Matariki
Matariki is the Māori New Year in New Zealand, based on the rising of the Matariki star cluster (Pleiades). It is a time of remembrance, celebration, and renewal, officially recognized as a public holiday since 2022.
Manu'a Cession Day
Manu'a Cession Day commemorates the anniversary when Tui Manu'a Elisara and other chiefs signed the Treaty of Cession of Manu‘a on July 16, 1904, and the unity of all the Samoan islands within the territory of American Samoa.
Santiago Apostol
Santiago Apóstol was one of Jesus’s closest disciples and the first apostle to be martyred. His relics, believed to rest in Santiago de Compostela, inspired one of the world’s most important pilgrimage traditions and made him the patron saint of Spain.
Day of Galicia
The Day of Galicia on is a religious festival honoring Saint James and a national holiday celebrating Galician identity, culture, and language. Born in 1919 as a nationalist movement, suppressed under Franco, and revived after democracy, it remains Galicia’s most important civic and cultural celebration.
Day of Cantabria Institutions
The Day of the Institutions of Cantabria commemorates the 1778 Assembly in Puente San Miguel, which created the Province of Cantabria and gave the region its first institutional identity. Since the 1990s, it has been celebrated as a symbol of Cantabria’s political and cultural unity.
Asalha Puja
Asalha Puja is one of the most sacred Buddhist holidays in Thailand, commemorating the day the Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon, which laid the foundation of the Buddhist faith. The observance of Asalha Puja in Thailand is deeply tied to the country’s religious heritage, monarchy, and Theravāda Buddhist tradition.
Esala Full Moon Poya Day
Esala Full Moon Poya is one of Buddhism’s most historic days. It commemorates the conception and renunciation of Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha’s first sermon at Isipatana (introducing the Four Noble Truths), and the founding of the Sangha. In Sri Lanka, Esala is marked by temple observances and the world-famous Kandy Esala Perahera, honoring the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha.
Martyrs' Day (South Sudan)
Martyrs’ Day was created in memory of Dr. John Garang, who died in 2005, but it has since become a broader national commemoration of all South Sudanese who gave their lives in the long struggle for independence.
Throne Day (Morocco)
Throne Day in Morocco marks the anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s accession to the throne in 1999, honoring national unity, loyalty to the monarchy, and Morocco’s progress under his reign.
Grand Magal de Touba
The Grand Magal de Touba is a massive religious pilgrimage in Senegal, honoring the exile and return of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, founder of the Mouride Brotherhood. It is marked by prayer, charity, and community gathering, drawing millions of participants each year to Touba.
August Bank Holiday
The August Bank Holiday in Ireland was introduced as part of 19th-century bank holiday legislation but draws on much older traditions of Lughnasadh harvest festivals. Today, it is celebrated with festivals, fairs, sports and holidays, marking the peak of the Irish summer.
Emancipation Monday (BVI)
Emancipation Monday in British Virgin Islands honors the abolition of slavery on August 1, 1834, when enslaved Africans in the Virgin Islands and across the British Empire were granted freedom under the Slavery Abolition Act. The day is both a reminder of the struggles of the past and a celebration of freedom and resilience.