Festivals of 1968
Festivals and holy days of the world's cultures in 1968, each computed from its own calendar.
January 1968
- 2 January 1968 · TuesdayEid al-FitrIslamicFestival
First day of Shawwal, ending the Ramadan fast.
- 6 January 1968 · SaturdayEpiphanyChristianHoly day
6 January in the Western churches.
- 7 January 1968 · SundayLaba FestivalChineseFestival
Eighth day of the twelfth lunar month: Laba porridge.
- 7 January 1968 · SundayOrthodox ChristmasChristianFestival
25 December of the Julian calendar, 7 January in the Gregorian.
- 20 January 1968 · SaturdayTimkat (Epiphany)EthiopianHoly day
Eleventh day of Tir.
- 22 January 1968 · MondayLittle New Year (Xiaonian)ChineseFestival
Twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month in the north (24th in the south): seeing off the Kitchen God.
- 29 January 1968 · MondayNew Year's Eve (Chuxi)ChineseAncestors
Last day of the lunar year: the reunion dinner and offerings to ancestors.
- 30 January 1968 · TuesdaySpring Festival (Chinese New Year)ChineseNew year
First day of the first lunar month, the most important Chinese festival.
- 30 January 1968 · TuesdaySeollal (Korean New Year)KoreanNew year
First day of the Korean lunar year, with ancestral rites (charye).
February 1968
- 13 February 1968 · TuesdayLantern FestivalChineseFestival
Fifteenth day of the first lunar month: lanterns and sweet rice dumplings close the New Year season.
- 14 February 1968 · WednesdayTu BiShvatJewishFestival
Fifteenth day of Shevat, the New Year of Trees.
- 28 February 1968 · WednesdayAsh WednesdayChristianFast
Start of Lent, 46 days before Easter.
- 29 February 1968 · ThursdayDragon Raises Its HeadChineseFestival
Second day of the second lunar month, marking the start of spring farming.
- 29 February 1968 · ThursdayLosar (Tibetan New Year)TibetanNew year
First day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar.
March 1968
- 9 March 1968 · SaturdayDay of ArafahIslamicHoly day
Ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the high point of the Hajj.
- 10 March 1968 · SundayEid al-AdhaIslamicFestival
Tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah.
- 14 March 1968 · ThursdayPurimJewishFestival
Fourteenth day of Adar (Adar II in leap years).
- 21 March 1968 · ThursdayNowruzPersianNew year
Persian New Year at the spring equinox, on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage.
- 30 March 1968 · SaturdayIslamic New YearIslamicNew year
First day of Muharram. Dates follow Umm al-Qura and may differ locally by moon sighting.
April 1968
- 2 April 1968 · TuesdaySizdah BedarPersianFestival
Thirteenth day of Farvardin, spent outdoors.
- 4 April 1968 · ThursdayCold Food FestivalChineseAncestors
Traditionally a day without fire before Qingming, now observed the day before it.
- 5 April 1968 · FridayQingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day)ChineseAncestors
Solar term of Pure Brightness, when families sweep ancestral graves.
- 8 April 1968 · MondayAshuraIslamicHoly day
Tenth day of Muharram.
- 12 April 1968 · FridayGood FridayChristianHoly day
The Friday before Easter.
- 13 April 1968 · SaturdayPassover (Pesach)JewishFestival
Fifteenth day of Nisan.
- 13 April 1968 · SaturdaySongkranThaiNew year
Thai New Year, 13 April (celebrated 13 to 15 April).
- 14 April 1968 · SundayEasterChristianFestival
Western Easter (Gregorian computus).
- 21 April 1968 · SundayOrthodox EasterChristianFestival
Easter by the Julian computus.
May 1968
- 31 May 1968 · FridayDragon Boat FestivalChineseFestival
Fifth day of the fifth lunar month: dragon boat races and zongzi.
- 31 May 1968 · FridayDanoKoreanFestival
Fifth day of the fifth lunar month in Korea.
June 1968
- 2 June 1968 · SundayPentecostChristianHoly day
Seven weeks after Easter.
- 2 June 1968 · SundayShavuotJewishFestival
Sixth day of Sivan.
- 9 June 1968 · SundayMawlid (Prophet's Birthday)IslamicHoly day
Twelfth day of Rabi al-Awwal for most Sunni communities (the 17th for many Shia).
July 1968
- 31 July 1968 · WednesdayQixi FestivalChineseFestival
Seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
August 1968
- 3 August 1968 · SaturdayTisha B'AvJewishFast
Ninth day of Av (postponed to Sunday when it falls on the Sabbath).
- 8 August 1968 · ThursdayGhost Festival (Zhongyuan)ChineseAncestors
Fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month: offerings to ancestors and wandering spirits.
September 1968
- 11 September 1968 · WednesdayNayrouz (Coptic New Year)CopticNew year
First day of Thout, heir to the ancient Egyptian new year.
- 11 September 1968 · WednesdayEnkutatash (Ethiopian New Year)EthiopianNew year
First day of Meskerem.
- 23 September 1968 · MondayRosh HashanahJewishNew year
First day of Tishrei. Jewish days begin at sundown the evening before.
- 27 September 1968 · FridayMeskelEthiopianHoly day
Seventeenth day of Meskerem, finding of the True Cross.
October 1968
- 2 October 1968 · WednesdayYom KippurJewishFast
Tenth day of Tishrei, the Day of Atonement.
- 6 October 1968 · SundayMid-Autumn FestivalChineseFestival
Fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month: the full moon, family reunion and mooncakes.
- 6 October 1968 · SundayChuseokKoreanAncestors
Korean harvest festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, with ancestral rites.
- 7 October 1968 · MondaySukkotJewishFestival
Fifteenth day of Tishrei.
- 30 October 1968 · WednesdayDouble Ninth FestivalChineseFestival
Ninth day of the ninth lunar month: climbing heights and honouring the elderly.
November 1968
- 1 November 1968 · FridayAll Saints' DayChristianHoly day
1 November in the Western churches.
- 2 November 1968 · SaturdayDay of the DeadMexicanAncestors
Mexican commemoration of the dead on 1 and 2 November, with Mesoamerican roots, on UNESCO's intangible heritage list.
- 20 November 1968 · WednesdayWinter Clothes Day (Hanyi)ChineseAncestors
First day of the tenth lunar month, when paper clothes are burned for ancestors.
- 22 November 1968 · FridayStart of RamadanIslamicFast
First day of the month of fasting.
December 1968
- 16 December 1968 · MondayHanukkahJewishFestival
Eight days from the 25th of Kislev.
- 18 December 1968 · WednesdayLaylat al-QadrIslamicHoly day
Commonly observed on the night before the 27th of Ramadan.
- 21 December 1968 · SaturdayEid al-FitrIslamicFestival
First day of Shawwal, ending the Ramadan fast.
- 21 December 1968 · SaturdayYalda NightPersianFestival
The longest night of the year, the last night of Azar.
- 22 December 1968 · SundayWinter Solstice (Dongzhi)ChineseAncestors
The winter solstice, a family and ancestral festival.
- 25 December 1968 · WednesdayChristmasChristianFestival
25 December in the Western churches.