1 Jan
Ganjitsu (New Year's Day)
New Year's Day celebration which, in Japan, is sometimes extended for up to three days, during which businesses are closed, families are together, decorations are put up and the first visit of the year is paid to local Shinto shrines.
5 Jan
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night is a holiday in some branches of Christianity and marks the eve of Epiphany. The celebration of Epiphany, the adoration of the Magi (Wise Men or Three Kings), is marked in some cultures by the exchange of gifts, and Twelfth Night, as its eve, takes on a similar significance to Christmas Eve.
5 Jan
Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh
Day that commemorates the birth of the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in AD 1666. He was responsible for instituting the Five Ks and established the Order of the Khalsa on Vaisakhi (Baisakhi). The day is marked by an akhand path, which is an unbroken reading of the Guru Granth Sahib, normally lasting 48 hours.
6 Jan
Epiphany
The twelfth day of Christmas, Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Magi (Wise Men or Three Kings) at Bethlehem following the birth of Jesus. The celebration of Epiphany is marked in some cultures by the exchange of gifts.
7 Jan
Christmas (Eastern Orthodox & Armenian)
Most Orthodox churches, and certain others related to them, retain the Julian calendar, as opposed to the Gregorian calendar used by Western churches. Consequently, these churches celebrate Christmas thirteen days later.
7 Jan
Christmas
Rastafarians celebrate Christmas on January 7th, a date arrived at through the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar.
14 Jan
Makar Sankrant/
Lohri/Pongal
This festival is known by different names in different parts of India: in the Punjab it is known as Lohri and in Tamil Nadu it is called Pongal. It is a day for almsgiving and patching up quarrels. Tamils eat a rice dish called pongal. For Panjabi families (including some Sikhs), Lohri is celebrated following the birth of a son. A fire is lit and peanuts and sesame sweets are eaten around it.
16 Jan
Shinran Memorial Day
Buddhist commemoration of the life of Shinran, founder of Jodo Shin-shu, one of the schools of Pure Land Buddhism.
18 -
25 Jan
(1 week)
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
An international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually between 18th and 25th January. Special services are held, dialogue on unity is encouraged and congregations listen to a preacher from a different denomination.
18 Jan
Martin Luther King Day
A public holiday in the USA, this day commemorates the birth of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third day of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15th. It is the only United States federal holiday commemorating an Acan-American and one of only four to commemorate an individual person.
25 Jan
Honen Memorial Day
Buddhist commemoration of the life of Honen, founder of Jodo Shu, one of the schools of Pure Land Buddhism.
27 Jan
Holocaust Memorial Day
A national event in the United Kingdom dedicated to the remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. Held every year on 27th January, the date of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945. The day is dedicated to the memory of all those — not just Jews — who suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Many choose to extend the meaning of the day to include all those in recent history who have faced genocide and persecution on the grounds of race, religion, etc.
30 Jan
Tu B'Shevat
Also known as the "New Year for Trees." It occurs on the 15th of the Jewish month of Shevat and marks the beginning of the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. Tu B'Shevat is marked by the planting of new trees and the eating of fruit, particularly from the "Seven Kinds" that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.
