Religious and Cultural Holidays
NC State respects all faiths and cultures.
Major Religious Holidays with Work Restrictions
NC State respects all faiths and cultures. Please use this calendar as a resource for education and accommodation as you plan classroom, academic and co-curricular events.
When scheduling tests, deadlines, events or activities, it is vital that we reasonably accommodate all faculty, staff and students for observation of their religious holidays. It is against federal law to discriminate on the basis of religious or spiritual beliefs.
For students: If you have a question about an absence for a holiday that is not listed, please contact the Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA) at absence-verification@ncsu.edu and see the class absence verification website.
For questions about this calendar, please contact the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity at equalopportunity@ncsu.edu.
About the Holy Days Observances Calendar
- Some religious communities limit or avoid their use of technology during holy days, which also include the Sabbath (celebrated by Jews from Friday night through Saturday night). Such technology includes but is not limited to the use of virtual learning platforms.
- Bahá’í, Judaic and Islamic observances begin at sundown and end at sundown on the dates listed.
- “Kosher restrictions apply” refers to the dietary restrictions of Jewish Law that include avoidance of pork, shellfish and mixing dairy with meat.
- “Halal restrictions apply” refers to the dietary restrictions of Islamic Law. These include pork and alcohol.
- Although the dates listed are based on the Gregorian calendar, many cultures and religions are lunar or solar-based
- Not all holy days in every religious and spiritual tradition are included in this calendar and there may be some variances to dates due to regional differences.
There are numerous spaces available across campus for prayer, meditation and quiet reflection. Click here to learn more about the locations of our interfaith prayer and meditation spaces.
For students: If you have a question about an absence for a holiday that is not listed, please contact the Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA) at absence-verification@ncsu.edu and see the class absence verification website.
Google Calendar Overlays of Major Religious and Cultural Holidays
Calendar overlays may be used as a guide for instructors and event planners to indicate which days are important religious holidays that might entail work restrictions. Google has several overlays for regional and global religious holidays that you can add by going to Settings > Add calendar > Browse calendars of interest in your Google calendar.
Please check the Interfaith Calendar for additional holidays.