Category: Annual Celebration

Asalha Puja/Dharma Day (24 July) commemorates the beginning of Buddha’s teaching. Celebrated in the 8th lunar month according to the old Indian calendar, on the day of the full moon, it is one of the most beloved and holy days of the year for those of the Buddhist faith. Buddha gave his first sermon to … Continue reading “Asalha Puja/Dharma Day (24 July)”

Black Country Day 14 July – this day was chosen as it is considered to be the date of the inception of the Newcomen engine, the first commercially successful engine. Invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, it was first installed at Coneygree Coal Works in Tipton and was used to pump water out of mines. … Continue reading “Black Country Day (14 July)”

Bastille Day celebrates the storming of the Bastille – a military fortress and prison – on 14 July 1789, in a violent uprising that was a turning point in the French Revolution. Holding gunpowder and other supplies valuable to revolutionaries, the Bastille also symbolized the callous tyranny of the French monarchy, especially King Louis XVI … Continue reading “Bastille Day – le quatorze juillet”

Festa della Repubblica is celebrated on 2 June each year and marks the referendum of 1946, which resulted in the creation of the Italian republic. Italy became a nation on 17 March 1861, when most of the states of the region were united under King Victor Emmanuel II, hitherto king of Sardinia. On 2 June … Continue reading “Festa della Repubblica 2 June”

This most important Buddhist festival is known as either Wesak, Vesak or Buddha Day, and is celebrated annually on the full moon of the ancient lunar month of Vesakha, which usually falls in May, or in early June. It commemorates the birth, enlightenment and the death of Buddha. The day is observed as a public … Continue reading “Wesak (Buddha Day)”

Shavuot (16-18 May) Shavuot is one of the Jewish harvest festivals, also known as the festival or feast of ‘Weeks’, taking place seven weeks (fifty days) after the first day of the spring festival of Passover. It was originally an agricultural festival, marking the beginning of the wheat harvest. The first fruits of the harvest … Continue reading “Shavuot”

Eid-al-Fitr (Ramadan ends) From the evening of 12 May to the evening of 13 May Eid al-Fitr, also called the “Festival of Breaking the Fast”, is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan, as well being as a time for spiritual reflection and prayer. … Continue reading “Eid-al-Fitr”

The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is ‘Connect with Nature’. During lockdown, websites which showed footage from webcams of wildlife saw hits increase by over 2000%. Wider studies also found that during lockdowns, people not only spent more time in nature but were noticing it more and re-discovering our need to connect … Continue reading “Mental Health Awareness Week 10-16 May”

Tchin Tchin! OBRIGADA to Gisele Tyba Mayrink Redondo Orgado, Research Fellow in Portuguese Studies from Brazil, currently at the UoB, also galloping gourmet and cocktail maker extraordinaire! At an event to mark World Portuguese Language Day (5 May), Gisele entertained a Zoom group of students and staff (lusophones and non lusophones) in the ways of … Continue reading “World Portuguese Language Day cocktail celebrations”

The Lusophone world celebrates 5 May as the international day of the Portuguese language and culture. The language is spoken by over 250 million people in nine countries and is the third most widely spoken European language, after English and Spanish. The Council of Ministers of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) originally began observing … Continue reading “World Portuguese Language Day 5 May”