Diversity and Inclusion Calendar 2022
The GARE Steering Committee is excited to share with you this Diversity and Inclusion Calendar. This calendar has been developed to help to raise awareness, understanding, and appreciation for dates and events that are important to a wide range of cultural causes and interests of our multicultural workforce. This calendar includes a mixture of widely recognized cultural/religious festivals as well as diversity and inclusion related awareness months and key dates, and are not intended as a prescriptive list.
GARE asks that you share with us any widely recognized cultural or religious observances you believe should be included on this calendar. Staff are welcome to contact GARE at GARE@cdcr.ca.gov to suggest other noteworthy dates to add to this calendar. Questions or concerns can also be sent to the GARE email inbox.
Color Shape Key
![]() | Green Triangle – Diversity Leaders’ Birthdays |
![]() | Blue Circle – United States Holidays |
![]() | Red Bar – Religious / Cultural Holidays |
![]() | Purple Star- International Holidays |
![]() | Black Square – Equinoxes |
- January 2022
1/1
New Year’s Day Emancipation Proclamation (Black American)
1/4Birthday of Louis Braille (Creator of system of reading and writing for visually impaired)
1/4National Braille Day
1/6Epiphany (Christian)
1/7Feast of the Epiphany (Christian)
1/9Guru Gobind Singh Birthday (Sikh)
1/11Birthday of Alice Paul (Women’s Rights Pioneer)
1/13Lohri- Maghi (Sikh)
1/14Makar Sankranti (Hindu)
1/16National Religious Freedom Day
1/17Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1/18Mahayana New Year (Buddhist)
1/18World Religion Day
1/20Bodhi Day (Buddhist)
1/24International Day of Education
1/26International Customs Day
1/27International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
1/31Guru Har Rai Birthday (Sikh)
- February 2022
2/1
Lunar New Year (Year of Tiger)
2/1National Freedom Day
2/3Korean New Year
2/4Rosa Parks Day
2/6International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
2/11Birthday of Frederick Douglass (Black American leader)
2/12Lincoln’s Birthday
2/12International Day of Action on Women’s Health
2/14Valentine’s Day
2/14Frederick Douglas Day
2/15Birthday of Susan B. Anthony (Women’s suffrage Leader)
2/15Nirvana Day (Buddist)
2/15International Childhood Cancer Day
2/20World Day of Social Justice
2/21President’s Day Washington’s Birthday
2/21International Mother Language Day
- March 2022
3/1
Maha Shivatri (Hindu)
3/1Shrove Tuesday (Christian)
3/1Mardi Gras
3/1Zero Discrimination Day (UN)
3/2Ash Wednesday (Christian)
3/4Employee Appreciation Day
3/8International Women’s Day (UN)
3/10Harriet Tubman Day
3/13Day Light Saving Begins
3/16Purim (Jewish)
3/17St Patrick’s Day (Irish)
3/19Holi, Festival of Colors (Hindu)
3/20Vernal Equinox
3/20International Happiness Day (UN)
3/21International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN)
3/21World Down Syndrome Day
3/22New-Ruz (Baha’l New Year)
3/22World Water Day
3/25International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
3/28Nowruz (Persian)
3/31International Transgender Day of Visibility
3/31Cesar Chavez Day
- April 2022
4/2
World Autism Awareness Day
4/2Ramadan begins (Islam)
4/2Equal Pay Day
4/5Birthday of Booker T. Washington (Early Dominant Leader)
4/6National Tartan Day (Scottish)
4/7World Health Day (UN)
4/8Laylat al-Qadr (Islam)
4/10Palm Sunday (Christian)
4/10Dolores Huerta Day
4/14Holy Thursday (Christian)
4/10Ram Naumi
4/14Vaisakhi (Sikh)
4/15Passover (Jewish)
4/15Good Friday (Christian)
4/16Theravadin New Year (Buddhist)
4/16Emancipation Day
4/17Easter (Christian)
4/18Guru Angad Dev Birthday (Sikh)
4/20Start of Rivdan (Baha’i)
4/22Earth Day
4/23National Day of Silence (LGBTQIAA+)
4/27Yom Hashoah (Jewish)
4/28World Day for Safety and Health at Work
4/28Gathering of Nations begins (Native American)
4/30Ramadan Ends (Islam)
4/30Gathering of Nations (ends)
- May 2022
5/1
May Day
5/3Eid al- Fitr (Islam)
5/5Cinco de Mayo (Mexican American)
5/6Shavout (Jewish)
5/7National Day of Prayer
5/8Birthday of Buddha (Buddhist)
5/8Mother’s Day
5/9National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day
5/15Visakha Bucha/ Wesak Day (Buddhist)
5/15International Day of Families (UN)
5/16International Day of Living Together in Peace
5/17International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia
5/19Malcolm X Day
5/21World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
5/22Harvey Milk Day (LGBTQ/Civil Rights Activist)
5/22International Day for Biological Diversity
5/24Declaration of the Bab (Baha’i)
5/25African Freedom Day
5/29Ascension of Baha’u’llah (Baha’i)
5/30Memorial Day
5/30World Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Day
- June 2022
6/1
Global Day of Parents
6/2Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 (Native American)
6/5World Environment Day
6/8Race Unity Day
6/12Loving Day (Interracial Marriage anniversary)
6/12National Puerto Rican Day Parade
6/12National Children’s Day
6/15Native American Citizenship Day
6/16Martyrdom of Guru Arjan (Sikh)
6/18International Day for Countering Hate Speech
6/19Father’s Day
6/19Juneteenth
6/20World Refugee Day
6/21Litha, Summer Solstice (Pagan)
6/23UN Public Service Day
6/24Pride Day
6/27Helen Keller Day (Disability Rights Activist)
6/28Christopher Street Liberation Day (Anniversary of Stonewall Riots/LGBT Civil Rights Movement)
- July 2022
7/2
Birthday of Thurgood Marshall (Black American)
7/4Independence Day
7/6Birthday of 14th Dalai Lama
7/7The Hajj (Islamic)
7/9Eid al-Adha (Islam)
7/10Martyrdom of the Bab (Baha’i)
7/11World Populace Day
7/13Asahna Bucha Day
7/14Bastille Day
7/14International Non-Binary People’s Day
7/17World Day of International Justice
7/18Nelson Mandela International Day
7/24Pioneer Day (Mormon)
7/25Pioneer Day (Christian)
7/26National Disability Independence Day
7/30International Day of Friendship
7/30Hijri New Year (Islam)
- August 2022
8/4
Raksha Bandhan (Hindu)
8/7Purple Heart Day
8/9International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (UN)
8/13Left Handers Day
8/15Feast of the Assumption (Christian)
8/17Marcus Garvey Day
8/18Krishna Janamastami (Hindu)
8/19World Humanitarian Day
8/21Senior Citizens Day
8/22American Business Women’s Day
8/22International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
8/23International Day for the Remembrances of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
8/24Marlee Martlin Day (People with Disabilities)
8/26Women’s Equality Day
8/30Al-Hijri (Islamic)
8/31Ganesh Chaturthi (Hindu)
- September 2022
9/5
Labor Day
9/7Literacy Day (UN)
9/11Patriot Day
9/11Shemini Atzaret/Simchat Torah (Jewish)
9/12Grandparents Day
9/15International Day of Democracy
9/17World Patient Safety Day
9/20HeForShe (women)
9/21International Day of Peace
9/22Autumnal Equinox
9/22Mabon (Pagan)
9/23National Native American Day
9/23International Day of Sign Languages
9/25Rosh Hashanah (Jewish)
9/26European Day of Languages
9/26Navratri Begins (Hindu)
9/27World Tourism Day
9/30International Translation Day
- October 2022
10/2
Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi
10/2International Day of Nonviolence
10/5Yom Kippur (Jewish)
10/5Dusshera (Hindu)
10/9Sukkot begins (Jewish)
10/10World Mental Health Day
10/11National Coming Out Day (LGBTQIAA+)
10/11National Indigenous Peoples’ Day
10/15White Cane Safety Day (Blind Awareness)
10/16World Food Day
10/16Bosses Day
10/17Multicultural Diversity Day
10/17Spirit Day (LGBTQIAA+ anti-bullying)
10/17International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
10/20Sikh Holy Day (birth of Guru Granth)
10/22International Stuttering Awareness Day
10/24Diwali (Hindu)
10/25Birth of the Bab (Baha’i)
10/25Birth of Bah’u’llah (Baha’i)
10/25Larry Itliong Day
10/28National Immigrants Day
10/29National Organization for Women (NOW)
10/31Halloween
10/31All Souls Day Dia de los Muertos
- November 2022
11/1
All Saints’ Day (Christian)
11/2National Stress Awareness Day
11/8Guru Nanak Birthday (Sikh)
11/9World Freedom Day
11/9World Adoption Day
11/10World Science Day for Peace and Development
11/11Veterans Day
11/13World Kindness Day
11/16Dutch American Heritage Day
11/16International Day for Tolerance
11/19International Men’s Day
11/20Transgender Day of Remembrance
11/20Universal Children’s Day
11/24Thanksgiving
11/24Martydom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib (Sikh)
11/25International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
11/26Day of the Covenant (Baha’i)
11/27Advent (Christian)
11/28Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha (Baha’i)
- December 2022
12/1
Worlds Aid Day
12/3International Day of Persons with Disabilities
12/5International Volunteer Day
12/7Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
12/8Bodhi Day (Buddhist)
12/9Genocide Prevention Day
12/10International Human Rights Day
12/12Our Lady of Guadalupe- Feast Day (Christian)
12/16Las Posadas begins (Mexican)
12/18Hanukkah begins at Sunset (Jewish)
12/18International Migrants Day
12/21Yule Winter Solstice (Pagan)
12/24Las Posadas ends (Mexican)
12/25Christmas
12/26Kwanzaa begins
12/26Hanukkah ends at Nightfall (Jewish)
12/31New Year’s Eve
Disclaimer: This GARE Diversity and Inclusion Calendar highlights and showcases a number of nationally recognized months and events not limited to: religious, cultural, heritage, gender identity and expressions, disability, recognition of diversity leaders, United Nations (UN) international days, etc. This is not an all-inclusive list.