orthodox ChristianityWork restriction
January 14 Makara Saṅkrānti/PongalHinduismLate night worship
February 15February 16Mahāśivarātrī/Shiv Ratri*HinduismPossible work restriction, Fasting, Late night worship
February 17 Lunar New Year*Confucian, Taoist, BuddhistWork restriction
February 17March 19RamadanIslamFasting, Late night worship, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines during sunrise/down, Food accomodations
February 18April 4, 2026Lenten Season (Gregorian Calendar)ChristianityFood accomodations
February 18 Ash WednesdayChristianityFasting, Food accomodations
February 19 Shri Ramakrishna Jayanti*HinduismWork restriction
March 2March 20‘Alá’/Nineteen Day FastBaháʼíFasting, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines during sunrise/down
March 3April 19Lenten Season/Great Lent (Julian Calendar)Orthodox ChristianityFood accomnodations
March 16 Laylat al-QadrIslamFasting, Late night worship
March 19March 27NavarātrīHinduismFood Accomodations
March 19March 20Eid-al-Fitr/ End of Ramadan*IslamWork restriction, Avoid major scheduling/deadlines, Food accomodations
March 20 Naw-Rúz/Nowruz/Navroz*Zoroastrianism, Baháʼí, IslamWork restriction
March 26 Ram NavamiHinduismFasting
March 31 Mahavir JayantiJainismFasting
April 1April 3First Two Nights of Passover*JudaismWork restriction, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines, Food accomodations
April 2April 4Holy Thursday/Good Friday/Holy Saturday (Gregorian Calendar)ChristianityFasting, Late night worship
April 5 Easter Sunday (Gregorian Calendar)ChristianityLate night worship, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines
April 8April 9Last Two Days of Passover*JudaismWork restriction, Avoid scheduling events and deadlines, Food accomodations
April 9April 11Holy Thursday/Good Friday/Holy Saturday (Julian Calendar)Orthodox ChristianityLate night worship, Food accomodations
April 12 Pascha/Easter (Julian Calendar)Orthodox ChristianityLate night worship
April 14 Vaisakhī/BaisakhiSikhism, Hinduism, BuddhismPossible work restriction
April 20April 211st day of Ridvan*BaháʼíWork restriction
April 28April 299th day of Ridvan*BaháʼíWork restriction
May 1Varies by regionVesak/Wesak/Vaiśākha Pūrṇima*BuddhismWork restriction
May 1May 212th day of Ridvan*BaháʼíWork restriction
May 21May 23Shavuot*JudaismWork restriction, Avoid major scheduling/deadlines, Food accomodations
May 23 Declaration of Báb*BaháʼíWork restriction
May 26May 27Eid al-Adha*IslamWork restriction, Avoid major scheduling/deadlines, Food accomodations
May 28 Ascension of Baha’u’llah*BaháʼíWork restriction
June 16 Martyrdom of Guru Arjan*SikhismWork restriction
June 25June 26Ashura*IslamPossible work restriction/fasting
July 9 Martyrdom of the Báb*BaháʼíWork restriction
July 22July 23Tisha B'AvJudaismFasting

Also, please keep in mind that members of our community may observe other holidays not included on this list, and we hope that their observances will be accommodated as well. In addition, due to the lunar calendar of some holidays, and differences among cultures and sects within single religions, there may be some variations in when observances occur. 

For more information, please consult the Swarthmore College Cultural and Religious Observance Policy.

For more information regarding spiritual support and resources, please visit the Swarthmore College Interfaith Center website.