HR Communications

Major Holiday Observances

VCU respects the right of religious expression of all our faculty, staff, and students.  Religious beliefs and practices are personal matters that do not reflect any position of the University.  Listed below are dates for certain major holidays to help in planning and scheduling activities that consider individual religious observances.   Every effort
is made to ensure that dates are as accurate as possible according to the most current information available. 

NOTE:  The following holidays do not necessarily correspond to VCU's holiday schedule.  Click here to see

the University's approved holiday and winter closing schedule, which applies only to University employees.¹

 

Major Holiday   Observances	2009	2010	2011
New Year’s Day	Jan. 1	Jan. 1	Jan. 1
Robert E. Lee / Stonewall Jackson	Jan. 16	Jan. 15	Jan. 14
Martin Luther King, Jr.	Jan. 19	Jan. 18	Jan. 17
Chinese Lunar New Year	Jan. 26	Feb. 14	Feb. 3
Ash Wednesday	Feb. 25	Feb. 17	Mar. 9
Palm Sunday	Apr. 5	Mar. 28	Apr. 17
Passover* (Jewish observance)	Apr. 9-16	Mar. 30-Apr. 6	Apr. 19-26
Good Friday	Apr. 10	Apr. 2	Apr. 22
Easter	Apr. 12	Apr. 4	Apr. 24
Mother’s Day	May 10	May 9	May 8
Memorial Day	May 25	May 31	May 30
Shavuot* (Jewish Feast of Weeks)	May 29-30	May 19-20	June 8-9
Father’s Day	June 21	June 20	June 19
Independence Day	July 4	July 4	July 4
Ramadan begins** (Islamic observance)	Aug. 22	Aug. 11	Aug. 1
Labor Day	Sept. 7	Sept. 6	Sept. 5
Patriot Day	Sept. 11	Sept. 11	Sept. 11
Rosh Hashanah*  (Jewish New Year)	Sept. 19-20	Sept. 9-10	Sept. 29-30
Ramadan ends** (Islamic observance of Eid-al-Fitr)	Sept. 21	Sept. 10	Aug. 30
Yom Kippur* (Jewish Day of Atonement)	Sept. 28	Sept. 18	Oct. 8
Sukkot* (Jewish Feast of Tabernacles)	Oct. 3-9	Sept. 23-29	Oct. 13-19
Shemini Atzeret* (Concluding Day of Jewish Sukkot)	Oct. 10	Sept. 30	Oct. 13
Simchat Torah* (Jewish Rejoicing of the Law)	Oct. 11	Oct. 1	Oct. 20
Columbus Day	Oct. 12	Oct. 11	Oct. 10
Election Day	Nov. 3	Nov. 2	Nov. 8
Veterans’ Day	Nov. 11	Nov. 11	Nov. 11
Thanksgiving	Nov. 26	Nov. 25	Nov. 24
Eid-al-Adha**  (Islamic Festival of Sacrifice)	Nov. 28	Nov. 17	Nov. 7
Hanukkah*	Dec. 11-18	Dec. 2-9	Dec. 21-28
Christmas	Dec. 25	Dec. 25	Dec. 25
Kwanzaa	Dec. 26-Jan. 1	Dec. 26-Jan. 1	Dec. 26-Jan. 1
Muharram**  (Islamic New Year)	Dec. 29	Dec. 7	Nov. 27
New Year's Eve	Dec. 31	Dec. 31	Dec. 31

   * Observance of the Jewish event begins at sundown of the preceding day. 
 ** Observance of the Islamic (Muslim) event begins at sundown of the preceding day.  The Islamic calendar is based on lunar  
      observations; thus, the above dates (which apply to North America) may vary by one or two days.

¹ Please Note:

VCU's Academic Calendar includes "University closed" designations, which correspond to the University's approved Holiday and VCU Winter Closing schedule and applies only to University employees.

The VCU Health System's Paid Time Off (PTO) program, which combines annual leave, sick leave, and holidays, applies only to Health System employees.