Festivals of 2005
Festivals and holy days of the world's cultures in 2005, each computed from its own calendar.
January 2005
- 6 January 2005 · ThursdayEpiphanyChristianHoly day
6 January in the Western churches.
- 7 January 2005 · FridayOrthodox ChristmasChristianFestival
25 December of the Julian calendar, 7 January in the Gregorian.
- 17 January 2005 · MondayLaba FestivalChineseFestival
Eighth day of the twelfth lunar month: Laba porridge.
- 19 January 2005 · WednesdayTimkat (Epiphany)EthiopianHoly day
Eleventh day of Tir.
- 20 January 2005 · ThursdayDay of ArafahIslamicHoly day
Ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the high point of the Hajj.
- 21 January 2005 · FridayEid al-AdhaIslamicFestival
Tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah.
- 25 January 2005 · TuesdayTu BiShvatJewishFestival
Fifteenth day of Shevat, the New Year of Trees.
February 2005
- 1 February 2005 · TuesdayLittle New Year (Xiaonian)ChineseFestival
Twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month in the north (24th in the south): seeing off the Kitchen God.
- 8 February 2005 · TuesdayNew Year's Eve (Chuxi)ChineseAncestors
Last day of the lunar year: the reunion dinner and offerings to ancestors.
- 9 February 2005 · WednesdaySpring Festival (Chinese New Year)ChineseNew year
First day of the first lunar month, the most important Chinese festival.
- 9 February 2005 · WednesdayAsh WednesdayChristianFast
Start of Lent, 46 days before Easter.
- 9 February 2005 · WednesdaySeollal (Korean New Year)KoreanNew year
First day of the Korean lunar year, with ancestral rites (charye).
- 9 February 2005 · WednesdayLosar (Tibetan New Year)TibetanNew year
First day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar.
- 10 February 2005 · ThursdayIslamic New YearIslamicNew year
First day of Muharram. Dates follow Umm al-Qura and may differ locally by moon sighting.
- 19 February 2005 · SaturdayAshuraIslamicHoly day
Tenth day of Muharram.
- 23 February 2005 · WednesdayLantern FestivalChineseFestival
Fifteenth day of the first lunar month: lanterns and sweet rice dumplings close the New Year season.
March 2005
- 11 March 2005 · FridayDragon Raises Its HeadChineseFestival
Second day of the second lunar month, marking the start of spring farming.
- 21 March 2005 · MondayNowruzPersianNew year
Persian New Year at the spring equinox, on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage.
- 25 March 2005 · FridayGood FridayChristianHoly day
The Friday before Easter.
- 25 March 2005 · FridayPurimJewishFestival
Fourteenth day of Adar (Adar II in leap years).
- 27 March 2005 · SundayEasterChristianFestival
Western Easter (Gregorian computus).
April 2005
- 2 April 2005 · SaturdaySizdah BedarPersianFestival
Thirteenth day of Farvardin, spent outdoors.
- 4 April 2005 · MondayCold Food FestivalChineseAncestors
Traditionally a day without fire before Qingming, now observed the day before it.
- 5 April 2005 · TuesdayQingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day)ChineseAncestors
Solar term of Pure Brightness, when families sweep ancestral graves.
- 13 April 2005 · WednesdaySongkranThaiNew year
Thai New Year, 13 April (celebrated 13 to 15 April).
- 21 April 2005 · ThursdayMawlid (Prophet's Birthday)IslamicHoly day
Twelfth day of Rabi al-Awwal for most Sunni communities (the 17th for many Shia).
- 24 April 2005 · SundayPassover (Pesach)JewishFestival
Fifteenth day of Nisan.
May 2005
- 1 May 2005 · SundayOrthodox EasterChristianFestival
Easter by the Julian computus.
- 15 May 2005 · SundayPentecostChristianHoly day
Seven weeks after Easter.
June 2005
- 11 June 2005 · SaturdayDragon Boat FestivalChineseFestival
Fifth day of the fifth lunar month: dragon boat races and zongzi.
- 11 June 2005 · SaturdayDanoKoreanFestival
Fifth day of the fifth lunar month in Korea.
- 13 June 2005 · MondayShavuotJewishFestival
Sixth day of Sivan.
August 2005
- 11 August 2005 · ThursdayQixi FestivalChineseFestival
Seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
- 14 August 2005 · SundayTisha B'AvJewishFast
Ninth day of Av (postponed to Sunday when it falls on the Sabbath).
- 19 August 2005 · FridayGhost Festival (Zhongyuan)ChineseAncestors
Fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month: offerings to ancestors and wandering spirits.
September 2005
- 11 September 2005 · SundayNayrouz (Coptic New Year)CopticNew year
First day of Thout, heir to the ancient Egyptian new year.
- 11 September 2005 · SundayEnkutatash (Ethiopian New Year)EthiopianNew year
First day of Meskerem.
- 18 September 2005 · SundayMid-Autumn FestivalChineseFestival
Fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month: the full moon, family reunion and mooncakes.
- 18 September 2005 · SundayChuseokKoreanAncestors
Korean harvest festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, with ancestral rites.
- 27 September 2005 · TuesdayMeskelEthiopianHoly day
Seventeenth day of Meskerem, finding of the True Cross.
October 2005
- 4 October 2005 · TuesdayStart of RamadanIslamicFast
First day of the month of fasting.
- 4 October 2005 · TuesdayRosh HashanahJewishNew year
First day of Tishrei. Jewish days begin at sundown the evening before.
- 11 October 2005 · TuesdayDouble Ninth FestivalChineseFestival
Ninth day of the ninth lunar month: climbing heights and honouring the elderly.
- 13 October 2005 · ThursdayYom KippurJewishFast
Tenth day of Tishrei, the Day of Atonement.
- 18 October 2005 · TuesdaySukkotJewishFestival
Fifteenth day of Tishrei.
- 30 October 2005 · SundayLaylat al-QadrIslamicHoly day
Commonly observed on the night before the 27th of Ramadan.
November 2005
- 1 November 2005 · TuesdayAll Saints' DayChristianHoly day
1 November in the Western churches.
- 2 November 2005 · WednesdayWinter Clothes Day (Hanyi)ChineseAncestors
First day of the tenth lunar month, when paper clothes are burned for ancestors.
- 2 November 2005 · WednesdayDay of the DeadMexicanAncestors
Mexican commemoration of the dead on 1 and 2 November, with Mesoamerican roots, on UNESCO's intangible heritage list.
- 3 November 2005 · ThursdayEid al-FitrIslamicFestival
First day of Shawwal, ending the Ramadan fast.
December 2005
- 21 December 2005 · WednesdayYalda NightPersianFestival
The longest night of the year, the last night of Azar.
- 22 December 2005 · ThursdayWinter Solstice (Dongzhi)ChineseAncestors
The winter solstice, a family and ancestral festival.
- 25 December 2005 · SundayChristmasChristianFestival
25 December in the Western churches.
- 26 December 2005 · MondayHanukkahJewishFestival
Eight days from the 25th of Kislev.