D&I Calendar 2024

OCTOBER 2024 MORE INFORMATION

October is Global Diversity Awareness Month, a month to celebrate and increase awareness about the diversity of cultures and ethnicities as well as the positive impact diversity can have on society. LGBTQ+ History Month is a US observance that started in 1994 to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer history and the history of the gay rights movement. National Disability Employment Awareness Month was launched in 1945 when Congress declared the first week in October as “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” In 1998, the week was extended to a month and renamed. The annual event draws attention to employment barriers that still need to be addressed. Breast Cancer Awareness Month, also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15th to October 15th. This month corresponds with Mexican Independence Day, which is celebrated on September 16th and recognizes the revolution in 1810 that ended the Spanish dictatorship. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year celebration marking the creation of the world. Navratri is the nine-day festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil. Festival participants worship God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as Durga, Devi, or Shakti, and the event marks the start of fall. St. Francis Day is a feast day for St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment. It’s celebrated by many Catholic denominations. World Mental Health Day was first celebrated in 1993 to increase public awareness about the importance of mental health, mental health services, and mental health workers worldwide. National Coming Out Day is recognized in the United States to celebrate those who come out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer as well as the recognition of the 1987 march on Washington for gay and lesbian equality.

The Double Ninth Festival is a day for families to visit the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects, as well as a time for people to climb mountains, eat Chongyang cake, and drink chrysanthemum wine or tea. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year and marks a time for atonement through fasting and prayer. In this image, ultra-Orthodox Jewish men pray at the Western Wall during Yom Kippur in the Old City of Jerusalem. Vijayadashami is an important Hindu festival celebrated in Telangana. Vijayadashami, a festival that symbolizes the victory of good over evil, is celebrated with traditional fervor, devotion and gaiety across Telangana. Canadian Thanksgiving is a chance for people to give thanks for a good harvest and other fortunes in the past year. Sukkot is a major Jewish festival held in the autumn (beginning on the 15th day of Tishri) to commemorate the sheltering of the Israelites in the wilderness. International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace. Each year it is held on the third Wednesday of October. Shemini Atzeret is a Jewish holiday also known as The Eighth (Day) of Assembly. It takes place the day after the Sukkot festival, where gratitude for the fall harvest is deeply internalized. All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween is a celebration observed in a number of countries on the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. Samhain is a Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker half" of the year.

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