Qixi Festival
Culture/religion: Chinese culture
Date: August 25
Also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, the festival is based on a romantic legend about a weaver girl and an ox herd. The festival is also known as Double Seventh Festival because it is celebrated on the 7th day in the 7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
Sources: Double Seventh Festival, China Highlights
Women’s Equality Day
Culture/religion: National observance
Date: August 26
In 1973, Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. This date was chosen to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This followed and was the result of a peaceful civil rights movement by women that began in 1848 at the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York.
Not only does Women’s Equality Day recognize the passage of the 19th Amendment, it also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts towards full equality.
Sources: National Women’s History Alliance
Ashura
Culture/religion: Islamic
Date: August 30
Ashura, which literally means the “tenth” in Arabic, refers to the tenth day of Muharram and is a day of remembrance for Muslims. Muharram is a holy day and well-known because of its historical significance and mourning for the murder of Hussain ibn Ali, a 7th century revolutionary leader who was killed in The Battle of Karbala and the grandson of Muhammad. Ashura is recognized across the world to remember Hussain’s dignified stand for social justice.
Mourning begins on the first night of Muharram and continues for ten night, ending on the 10th of Muharram known as the Day of Ashura.
Sources: Muharram, Wikipedia; The Day of Ashura, Who is Hussain