| October 2008 |
October 1 – 31
National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Designated to enhance public awareness of people with disabilities and encourage their full integration into the workforce.
|
|
October 1
Independence Day : Nigeria.
Celebration of independence from Britain in 1960.
- Rosh Hashanah (New Year) : Jewish (2nd day)
- Eid al-Fitr (Feast of the Breaking of the Fast) : Islam.
Three-day festival which celebrates the Breaking of the Fast and the end of Ramadan.
|
|
October 1 - 2
National Day : People’s Republic of China.
Celebration of victory of the Communist Party forces over the Nationalist forces and the declaration of the republic in 1949.
|
|
October 3
Day of German Unity : Germany.
Commemorates the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990.
National Foundation Day : South Korea.
Commemorates the founding of the Korean nation by King Tangun in 2333 B.C.E.
|
|
October 5
Republic Day : Portugal.
Commemorates the founding of the republic in 1910.
|
|
October 9
- Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) : Jewish.
The holiest of days for Jews—a day of repentance and forgiveness and the end of the ten-day period known as the Days of Awe or the Days of Repentance that start with Rosh Hashanah.
Independence Day : Uganda.
Commemorates independence from Britain in 1962.
- Dassehra (Durga Puja) : Hindu
Celebrated on the tenth day following the "nine nights" festival of Navaratri and honors the goddess Durga.
|
|
October 10
Grito de Yara : Cuba.
Commemorates the Revolt of Yara in the 1868 and the beginning of Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain, which was finally achieved in 1898.
National Day : Taiwan.
Commemorates the beginning (in 1911) of the revolution led by Sun Yat-sen against the Manchu dynasty and the founding of the Republic of China.
|
|
October 11
National Coming Out Day : Gay/Lesbian.
Commemorates the March on Washington in 1987 to protest anti-gay discrimination.
|
|
October 12
Dia de la Raza (Columbus Day) : South & Central American nations.
Commemorates the discovery of the Americas by Columbus and the common Spanish and Indian heritage of Latin American countries. Celebrated in Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico, and Venezuela.
National Day : Spain.
Commemorates the discovery of the New World by Columbus and the founding of Spain’s colonial empire.
Liberation Day : Laos.
Commemorates independence from France in 1954.
|
|
October 13
- Columbus Day (Observed): United State.
Federal holiday commemorating Christopher Columbus’ landing in the New World (actually October 12).
Thanksgiving Day : Canada.
Celebrated the second Monday in October. Harvest festival and occasion for family celebrations with traditional foods.
|
|
October 14
- Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles): Jewish.
Eight-day harvest festival named for the booths that are erected and hung with fruits and vegetables to recall the temporary dwellings used by the Hebrew during the time of their captivity in Egypt.
|
|
October 20
- Birthday of the Bab : Baha’i.
Celebrates the birth of the Bab, forerunner of the Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i faith.
|
|
October 21
- Sh’mini Atzeret: Jewish.
Concludes Sukkoth and marks the end of the holiday period that begins with Rosh Hashanah.
|
|
October 22
- Simchat Torah: Jewish.
Marks the completion and new beginning of the annual cycle of the reading of the Torah in synagogues.
|
|
October 23
Republic Day : Hungary.
Celebrates the beginning of the revolt against Communist rule in 1956.
|
|
October 24
United Nations Day : United Nations.
Commemorates the founding of the United Nations in 1945.
|
|
October 26
National Day : Austria.
Celebrates regaining full sovereignty as a nation in 1955.
|
|
October 27
- Diwali Night (Lord Mahavir’s Nirvana): Jain.
Celebration the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, on the night before Diwali.
|
|
October 28
- Diwali (Festival of Lights) : Hindu.
The most important Hindu festival of the year and the beginning of a five-day period which honors various Hindu gods and goddesses.
- Diwali (Festival of Lights) : Sikh.
Also celebrated by Sikhs, commemorating the day the sixth Guru, Hargobind, was released from prison in 1620 C.E.
Independence Day : Czech Republic
Day an independent democratic nation was established in Czechoslovakia in 1918.
|
|
October 29
- New Year: Jain.
Celebration of the Jain new year of 2535. The new year begins on the day following Diwali.
Republic Day : Turkey.
Celebration of the establishment of a republic in Turkey in 1923.
|
|
October 31
- Reformation Day : Christian (Protestant).
Commemorates the Protestant Reformation. Anniversary of the date in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.
|
