Religious Calendar Year 2012 - Jewish, Christian and Muslim Religious Days of Note

Jewish, Christian and Muslim (1)

Religious Days of Note

and

Marian Feast Days

For Calendar Year 2012

JANUARY

1st Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

3rd Most Holy Name of Jesus

6th First Friday of the Month and the Epiphany of The Lord (2)

7th First Saturday of the Month

8th Celebration of the Epiphany of The Lord (2)

9th Baptism of The Lord (3)

23rd [Mary's Wedding] (4) and Day of Penance in the US (5)

25th Conversion of St. Paul

26th Sts. Timothy and Titus

31st St. John Bosco

(1) All Muslim religious Holy Days are dependent on Lunar cyclesthus are different every year. For more details on Special Muslim Days find the link at end of this Document.

(2) In 2012,This Solemnity falls on Sunday, January 8. The Epiphany is not a Holyday of Obligation in the United States, and so always falls on the Sunday between January 2 and 8 instead of January 6 (UNLYC, no. 37). The Mass and Office are both proper, and with the introduction of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, a new proper Vigil Mass for the Epiphany will be celebrated for the first time.

(3) According to the Roman Missal, "Where the Solemnity of the Epiphany is transferred to Sunday, if this Sunday occurs on January 7 or 8, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the following Monday" (Proper of Time). Therefore, this Feast will take place on Monday, January 9, 2012. The First Week in Ordinary Time begins on the following day, Tuesday, January 10.

(4) [ ] Denotes Feast Days which do not appear in the most current Vatican Roman Missal

(5) January 22 has been designated by the U.S. Bishops as a "particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life." Because January 22 falls on a Sunday this year, the observance has been moved to Monday, January 23.

FEBRUARY

2nd Presentation of The Lord (Candlemas)

3rd First Friday of the Month

4th First Saturday of the Month and Mawlid al-Nabi (1)

11th Our Lady of Lourdes

20th [Our Lady of Tears]

22nd Ash Wednesday

24th Discovery of the Head of John the Baptizer (Celebrated by the Orthodox Church)

(1) A Muslim celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam in 570 CE. Sunni Muslims observed it on the 12th of the lunar month of Rabi'-ul-Awwal in the Islamic calendar. Shi'a Muslims celebrate it five days later.

MARCH

2nd First Friday of the Month

3rd First Saturday of the Month

7th Feast of Purim (Defeat of plot to destroy the Jews of Persia)

19th Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary

24th Gabriel the Archangel (traditional)

26th Annunciation to Mary by Gabriel the Archangel

30th Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (Friday before Palm Sunday)

APRIL

1st Palm Sunday

5th Last Supper. At sundown begins Passover

6th Holy Friday, First Friday of the Month and First day of Passover

7th Holy Saturday and First Saturday of the Month

8th Easter Sunday

13th At sundown the last day of Passover begins

15th Divine Mercy Sunday

25th St. Mark the Evangelist 26th Mary, Mother of Good Counsel

MAY

1st St. Joseph, Worker

3rd Sts. Philip and James the Lesser - Apostles

4th First Friday of the Month

5th First Saturday of the Month

8th [Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces]

13th [Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament + First Apparition of Our Lady at FÃ¡tima]

14th St. Matthias - Apostle

20th Ascension of Our Lord

21st [Mary, Mother of Light]

24th [Mary, Help of Christians + Mary of the Path]

26th Mary, Queen of the Apostles (Saturday during the Octave following Ascension Day) and First day of Shavout - (Feast of Weeks)

27th Feast of Pentecost

30th St. Joan of Arc (victim of fanaticism within the Roman Catholic Church) 31st Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (used to be on July 2nd) + [Mary, Queen of all Saints + Our Lady of the Most Holy Mountain + Mary, Mother of Wonderful Love]

JUNE

1st First Friday of the Month

2nd First Saturday of the Month

3rd Trinity Sunday

7th Feast of Corpus Christi

9th [Mary, Mother of Grace]

10th Feast of Corpus Christi celebrated today for convenience purposes.

13th St. Anthony of Lisbon (Padua)

15th Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday after the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost)

16th Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Saturday after Sacred Heart of Jesus)

24th Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist

27th [Mary of Perpetual Help]

29th Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul - Apostles

30th First Martyrs of the Roman Church

JULY

3rd St. Thomas - Apostle

4th St. Elizabeth (Queen) of Portugal plus U.S. Celebration of Independence Day 5th [Feast of the Seven Joys of Mary]

6th First Friday of the Month

7th First Saturday of the Month

9th Our Lady of the Rosary of ChiquinquirÃ¡ (patroness of Colombia) plus [Mary, Miraculous Mother]

11th St. Benedict - Patron of Europe

13th [Mary, Mystical Rose (Rosa Mystica)] plus Revelation of the Secret of FÃ¡tima

16th Our Lady of Mount Carmel + Scapular Feast Day

17th [Feast of Mary's Humility]

20th Ramadan (The holiest period in the Islamic year. This was the month in which the Qura'n was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It is a time at which almost all Muslims over the age of 12 are expected to fast from sunup to sundown.) Based on sightability in North America, in 2012 Ramadan will start a day later - on Saturday, the 21st of July.

21st Mary, Mother of Mercy (Saturday before 4th Sunday of July)

22nd St. Mary Magdalene

25th St. James the Greater - Apostle

26th Saints Anne and Joachim - Grandparents of Jesus

28th Mary, Queen of Peace

AUGUST

2nd [Mary of the Angels]

3rd First Friday of the Month

4th First Saturday of the Month

5th Feast of Our Lady of Snows - Dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica - Rome

6th Transfiguration of Our Lord, and Anniversary of the Nuclear Devastation in Hiroshima, Japan

13th [Mary, Refuge of Sinners]

15th Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

19th Id al-Fitr (The day after the end of Ramadan. A time of rejoicing. Houses are decorated; Muslims buy gifts for relatives.)

22nd The Queenship of Mary

24th St. Bartholomew - Apostle

25th Mary, Health of the Sick (Saturday before last Sunday in August) 29th Martyrdom of John the Baptist

SEPTEMBER

1st First Saturday of the Month

2nd Mary, Comfort of the Afflicted (Sunday after August 28th - Feast of St. Augustine)

3rd [Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd]

7th First Friday of the Month

8th The Birthday of Our Lady

11th Our Lady of Coromoto (patroness of Venezuela)

12th [The Holy Name of Mary]

14th The Triumph of the Cross (A date of even greater eschatological importance in the future.)

15th Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

16th Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year 5773) at sundown

21st St. Matthew - Evangelist

23rd Conception of John the Baptist (Celebrated by the Orthodox Church)

24th Our Lady of Ransom

25th Yom Kippur (Jewish Day of Atonement) at sundown

27th [Mary, Protector of Orphans]

29th Archangels Michael, Gabriel & Raphael

30th First Day of Sokkot - (Feast of Tabernacles) at sundown

OCTOBER

1st Feast of the Veil of Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (Celebrated by the Orthodox Church)

2nd Guardian Angels

5th First Friday of the Month and Traditional Catholic Church Day of Thanksgiving

6th First Saturday of the Month

7th Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and Shemini Atzeret at sunset-(Jewish Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly)

8th Simchat Torah at sunset - Jewish Rejoicing of the Law

11th [Feast of the Motherhood of Mary]

12th Our Lady of the Pilar (Saragossa) and Traditional Catholic Church Day of Penance (Friday following Traditional Day of Thanksgiving)

13th Miracle at FÃ¡tima

15th St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila)

16th [Feast of Mary's Purity]

18th St. Luke - Evangelist

20th [Mary, Wonderful Mother]

26th Eid al-Adha - Feast of Sacrifice or Day of Sacrifice - (In the Muslim calander, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Adha on the sunset of Thursday, the 25th of October) . (It recalls the day when Abraham intended to follow the instructions of God, and sacrifice his son Ishmael.)

28th Sts. Simon and Jude - Apostles and [Mary, Mother of the Dying] (4th Sunday in October)

NOVEMBER

1st All Saints Day

2nd All Souls Day and First Friday of the Month

3th First Saturday of the Month and [Our Lady of All Graces] (1st Saturday after All Saints Day)

8th [Feast of Mary, Our Shelter]

9th Dedication of Basilica of St. John of Lateran

15th Al-Hijra/Muharram is the Muslim New Year 1432 (The beginning of the first lunar month.)

17th [Mary, Mother of Divine Providence] (Saturday before 3rd Sunday in November)

18th Consecration of the two Basilicas honoring St. Peter and St. Paul

21st Mary's Presentation

22nd Thanksgiving Day in the US

24th Ashura (recalls an event circa 680-OCT-20 CE in Iraq when an army of the Umayyad regime martyred a group of 70 individuals who refused to submit to the Caliph. One of the martyrs was Imam Husain, the youngest grandson of Prophet Muhammad.)

25th Christ the King

27th [Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (Paris)]

30th St. Andrew - Apostle

DECEMBER

1st First Saturday of the Month

2nd First Sunday of Advent

7th First Friday of the Month

8th Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady and First Day of Chanukah at sundown- (Beginning of Festival of Lights)

10th [Our Lady of Loretto]

12th Our Lady of Guadalupe (Patroness of the Americas)

18th [Mary's Expectation]

25th Christmas Day

26th St. Stephen - First Martyr

27th St. John - Apostle and Evangelist

28th Feast of the Holy Innocents

30th Feast of Holy Family

31st Last Day of the Year 2012 plus Silvester I, Pope (1st Pope after the deliverance of Catholic Church to Emperor Constantine)

NOTES

For more details on Jewish Religious Dates Click Here

For more details on Muslim Religious Dates Click Here