Several faith dates take place over the winter term and should be kept in mind when planning meetings, events, classes, tests and assignments.

For the Jewish community, Pesah is celebrated for eight days from March 25 (at sundown) to April 2. The first two days and the last two days are holidays and observant Jews will be absent from work and the classroom on those days.

Some observant Christians will request accommodation on January 6 in order to celebrate Armenian Christmas or the Epiphany (western churches). Orthodox Christians following the New Calendar celebrate the Feast of Theophany on January 6 while those following the Old Calendar observe it on January 19.

Christians who observe Christmas in accordance with the Julian Calendar will do so on January 7. Three important Christian observances occur in March: Holy Maundy (March 28), Good Friday (March 29) and Easter (March 31). All may require accommodation; however, the Good Friday and Easter observances are unlikely to create many scheduling conflicts as they fall on a public holiday and on a weekend.

Observant members of the Baha’i, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities may require religious accommodation for the following observances/holy days. Those flagged by an asterisk fall on the weekend or a public holiday and are not expected to cause many scheduling difficulties.

• Baha’i faith: Now Rúz (March 21), Ridvan (April 21*, April 29, May 2)
• Sikhism: Sikh New Year’s Day (March 14)
• Hinduism: Makar Sankranti (January 14), Vasanta Panchami (February 15) and Holi (March 27)
• Buddhism: Lunar New Year* (February 10)
• Zoroastrianism: Now Ruz (March 21)

Faith dates are available on this online Multifaith Calendar. Users may click on each particular faith date within the calendar for more information about the observance.

Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to consult with the Chaplain's office for guidance should they have questions about addressing requests for faith accommodation. While extensive, the multi-faith/cultural calendar listings are not exhaustive. Individuals and groups may celebrate holy days that do not appear on the calendar or may find it necessary to observe a particular festival on a different day than the one listed on the calendar (ex. on the nearest weekend). Conversely, not all days listed in the calendar will require accommodation in the form of absence from the workplace or classroom.

Office of the Chaplain:
Website: http://www.queensu.ca/chaplain/index.html
Email: chaplain@queensu.ca