The calendar below includes significant cultural and faith days recognised by New Zealand’s ethnic communities. It is not an exhaustive list – there will be other events and dates which are not included.
Please note, dates with a single asterisk (*) may vary by country of origin, while those marked with two asterisks (**) may vary based on the Lunar cycle.
January
Pongal
15/01 - 18/01**
Multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka. Dedicated to the Hindu sun god Surya.
Communities: Tamil, Hinduism
Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Ji
17/01
The 10th and final Sikh master. Created the Khalsa (the Community of the Pure) and declared the Scriptures (Guru Granth Sahib) to be the Sikh's Guru from that time on.
Communities: Tamil, Hinduism, Sikh
Mahayana New Year
25/01 - 27/01*
Buddhist New Year
Communities: Buddhism
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
27/01
Memorial for the six million Jews killed by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.
Communities: Judaism
February
Losar/Tibetan New Year
10/2-12/2**
Three-day festival where people visit monasteries, make offerings, receive blessings, and take part in various activities symbolising purification and welcoming in the new.
Communities: Buddhism
Lunar New Year, Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), Seollal (Korean New Year)
10/02**
Celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar.
Communities: Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean
International Mother Language Day | United Nations
21/2
Promoting awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promoting multilingualism.
Communities: All
March
Ramadan
10/3-8/4**
A period of fasting and spiritual growth and is one of the five “pillars of Islam”.
Communities: Islam
Naw-Rúz
19/3-20/3
Naw-Rúz is the first day of the Baháʼí calendar year and one of 11 holy days for adherents of the Baháʼí Faith.
Communities: Baháʼí
Nowruz
20/3**
Nowruz is a two-week celebration that marks the beginning of the New Year in Iran's official Solar Hijri calendar.
Communities: Iranian, Persian
Race Relations Day
21/3
Race Relations Day is celebrated annually on the same day as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination | United Nations.
Holi
25/3
A Hindu festival known as festival of colour, spring, and love.
Communities: Hinduism
April
Easter
1/4-4/4**
For Christians, Easter is the oldest Christian festival, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.
Communities: Christian
Eid Al-Fitr
9/4-10/4**
An important religious holiday that celebrates the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Also known as the festival of the ‘Breaking of the Fast’.
Communities: Islam
Vaishaki
13/4**
Solar New Year festival.
Communities: Sikhism, Hinduism, Punjabi
Songkran
13/4-15/4**
Thai new year and national holiday.
Communities: Thai
Khmer New Year
13/4-16/4**
Cambodian new year.
Communities: Cambodian
Pesach/Passover
23/4-30/4
An eight-day festival for families and communities to remember the time when Hebrew slaves were led by Moses out of Egypt to freedom.
Communities: Judaism
Theravada New Year
24/4-26/4
The Buddhist New Year depends on the country of origin or ethnic background of the people.
Communities: Buddhism
May
Girmit Day
14/5
Commemorating the first Indian settlers in Fiji.
Communities: Fijian Indian
Vesak *
23/5
Celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha.
Communities: Buddhism
Africa Day
25/5
Annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity.
Communities: Members of the African Union
Ascension of Baha'ullah
28/1
Baha’is observe the anniversary of the death in exile of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i faith, on May 29, 1892, outside Akko (now northern Israel).
Communities: Baha'i
June
Shavuot
11/6-13/6
Shavuot, also known as Feast of Weeks, commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah and Commandments to the nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai. Marks the end of Pesach.
Communities: Judaism
Eid al-Adha
16/6-20/6**
Honours the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as an act of obedience to God's command.
Communities: Islam
World Refugee Day | United Nations
20/6
Organised by the United Nations. Designed to celebrate and honour refugees from around the world.
Communities: All
July
Islamic New Year
7/7
The Islamic New Year, known as Al-Hijra, marks the beginning of Muharram, the first month of the Muslim lunar calendar.
Al-Hijra means the ‘migration’ of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.
Communities: Islam
September
Enkutatash
11/9
Ethiopian New Year and national holiday.
Communities: Ethiopian
Moon Festival
17/9
Harvest festival. Also known as Mid-Autumn Festival.
Communities: Chinese
October
Rosh Hashanah
3/10-4/10
Jewish New Year festival, marked by the blowing of the horn (shofar) which begins the 10days of penitence culminating in Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). It is the beginning of the holiest time of the year for Jews, and the anniversary of the creation of the world.
Communities: Judaism
November
Diwali and Mahavira Nirvana
1/11
Diwali, also known as Festival of Lights, is one of the most celebrated Hindu festivals, commemorating the victory of good over evil.
Communities: Hinduism
Birth of the Bab
2/11
The anniversary of the birth in 1819 CE in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran), of Siyyid ‘AliMuhammad, who later took the title of ‘the Bab’, meaning ‘the Gate’. The Bab was the herald of the Baha’i faith.
Communities: Baha'i
Guru Nanak Gurupurab/ Guru Nanak Jayanti
15/11
Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak’s birthday, known as Gurpurab, is a significant celebration in Sikhism. It typically lasts for up to three days starting November 15.
Communities: Sikh
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People - Question of Palestine
29/11
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed annually on or around 29 November, solemnly commemorating the adoption by the Assembly, on 29 November 1947, of resolution 181 (II), which provided for the partition of Palestine into two States.
Communities: Arabs, Middle Eastern
December
Christmas
25/12
The annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on 25 December in the Western Church.
The Eastern Church celebrates Christmas on 8 January each year.
Communities: Christian
Hanukkah (Chanukah)
26/12-2/1/25
Celebrates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after it was retaken by the Maccabees.
Communities: Judaism