Home > Resources: Religious Holiday Calendar > February Calendar
February Holiday / Religious Observance Calendar
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Code used in calendar:
Most frequently observed holidays and religious observances to be aware of when scheduling are printed in boldface type.
- Preceding a date indicates a University or U.S. holiday.
- Preceding a date indicates a religious observance.
Jewish, Islamic, and Baha'i holidays begin at sundown on the previous day.
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Click links below to go to:
2007-2008 Monthly Calendars
Major Religious and U.S. Public Holidays July 2007 - June 2012
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Holidays, Religious Observances, and Other Interesting Dates
| February 2008 |
February 1 - 28
African-American History Month.
Celebration of the contributions of African-Americans to history.
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February 3
- Bean Scattering Festival (Setsubun-no-hi) : Shinto.
Marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring according to the old calendar. On this day people throw beans to expel bad fortune and invoke good fortune.
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February 4
- Beginning of Lent (Clean Monday) : Eastern Orthodox Christian.
Start of the Lenten season for those following the Julian calendar.
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February 5
Constitution Day : Mexico.
Marks the adoption of the first Mexican constitution in 1917.
- Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) : Christian.
Day of celebration before the beginning of Lent.
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February 6
Waitangi Day : New Zealand.
Commemorates the signing in 1840 of the Treaty of Waitangi between the Maoris and the Great Britain and the establishment of British sovereignty.
- Ash Wednesday : Christian.
Beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting extending up to Easter Sunday (in counting the 40 days, Sundays are excluded). Observed in memory of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the desert.
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February 7
New Year : China.
Three-day celebration of the beginning of the Chinese year 4706 (The Year of the Rat).
New Year (Sollal) : Korea.
Three-day celebration of the beginning of the traditional Korean year 4341.
New Year (Tet Nguyen Dan) : Vietnam.
Most important holiday in Viet Nam—celebrates the coming of the new year, 4706.
New Year (Losar) : Tibet.
Celebration of the beginning of the Tibetan lunar year of 2135.
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February 11
National Foundation Day (Kenkoku-kinen-bi) : Japan.
Celebration of the ascension to the throne of the first Japanese emperor, Jimmu, and the founding of the Japanese nation in 660 B.C.E.
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February 15
- Parinirvana Day (Buddha’s Death) : Buddhist (Mahãyãna Tradition)
Commemorates the death of Buddha in 483 B.C.E. and his attainment of final nirvana; celebrated on this date by followers of the Mahãyãna tradition based on the Japanese Buddhist calendar.
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February 16
Independence Day : Lithuania.
Celebration of the day the country became independent from Russia in 1918.
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February 18
- President’s Day : United States (Observed).
Federal holiday in honor of the birthdays of George Washington (February 23, 1732) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809). Observed on the third Monday in February.
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February 25 - 26
National Day & Liberation Day: Kuwait.
Two-day public holiday celebrates the victory over Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991.
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February 27
Independence Day : Dominican Republic.
Celebrates the country’s independence from Haiti in 1844.
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Contact krons002@umn.edu with questions, comments, or suggestions.
Updated 08/30/2007
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