Research Guides: SJU Holidays and Observances and Suggested Readings: 2025-2026: Religious Observances

Religious Observances

Wednesday, September 3rd: Mawlid

Celebration of the birth of the Islamic prophet Muhammad

Monday, September 22nd - Wednesday, September 24th: Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown.

Jewish New Year

Wednesday, October 1st - Thursday, October 2nd: Yom Kippur begins at sundown.

Jewish Day of Atonement

Monday, October 6th - Monday, October 13th: Sukkot begins at sundown.

Jewish harvest celebration

Monday, October 20th: Diwali

Hindu celebration of Light defeating Darkness, Good defeating Evil

Saturday, November 1st: All Saints Day

Catholic Holy Day dedicated to the Saints of the Church

Sunday, November 30th - Wednesday, December 24th: Advent

Season of Preparation before the arrival of Jesus

Sunday, December 14th - Monday, December 22nd: Hanukkah begins at sundown.

Jewish festival of lights

Thursday, December 25th: Christmas

Celebration of the birth of Christ

Tuesday, February 17th - Thursday, March 19th: Ramadan (expected dates)

Muslim holy month of fasting

Wednesday, February 18th: Ash Wednesday

A Catholic holy day of prayer and fasting to mark the beginning of Lent

Wednesday, February 18th - Thursday, April 2nd: Lent

Season of preparation and reflection before Easter

Wednesday, March 4th

Hindu festival of sharing and love

Thursday, March 19th - Friday, March 20th: Eid-al-Fitr

Muslim feast marking the end of Ramadan

Thursday, March 19th: Feast of Saint Joseph

Feast Day of Saint Joseph: husband of Mary, foster father of Jesus, and patron saint of families, fathers, expectant mothers, workers, travelers, and immigrants, among others.

Sunday, March 29th - Sunday, April 5th: Holy Week

Commemorates Jesus' last week on Earth, including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday

Sunday, April 5th: Easter

Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus

Wednesday, April 1st - Thursday, April 9th: Passover

Celebrates deliverance of the Jewish people from Slavery in Egypt

Selected Readings for Ramadan

Love Thy Neighbor by Ayaz Virji; Alan Eisenstock
In 2013, Dr. Ayaz Virji left a comfortable job at an East Coast hospital and moved to a town of 1,400 in Minnesota, feeling called to address the shortage of doctors in rural America. But in 2016, this decision was tested when the reliably blue, working-class county swung for Donald Trump. Virji watched in horror as his children faced anti-Muslim remarks at school and some of his most loyal patients began questioning whether he belonged in the community. Virji wanted out. But in 2017, just as he was lining up a job in Dubai, a local pastor invited him to speak at her church and address misconceptions about what Muslims practice and believe. That invitation has grown into a well-attended lecture series that has changed hearts and minds across the state, while giving Virji a new vocation that he never would have expected.
Muslim American Women on Campus by Shabana Mir
Muslim American Women on Campus illuminates the processes by which a group of ethnically diverse American college women, all identifying as Muslim and all raised in the United States, construct their identities during one of the most formative times in their lives. Mir, an anthropologist of education, focuses on key leisure practices--drinking, dating, and fashion--to probe how Muslim American students adapt to campus life and build social networks that are seamlessly American, Muslim, and youthful.
Yes, I'm Hot in This by Huda Fahmy
Popular Instagram cartoonist and Muslim-American Huda Fahmy presents a hilarious, relatable, and painfully honest new collection of comics that break down barriers and show how universal our everyday problems, worries, and joys actually are
I Speak for Myself by Maria M. Ebrahimji (Editor); Zahra T. Suratwala (Editor)
Forty women under age forty share what it has been like to have been born and raised in the United States as a Muslim, examining the dichotomy between Islamic and Western values, and discussing stereotypes, the events of 9/11, and other related topics.
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
A queer Muslim searches for the language to express her truest self, making peace with her sexuality, her family, and Islam.
Secrets of Divine Love by A. Helwa
A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam is an inspiring guide that will lead you towards the hidden meaning of the Qur'an through passion and joy.
Letters to a Young Muslim by Omar Saif Ghobash
In a series of personal letters to his sons, Omar Saif Ghobash offers a short and highly readable manifesto that tackles our current global crisis with the training of an experienced diplomat and the personal responsibility of a father

Interfaith and Cross Cultural Conversations Selected Readings

Maxims for Mutuality by Philip A. Cunningham
A handbook for Catholic preachers, theologians, and educators, of ten "maxims for mutuality" for advancing continuing dialogue with our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith
Muslims and Christians Debate Justice and Love by David L. Johnston
This document affirmed that the two highest commandments in both Judaism and Christianity are also at the heart of the Islamic tradition - love of God and love of neighbor. In a style that lends itself to the classroom and beyond, the book's six chapters all begin with a case study of justice, so as to emphasize that justice must also be embodied in righteous social, political and economic practices. Along the way, leading contemporary scholars and activists from both traditions urge the reader - Muslim, Christian, or whatever - to look afresh at an age-old conundrum: how do justice and love interact so as to create a world in which everyone finds his or her rightful place
The Bible With and Without Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine; Marc Zvi Brettler
The editors of The Jewish Annotated New Testament show how and why Jews and Christians read many of the same Biblical texts - including passages from the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Psalms - differently. Exploring and explaining these diverse perspectives, they reveal more clearly Scripture's beauty and power.
Breaking Through: Communicating to Open Minds, Move Hearts, and Change the World by Sally Susman
he illustrates how, in order to be effective, leaders need to muster the courage for candor; and how, in order to connect, they must both disarm with humility and delight with humor. As a gay, married woman, she talks forthrightly about the challenges and opportunities of embracing who you are, both at home and in the workplace.
We Can't Talk about That at Work! by Mary-Frances Winters
Spring '23 Staff Book Club Selection. In this concise and powerful book, Mary-Frances Winters shows how to deal with sensitive subjects in a way that brings people together instead of driving them apart.
Out of Many Faiths by Eboo Patel
In this thought-provoking book, Patel draws on his personal experience as a Muslim in America to examine the importance of religious diversity in the nation's cultural, political, and economic life. He explores how religious language has given the United States some of its most enduring symbols and inspired its most vital civic institutions-and demonstrates how the genius of the American experiment lies in its empowerment of all people.

SJU Holidays and Observances and Suggested Readings: 2025-2026

Religious Observances

Wednesday, September 3rd: Mawlid

Celebration of the birth of the Islamic prophet Muhammad

Monday, September 22nd - Wednesday, September 24th: Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown.

Jewish New Year

Wednesday, October 1st - Thursday, October 2nd: Yom Kippur begins at sundown.

Jewish Day of Atonement

Monday, October 6th - Monday, October 13th: Sukkot begins at sundown.

Jewish harvest celebration

Monday, October 20th: Diwali

Hindu celebration of Light defeating Darkness, Good defeating Evil

Saturday, November 1st: All Saints Day

Catholic Holy Day dedicated to the Saints of the Church

Sunday, November 30th - Wednesday, December 24th: Advent

Season of Preparation before the arrival of Jesus

Sunday, December 14th - Monday, December 22nd: Hanukkah begins at sundown.

Jewish festival of lights

Thursday, December 25th: Christmas

Celebration of the birth of Christ

Tuesday, February 17th - Thursday, March 19th: Ramadan (expected dates)

Muslim holy month of fasting

Wednesday, February 18th: Ash Wednesday

A Catholic holy day of prayer and fasting to mark the beginning of Lent

Wednesday, February 18th - Thursday, April 2nd: Lent

Season of preparation and reflection before Easter

Wednesday, March 4th

Hindu festival of sharing and love

Thursday, March 19th - Friday, March 20th: Eid-al-Fitr

Muslim feast marking the end of Ramadan

Thursday, March 19th: Feast of Saint Joseph

Feast Day of Saint Joseph: husband of Mary, foster father of Jesus, and patron saint of families, fathers, expectant mothers, workers, travelers, and immigrants, among others.

Sunday, March 29th - Sunday, April 5th: Holy Week

Commemorates Jesus' last week on Earth, including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday

Sunday, April 5th: Easter

Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus

Wednesday, April 1st - Thursday, April 9th: Passover

Celebrates deliverance of the Jewish people from Slavery in Egypt

Selected Readings for Ramadan

Interfaith and Cross Cultural Conversations Selected Readings