When you ask most people what holidays happen in October they’ll answer, “Halloween” or “Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day”. However, that is far from all the holidays in October.
Sure there’s the big ones like Halloween and Indigenous People’s Day, but that’s just scratching the surface. There’s silly little holidays like International Coffee Day on October 1st, National Boyfriend Day on October 3rd, and National Transfer Money to Your Daughter Day on October 6th. (Yes those are real holidays, look them up if you don’t believe me). Then there are days that are more serious like National Stop Bullying Day on October 9th, or Breast Cancer Awareness Day on October 13th.
This year October has more holidays than usual. Jewish holidays are determined by a lunar calendar (a calendar based on the moon). Due to this fact, Jewish holidays don’t always fall on the same days in the English calendar each year. The lunar calendar has wound up with three Jewish holidays and a Jewish fast-day in October this year.
There was Rosh Hashanah on October 3rd and 4th with a Jewish fast day the Sunday after. Next there was Yom Kippur on October 12th. Lastly, there is Sukkot which is eight days, but the days of Yom Tov (days like the Sabbath [a day of rest and worship] but for holidays that aren’t on the Sabbath) are the first two days and last two days of Sukkot. The first two days fall on October 17th and 18th. The last two days, also called Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, are October 24th and 25th.
I realize not everyone may know what the Jewish holidays I’ve mentioned are. First off, Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year this year being the year 5785. Then there’s Yom Kippur, a fast day that is seen as very holy with Jews spending almost the whole day praying. Lastly mentioned is Sukkot, a holiday where Jews eat outside in hut-like structures called sukkahs. Sukkot was originally about it being the start of the harvest, but eventually came to be about how God took the Jews out of Egypt. The last day of Sukkot is called Simchat Torah, and it’s when Jews read the final parsha (or section) in the Torah and then the first, reading the Torah from the start again.
Still, even without the Jewish holidays there’s almost one little known holiday on every day. When combined with the Jewish holidays, you’ll find this October is bursting with holidays waiting for you to write on your calendar and celebrate.
