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23rd February: Eid al-Adha, (Feast of Sacrifice) - commemorates Abraham's willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Lasting for three days, it concludes the annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims worldwide sacrifice a lamb or other animal and distribute the meat to relatives or the needy.

26th February: Purim (Feast of Lots) - A day of joy and feasting celebrating the deliverance of the Jews from a massacre planned by the Persian minister Haman. According to the Book of Esther, the Jewish queen Esther interceded with her husband, King Ahasuerus, to spare the life of her uncle, Mordecai, and Haman was hanged on the same gallows he had built for Mordecai. The holiday is marked by the reading of the Book of Esther (The Megillah), and by the exchange of gifts, donations to the poor, and the presentation of Purim plays.

15th March: First Day of Muharram - The month of Muharram marks the beginning of the Islamic liturgical year. On the tenth day of the month, many Muslims may observe a day of fasting, known as Ashurah.

17th March (Sunday): St. Patrick's Day - St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, has been honored in America since the first days of the nation. Perhaps the most notable part of the observance is the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City. St. Patrick's Day is a religious holiday that has its root is Ireland. St. Patrick, whose real name was Maewyn Succat, was born sometime around the year 389. At the age of 16 Maewyn was kidnapped by Irish pirates that had landed near his home in England. During the years that he was in Ireland he worked and learned the Irish language and way of life. Having been born of Christian parents and raised in a Christian home, Maewyn was troubled because the Irish worshiped many gods and spirits. Eventually Maewyn was able to escape from Irish slavery. He went to France where he studied to become a priest. After 14 years of study he was sent back to Ireland as a Bishop by the Pope. Once back in Ireland, Maewyn, who by now had changed his name to Patrick, traveled all across the island and established churches and schools. According to legend, he also performed many miracles. One of the best known stories tells of Patrick driving all the snakes out of Ireland. In the United States, St. Patrick's day has come to represent the Irish culture and the contributions of its people to the United States. 

EASTER: Made up of many different days, see below. (Date changes each year - March / April) Easter is probably the most important Christian holiday on the calendar, it uses the egg, as a symbol. In the United States Easter is celebrated in several ways. On Easter morning children begin their day by looking for Easter eggs that the Easter bunny has hidden for them. Of course most children know that the eggs were hidden by their parents and not the Easter bunny. Many children help their parents color the Easter eggs knowing that soon they will be eating them as a snack on Easter day. Some cities have Easter egg hunts at the local parks. And of course, many people attend "Sunrise Services" at their local church. In fact, more people go to church on Easter Sunday than at any other time of the year. 

Palm Sunday - Observed the Sunday before Easter to commemorate the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

First Day of Passover - (Pesach). The Feast of the Passover, also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, commemorates the escape of the Jews from Egypt. As the Jews fled, they ate unleavened bread, and from that time the Jews have allowed no leavening in their houses during Passover, bread being replaced by matzoh.

Good Friday - The Friday before Easter, it commemorates the Crucifixion, which is retold during services from the Gospel according to St. John. A feature in Roman Catholic churches is the Liturgy of the Passion; there is no Consecration, the Host having been consecrated the previous day. The eating of hot-cross buns on this day is said to have started in England.

Easter Sunday - Observed in all Western Christian churches, Easter commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox (fixed at March 21) and is therefore celebrated between March 22 and April 25 inclusive. This date was fixed by the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.

Orthodox Easter - (Pascha). The Orthodox church uses the same formula to calculate Easter as the Western church, but bases it on the traditional Julian calendar instead of the more contemporary Gregorian calendar. For this reason Orthodox Easter generally falls on a different date than the Western Christian Easter.

9th May: Ascension Day - The Ascension of Jesus took place in the presence of His apostles 40 days after the Resurrection. It is traditionally thought to have occurred on Mount Olivet in Bethany.

Second Sunday in May: Mother's Day - West Virginia was the first state to recognize the holiday in 1910, and President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed Mother's Day a national holiday in 1914.

May: First Day of Shavuot (Hebrew Pentecost) - This festival, sometimes called the Feast of Weeks, or of Harvest, or of the First Fruits, falls 50 days after Passover and originally celebrated the end of the seven-week grain-harvesting season. In later tradition, it also celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai.

May: Pentecost (Whitsunday) - This day commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles 50 days after the Resurrection. The sermon by the apostle Peter, which led to the baptism of 3,000 who professed belief, originated the ceremonies that have since been followed. “Whitsunday” is believed to have come from “white Sunday” when, among the English, white robes were worn by those baptized on the day.

May: (Twelfth day of the month in Islamic Calendar) - Mawlid an-Nabi - This holiday celebrates the birthday of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. It is fixed as the 12th day of the month of Rabi I in the Islamic calendar. 

30th May: Memorial Day - It became a federal holiday in 1971, originating in 1868, when Union general John A. Logan designated a day in which the graves of Civil War soldiers would be decorated. Originally known as Decoration Day, the holiday was changed to Memorial Day within twenty years, becoming a holiday dedicated to the memory of all war dead. Memorial Day is a patriotic holiday in the United States. It is a legal holiday in most states but, until recently, it was not observed on the same date in all states. Northern states used to observe Memorial Day on May 30th, southern states observed the holiday on either April 26th, May 10th, or June 3rd. By federal law Memorial Day is now observed on May 30th in all states. Memorial Day is not a happy holiday. On Memorial Day we honor all the men and women who have died while serving their country in the Armed Forces.