Cultural Materials
Diversity Resources
Heritage Months
Throughout the year, the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity celebrates national heritage months with the release of a heritage guide and Spotlights focusing on diverse employees at Johns Hopkins Medicine and in the greater Johns Hopkins community.
Heritage Months to Celebrate
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National Black History Month was first observed in 1926, when Carter G. Woodson proposed celebrating what he called Negro History Week to recognize the tremendous contributions of African Americans throughout U.S. history.
- Learn more about National Black History Month.
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National Women’s History Month was first observed as National Women’s Day on Feb. 28, 1909. Later, in 1987, Congress designated March as Women’s History Month to recognize all American women and the role they play in our nation’s life.
- Learn more about National Women’s History Month
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National Asian and Pacific Islander Month began as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, first observed under President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and later expanded to cover the whole month of May by President George Bush in 1990.
- Learn more about National Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
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Pride Month began as a commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall riots, when members of the LGBTQ+ community took a stance against discrimination and violence toward the community. In 1999, President Bill Clinton issued a proclamation in which Gay Pride Day was expanded to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.
- Learn more about LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
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Since 1968, Americans all over the nation have observed National Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the vast histories, cultures and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
- Learn more about National Hispanic Heritage Month (English).
- Learn more about National Hispanic Heritage Month (En Español).
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National Disability Employment Awareness Month aims to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities.
- Learn more about NDEAM.
- Public Service Announcement
- JHM Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Health Equity Disability Accommodations Education Webinars
- JHU Disability DEI Education Resources
- JHHS Office of Organizational Equity
- JHU Office of Institutional Equity
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- National Native American Heritage Month, also referred to as National American Indian Heritage Month, began as Native American Awareness Week, authorized by Congress in 1976 after six decades of efforts to achieve official federal recognition of the contributions of Native Americans.
Religious and Cultural Observances
Expanding our knowledge of the diverse cultural and faith traditions of our patients, faculty members, staff members and students helps strengthen our relationships with one another and positively impacts the quality of patient care.
The Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity and the Department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy have created a Religious and Cultural Observances Toolkit to provide general information about cultural and religious observances, and how they may impact interactions with colleagues, students, and patients and their family members.
Use these fact sheets as guides for supporting our patients, staff members, faculty members and students. Please keep in mind that they are intended to provide a general overview, and the information may not apply to all individuals in any given culture or faith.
For More Information
For additional information, or to recommend additional religious or cultural observances we should highlight, please contact the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity at [email protected] or Paula Teague, senior director of the Department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy, at [email protected].
Download the 2023 Multicultural Calendar
2023 Religious & Cultural Observances
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- 1 New Year’s Day
- 5 Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti Sikh
- 6 Epiphany (Three Kings Day)
- 7 Orthodox Christmas
- 15 Makar Sankranti
- 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- 22 Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year)
- 27 Holocaust Remembrance Day
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- National African American History Month
- 18 Maha Shivaratri Hindu
- 20 Presidents Day
- 21 Losar Baha’i
- 22 Ash Wednesday (Lent Begins for Western Christianity)
- 26–3/1 Ayyám-i-Há Baha’i
- 27 Clean Monday (Lent Begins for Eastern Orthodox Churches)
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- National Women’s History Month
- Irish-American Heritage Month
- 2–20 Month of Fast Baha’i
- 6 Tao-te Tien-tsun (High Pure One)
- 6–7 Purim Jewish
- 6–7 Holi Hindu
- 17 St. Patrick’s Day
- 20 Taoist Festival honoring the Shen of Water, East and Spring
- 20–21 Nowruz/Naw-Ruz Baha'i
- 22 Ugadi/Gudi Padwa Hindu
- 22–4/21 Ramadan (Month of Fasting) Islam
- 31 Transgender Day of Visibility
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- Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month
- 2 Palm Sunday
- 4 Memorial of Christ Death Jehovah’s Witnesses
- 5 Qingming Festival Chinese
- 5–13 Passover Jewish
- 7 Good Friday/Holy Friday Christian
- 9 Easter (Western Christianity)
- 14 Vaisakhi Sikh/Hindu
- 16 Easter (Greek/Eastern Orthodox)
- 17–18 Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day)
- 20–5/2 Festival of Ridvan Baha’i
- 21–22 Eid-al-Fitr Islam
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- Jewish American Heritage Month
- National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
- 1 Beltane Wiccan
- 5 Cinco de Mayo Mexican Heritage
- 5 Visakha Puja Buddhist
- 20 Armed Forces Day
- 23–24 Declaration of the Báb Baha’i
- 25–27 Shavuot Jewish
- 28 Pentecost (Western Christianity)
- 28–29 Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh Baha’i
- 29 Memorial Day
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- Caribbean American Heritage Month
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month
- 4 Pentecost (Eastern Orthodox)
- 19 Juneteenth (Emancipation and End of Slavery)
- 22 Dragon Boat Festival Chinese
- 28–29 Eid-al-Adha Islam
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- 4 Independence Day
- 10 Martyrdom of the Báb Baha’i
- 22 Thiru Aadi Pooram Hindu
- 19–8/16 Al-Hijra/Muharram Islam New Year
- 26–27 The Fast of Tisha B’av Jewish
- 27–28 Ashura Islam
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- 15 Dormition of the Theotokos
- 30 Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi) Hindu
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- Hispanic Heritage Month. Sept. 15–Oct. 15
- 4 Labor Day
- 6 Krishna Janmashtami Hindu
- 8 Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- 14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross
- 15–17 Rosh Hashanah Jewish
- 23 Mabon (Autumnal Equinox)
- 23 Taoist Festival honoring Shen of Winds, West, Autumn
- 24–25 Yom Kippur Jewish
- 29 Chinese Celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival
- 29–10/1 Sukkot Jewish
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- German American Heritage Month
- Italian American Heritage Month
- National Disability Employment Awareness Month
- Polish American Heritage Month
- 1–6 Chol Hamoed Sukkot Chinese
- 6–8 Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah Jewish
- 9 Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- 9 Columbus Day
- 11 National Coming Out Day
- 15–17 Twin Holy Days Baha’i
- 15–23 Navratri Hindu
- 23 Double Ninth Festival Chinese
- 24 Vijayadashami/Dussehra Hindu
- 31–11/1 Samhain Gaelic
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- National Native American Heritage Month
- 1 All Saints’ Day
- 1–2 Día de los Muertos Mexican Heritage
- 11 Veterans Day
- 12 Diwali (Indian Festival of Lights) Indian
- 20 Transgender Day of Remembrance
- 23 Thanksgiving Day
- 24 Native American Heritage Day
- 26 Day of the Covenant
- 28 Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Baha’i
- 28–1/6 Nativity Fast
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- 1–12/24 Advent
- 7–15 Hanukkah Jewish
- 21 Yalda (Winter Solstice)
- 21–1/1 Yule (Winter Solstice) Wiccan
- 22 Dongzhi Festival
- 23 HumanLight
- 25 Christmas Day Christian
- 26–1/1 Kwanzaa
Religious and Cultural Toolkit
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Multicultural Calendar
Keep track of holidays and paydays at Johns Hopkins Medicine by downloading the Multicultural Calendar. The calendar notes the holidays and observances celebrated by our rich community. You can also pick up a calendar from your organization's human resources office.
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Add Your Event to the Calendar
Do you know of an event that promotes diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency at and within Johns Hopkins Medicine? If so, please click on the link below to provide information about the event.