Religious Holidays & Observances
Students may request an excused absence to participate in any of the listed events. If any observances are not listed, please contact Lorena Blanco-Silva, Diversity Programs Director, at lblanco@unm.edu.
Click here for list of Religious Holidays and Observances.
The reasonable requests of students, faculty and staff related their observance of holidays must be accommodated. Please take these holidays and observances into consideration when planning meetings and events. It is important to understand that reasonable requests can also include observances that are not listed on calendar on this web page. For example, some Tribal observances are dependent on natural occurrences which cannot be predicted far in advance. In those cases, accommodations would have to be requested by the individual when religious or holiday observances are arranged. Some of these ceremonies can last for several days.
Religious Holidays and Observances 2021-2022* | ||
*Please note this is not an exhaustive list and information is subject to change Please let us know of any errors or updates at diverse@unm.edu | ||
Date | Holiday/Observance | Association |
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| Heritage or Awareness Month |
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Sept 15 – Oct 15 | National Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month |
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October 2021 | National Disability Employment Awareness Month |
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October 2021 | National Bullying Prevention Month |
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November 2021 | Native American Heritage Month |
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February 2022 | Black History Month |
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March 2022 | Women’s History Month |
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March 2022 | Irish American Heritage Month |
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April 2022 | Sexual Assault Awareness Month |
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April 2022 | National Poetry Month |
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April 2022 | National Month of Hope |
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May 2022 | Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month |
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May 2022 | Jewish American Heritage Month |
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June 2022 | LGBTQ Pride Month |
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| Pueblo Feast Days |
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August 4, 2021 | Santo Domingo Pueblo | First Nation |
August 12, 2021 | Santa Clara Pueblo | First Nation |
August 15, 2021 | Zia Pueblo | First Nation |
August 28, 2021 | Isleta Pueblo | First Nation |
August 2021 (last two weeks) | Taos Pueblo |
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September 2, 2021 | Acoma Pueblo | First Nation |
September 19, 2021 | Laguna Pueblo | First Nation |
October 4, 2021 | Nambe Pueblo | First Nation |
November 12, 2021 | Jemez Pueblo | First Nation |
November 12, 2021 | Tesuque Pueblo | First Nation |
December 1, 2021 | Zuni Pueblo | First Nation |
December 12, 2021 | Pojoaque Pueblo | First Nation |
January 23, 2022 | San Ildefonso Pueblo | First Nation |
May 1, 2022 | San Felipe Pueblo | First Nation |
June 13, 2022 | Sandia Pueblo | First Nation |
June 24, 2022 | Ohkay Owingeh | First Nation |
July 14, 2022 | Cochiti Pueblo | First Nation |
July 26, 2022 | Santa Ana Pueblo | First Nation |
August 4, 2022 | Santo Domingo | First Nation |
August 10, 2022 | Picuris Pueblo | First Nation |
August 12, 2022 | Santa Clara Pueblo | First Nation |
August 15, 2022 | Zia Pueblo | First Nation |
August 28, 2022 | Isleta Pueblo | First Nation |
Date | Holiday/Observance | Association |
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August 26 | Women’s Equality Day |
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September 6 | Labor Day |
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October 11 | Indigenous People’s Day |
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September 22 | Autumnal Equinox |
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September 23 | Bi Visibility Day |
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November 11 | Veteran’s Day |
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November 16 | International Day of Tolerance |
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November 20 | Transgender Day of Remembrance |
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November 25 | Thanksgiving Day |
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December 1 | World Aids Day |
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December 3 | International Day of Persons with Disabilities |
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December 10 | Human Rights Day |
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December 15 | Bill of Rights Day |
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December 21 | Winter Solstice |
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December 26 - January 1 | Kwanzaa |
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December 29 | Wounded Knee Day |
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December 31 | New Year’s Eve |
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2022 |
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January 1 | New Year’s Day |
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January 17 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday |
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February 21 | President’s Day |
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May 30 | Memorial Day |
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2021 | Religious Observances |
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August 30 | Krishna Janmashtami (Jayanti) | Hindu |
September 1 | Gur-Gaddi Guru Granth Sahib | Sikh |
September 1 | Ecclesiastical Year | Orthodox Christian |
September 3 | Paryushana Parva | Jain |
September 6-8 | Rosh Hashanah | Jewish |
September 10 | Ganesh Chaturthi | Hindu |
September 14 | Holy Cross Day | Christian |
September 16 | Yom Kippur | Jewish |
September 20-27 | Sukkot | Jewish |
September 22 | Mabon (Autumn Equinox) | Pagan |
September 27 | Meskel | Ethiopian Orthodox Christian |
September 28 | Shemini Atzeret | Jewish |
September 29 | Simchat Torah | Jewish |
October 6-14 | Navaratri | Hindu |
October 15 | Dussehra/Dasara | Hindu |
October 19 | Mawlid Al-Nabi (Milad Al-Nabi) | Islam (Sunni) |
2021 | Religious Observances |
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October 20 | Birth of the Báb | Bahá’í |
October 23 | Mawlid Al-Nabi (Milad Al-Nabi) | Islam (Shi’a) |
October 31 | All Hallow’s Eve | Christian |
November 1 | All Saints’ Day | Christian |
November 1 | Samhain – Beltane | Pagan |
November 2 | Día de los Muertos | Mexican Tradition |
November 2 | All Souls Day | Catholic |
November 4 | Bardiche Diwas | Sikh |
November 4 | Diwali | Hindu – Jain - Sikh |
November 12 | Birth of Bahá’u’lláh | Bahá’í |
November 19 | Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Birthday | Sikh |
November 24 | Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom | Sikh |
November 26 | Day of the Covenant | Baha’i |
November 28 | Ascension of Abdul Baha | Baha’i |
Nov 28 – Dec 24 | Advent | Christian |
Nov 28 – Dec 6 | Chanukah | Judaism |
December 8 | Rohatsu (Bodhi Day) | Buddhist |
December 8 | Immaculate | Catholic Christian |
December 12 | Our Lady of Guadalupe | Catholic Christian |
December 21 | Yule – Winter Solstice | Pagan |
December 24 | Christmas Eve | Christian |
December 25 | Christmas | Christian |
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2022 |
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January 6 | Epiphany | Christian |
January 18 | Mahayana (Buddhist New Year) | Buddhist |
February 1 | Chinese New Year | Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist |
February 15 | Nirvana Day | Buddhist |
February 16 | Sangha Day | Buddhist |
March 1 | Mardi Gras | Christian |
March 1 | Mahashivaratri | Hindu |
March 2 | Ash Wednesday – Lent begins | Christian |
March 7 | Clean Monday - Lent begins | Orthodox Christian |
March 10 | Palm Sunday | Christian |
March 16 | Purim | Jewish |
March 17 | St. Patrick’s Day | Christian |
March 21 | Naw- Rúz | Baha’i |
April 2 | Ramadan | Islam |
April 10 | Palm Sunday | Christian |
April 15 | Good Friday | Christian |
April 15 - 23 | Passover | Jewish |
April 17 | Easter | Christian |
April 24 | Easter | Orthodox Christian |
2021 | Religious Observances |
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May 2 | Eid al-Fitr | Islamic |
May 16 | Buddha Day – Visakaha Puja, Wesak | Buddhist |
May 26 | Ascension Day | Christian |
June 5 | Shavuot (Pentecost) | Jewish |
July 20 | Eid al Adha | Islam |
August 10 | Hijra (New Year) | Islam |
August 18 | Ashura | Islam |
September 25-27 | Rosh Hashanah | Jewish |
October 24 | Diwali | Hindu Jain |
October 25 | Reformation Day | Protestant Christian |
October 26 | Birth of the Báb | Baha’i |
December 18-26 | Hanukkah | Jewish |
UNM policy 2720: Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and Affirmative Action, prohibits religious discrimination and requires reasonable accommodation of employees and students sincerely held religious beliefs, observances, and practices when requested, unless accommodation would impose an undue hardship on business operations.
Please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity at http://oeo.unm.edu or 277-5251 to receive guidance regarding requests for, or responses to, religious accommodation requests. Failure to provide reasonable accommodations for religious holidays, observances and practices may be regarded as a policy violation.
