World Mental Health Day was celebrated for the first time on October 10, 1992, at the initiative of Deputy Secretary General Richard Hunter of the World Federation for Mental Health . The overall objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. This year’s theme is “Make mental health &…
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National Coming Out Day was founded in 1988 by Richard Eichberg, a psychologist and Jean O'Leary, a gay rights activist, to raise awareness of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and its civil rights movement. They chose October 11th to mark the anniversary of the second major National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which took place 1987.
Type: Event
In the United States, October 15 is both recognized as Blind Americans Equality Day and White Cane Awareness Day. White Cane Awareness Day was originally established as White Cane Safety Day by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. White canes are a powerful mobility tool and symbol of independence for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision. In 2014, President Barack Obama issued a…
Type: Event
International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace. Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity. Being referred to by the wrong pronouns particularly affects transgender and gender nonconforming people. Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting…
Type: Event
On the third Thursday of every October, millions of Americans and people around the world will “go purple” on Spirit Day in a stand against bullying and in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. High school student Brittany McMillan founded Spirit Day in 2010 in response to the alarming number of young LGBTQ lives lost to suicide—notably, the loss of Tyler…
Type: Event
International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD) has been held every year on October 22 since 1998. Every year, stuttering communities and associations around the world get together, put on events and campaign to highlight how certain aspects of society can be difficult for people who stammer; to challenge negative attitudes and discrimination; and to debunk myths that people who stammer are nervous…
Type: Event
Yom Kippur, also known as the Jewish Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Yom Kippur begins at sundown on the first day and ends in the evening on the second day. Many Jewish families and communities will spend the day fasting, attending synagogue or observing the holiday in other meaningful ways. This offers a time for Jews to reflect on sins or wrongdoings from the…
Type: Event
This day is observed as a public holiday in many countries with a large Muslim population as it commemorates the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. The popular Islamic festival is celebrated around the world in the third month of the Muslim lunar calendar with activities that include night-long prayer sessions, marches and parades, and meetings to listen to stories and poems (nats) about Muhammad’s…
Type: Event
Every fall, Jews around the world celebrate the festival of the Sukkot by constructing a temporary dwelling called a sukkah. Beginning five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot is named after the booths or huts (sukkot in Hebrew) in which Jews are supposed to dwell in during this week-long celebration. The holiday commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in…
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These Bahá’í holy days begin at sunset the first day and end at sundown the second day. They land on different days every year based on lunar calculations or the solar calendar starting with the Spring Equinox. The Festivals of the Twin Birthdays or the Twin Holy Birthdays celebrate the births of two central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. It is a joyous event that begins with prayers and devotional…
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