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Thursday, October 22, 2026
No federal or major public holiday observed today across tracked regions.
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Library at a glance
259 briefs · 43 iconic · 5 categories · 54 countries
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259 briefs across the calendar - click a month to filter
Showing 46 briefs in Oct.
Clear filtersFederal holiday(9)
October 12 holidays - Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, Dia de la Raza, and Spanish National Day
October 12 is a clustered civic-religious holiday date observed worldwide. It is Columbus Day (US federal), Indigenous Peoples Day (US states and cities), Dia de la Raza / Dia de la Hispanidad (Latin America and Spain), and Discovery Day (The Bahamas). The same calendar date also marks the Feast of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil.
Turkey Republic Day (Cumhuriyet Bayramı) - October 29, the 1923 founding of the Republic of Turkey
Turkey Republic Day (Cumhuriyet Bayramı) on October 29 is a federal public holiday in Turkey marking the 1923 proclamation of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Grand National Assembly. The 29th is the principal day, with the 28th as the eve celebration; the day is marked by official ceremonies, military parades, and school events nationwide.
Canadian Thanksgiving - origins, date, and how it differs from the US holiday
Canadian Thanksgiving (Action de graces) is held the second Monday of October. It predates the US holiday by about 40 years and traces to a 1578 English expedition, not a 1621 Pilgrim feast.
Chinese National Day - October 1, the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, and the Golden Week holiday
Chinese National Day on October 1 marks the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The day kicks off the 7-day National Day Golden Week, the largest annual domestic travel and consumer event in the world.
Columbus Day - federal status, Indigenous Peoples Day replacement, and how each state observes it
Columbus Day is a US federal holiday on the second Monday of October. At least 14 states and the District of Columbia observe Indigenous Peoples Day instead, alongside or in place of Columbus Day. Here is the full state map.
Fiesta Nacional de Espana (Spain's National Day) - October 12, military parade, and the La Hispanidad debate
Spain's national day on October 12 commemorates the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. The date is marked by a military parade in Madrid, the Royal Family on the palace balcony, and remains contested in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Asturias, and Canarias.
Gandhi Jayanti - October 2, the birthday of Mohandas Gandhi and the UN International Day of Non-Violence
Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 marks the birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), leader of the Indian independence movement and architect of nonviolent civil disobedience. One of three national holidays in India, observed with prayer meetings, school commemorations, and acts of community service.
Sports Day in Japan (Sports no Hi) - second Monday of October, the renamed Health and Sports Day
Japan’s Sports Day (スポーツの日, Supōtsu no Hi) on the second Monday of October is a national public holiday promoting sport and physical health. Originally Health and Sports Day established in 1966 to mark the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, it was renamed Sports Day in 2020 under the 2018 Olympic-era nomenclature reform.
Tag der Deutschen Einheit - what it celebrates, why October 3, and how it is observed
German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is Germany’s national holiday on October 3, marking the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany. It is observed with a central civic celebration hosted by a different Bundesland each year.
Civic memorial(4)
Indigenous Peoples Day - origins, state list, and how it is observed alongside Columbus Day
Indigenous Peoples Day is observed on the second Monday of October in 14+ US states and the District of Columbia, alongside or in place of Columbus Day. First proclaimed by Berkeley, California in 1992 on the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s landfall.
Hispanic Heritage Month - September 15 to October 15, the 1968 origins, and how it is observed
Hispanic Heritage Month is observed in the United States from September 15 to October 15. Signed into law as a 30-day observance in 1988 (Pub. L. 100-402), it started as a single week under President Lyndon Johnson's Proclamation 3839 of 1968. Honoring the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
National Coming Out Day - October 11, the 1988 origin, and how it is observed
National Coming Out Day is observed on October 11 in the United States, founded in 1988 by Rob Eichberg and Jean O'Leary to mark the one-year anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Observed with awareness campaigns, "coming out" stories, and college campus events.
Youth Pledge Day - October 28, the 1928 Indonesian independence youth congress
Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge) Day on October 28 commemorates the 1928 Second Indonesian Youth Congress in Batavia, where delegates from across the archipelago declared "one motherland, one nation, one language." A national observance in Indonesia, not a libur nasional.
Cultural celebration(10)
Chuseok - the Korean harvest festival on 15 Chuseok, observed on the 8th month of the lunar calendar
Chuseok (한가위, Han-ga-wi) is the Korean harvest festival observed on the 8th day of the 8th lunar month, plus a one-day pre- and post-period. A 3-day public holiday in South Korea (and North Korea). Marked by charye ancestor rites, songpyeon rice cakes, family visits to ancestral hometowns, and gift-giving between employers and employees.
Dashain - the fifteen-day Nepalese autumn festival that ends with red tika on Vijayadashami
Dashain is the greatest festival in the Nepalese calendar, running fifteen days in the lunar month of Kartika and culminating on Vijayadashami. It opens with Ghatasthapana fire rituals to Shiva and closes with tika, shubha labh and jamara.
Halloween - October 31, Celtic Samhain roots, and how the US observes it
Halloween on October 31 is a US cultural holiday with Celtic Samhain roots. Not a federal holiday. Observed with trick-or-treating, costumes, and decorations. Second-largest commercial holiday in the US after Christmas by consumer spending.
Batik Day - October 2, the Indonesian national observance of UNESCO-listed batik
Batik Day (Hari Batik Nasional) on October 2 is the Indonesian national observance marking the 2009 UNESCO inscription of batik on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Observed across Indonesia with batik-clad ceremonies, exhibitions, and community workshops.
Chongyang Festival - the Chinese Double Ninth Festival, the festival of high places, and the celebration of the long-lived
The Chongyang Festival (Double Ninth Festival) is a traditional Chinese holiday observed on the 9th day of the 9th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, marking the convergence of the auspicious yang number 9 and the autumn season.
Hangul Day in South Korea (Hangulnal) - October 9, the proclamation of the Korean alphabet
Hangul Day (한글날, Hangulnal) on October 9 is a South Korean national public holiday marking the 1446 proclamation of Hangul, the Korean alphabet, by King Sejong the Great. Originally a national holiday from 1945 to 1991, it was reinstated in 2013 after a 22-year lapse.
Mid-Autumn Festival - the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, moon cakes, and how Asia observes it
Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu / Tết Trung Thu) falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Celebrated across China, Vietnam, Korea, and the Chinese diaspora with moon cakes, lanterns, and family reunions. Date moves between mid-September and early October in the solar calendar.
National Foundation Day in South Korea (Gaecheonjeol) - October 3, the mythic founding of Gojoseon
National Foundation Day (Gaecheonjeol, 개천절) on October 3 is a South Korean national public holiday marking the mythic founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BCE by Dangun. Established as a holiday in 1909 under Japanese rule and revived in 1949 by the ROK government.
Oktoberfest - the Munich beer festival, mid-September to early October, and how it is observed
Oktoberfest is the worlds largest folk festival, held annually in Munich, Bavaria from mid-September to the first Sunday in October. Runs 16-18 days. Public holiday in Munich on the first day. Cultural + beer festival, not a religious or federal holiday.
Samhain - the Gaelic beginning of winter, the festival of the dead, and the source of Halloween
Samhain is the Gaelic beginning of winter, observed on October 31-November 1 in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. The festival marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, and is the traditional time when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead is thinnest.
Religious observance(14)
Diwali - the 5-day Hindu festival of lights, lunar date, and how it is observed across India
Diwali (Deepavali) is the 5-day Hindu festival of lights, observed on the new moon (Amavasya) of the Hindu month of Kartik. One of the largest holidays in India and a major celebration across the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain diasporas. Date moves between mid-October and mid-November.
Galungan - the Balinese day of dharma's return, and the 210-day pawukon cycle
Galungan is the Balinese Hindu festival marking the return of dharma after Bhatara Guru's descent into the underworld. It always falls on a Wednesday and recurs on a 210-day pawukon cycle, so Bali sees it roughly twice a Gregorian year.
Ganesh Chaturthi - the Hindu festival of Ganesha, 10-day observance, and how it is celebrated
Ganesh Chaturthi is the Hindu festival of Lord Ganesha, observed over 10 days beginning on the 4th day of Bhadrapada (Hindu month). Public holiday in several Indian states. Best known for public pandals (elaborate temporary shrines), especially in Maharashtra.
Navratri and Durga Puja - the 9-night Hindu festival of the Divine Mother
Navratri is the 9-night Hindu festival of the Divine Mother, observed four times a year with the autumn (Sharad) Navratri being the most prominent. Durga Puja is the eastern Indian observance, especially in West Bengal, with elaborate pandals and idol worship.
Kathina - the robe offering that closes the rains retreat in Theravada Buddhism
Kathina is the Theravada robe-offering festival that marks the end of the Vassa rains retreat, falling in the lunar month after Vassa. Each monastery chooses its own day within that month, so unlike most Buddhist holidays it has no single fixed date.
Mawlid al-Nabi - the Islamic observance of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, 12 Rabi’ al-Awwal
Mawlid al-Nabi on 12 Rabi’ al-Awwal (12 Rabi’ I, 1447 AH ≈ Aug 26-28, 2026) marks the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Observed by Sunni communities as a public holiday across much of the Muslim world; not widely celebrated in Shia-majority countries. Public holiday in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan.
Pchum Ben - the Cambodian ancestor festival that ends with a fifteen-day pyre and an ox burned for humanity
Pchum Ben is a Cambodian Khmer ancestor festival held over fifteen days around the new moon of the tenth lunar month. Monks build a funeral pyre of sand and rice, and an ox effigy symbolising the primordial flood is burned as a symbolic funeral for humanity.
Reformation Day - October 31 in five German states, the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door
Reformation Day on October 31 commemorates Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in 1517, the symbolic start of the Protestant Reformation. It is a public holiday in five German Länder (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia) and in some Swiss cantons.
Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year on 1 Tishrei, and how it is observed
Rosh Hashanah on 1 Tishrei (Hebrew calendar) is the Jewish New Year, observed with synagogue services, the sounding of the shofar, and apples with honey. Public holiday in Israel. Begins the High Holy Days culminating in Yom Kippur ten days later.
Simchat Torah - the rejoicing of the Torah, the cycle completed, and the hakafot procession
Simchat Torah is the Jewish festival celebrating the completion of the annual cycle of Torah reading and the immediate beginning of the new cycle.
Sukkot - the Feast of Tabernacles, the sukkah, and the Four Species
Sukkot is the week-long Jewish Feast of Tabernacles beginning on 15 Tishrei, observed by dwelling in temporary booths (sukkot) and waving the Four Species (etrog, lulav, hadass, aravah). It is one of the three pilgrimage festivals of the Hebrew calendar, alongside Passover and Shavuot.
Tazaungdaing - the Burmese full-moon festival of Tazaungmon, when paper lanterns rise over Bagan
Tazaungdaing is a Burmese Buddhist festival held on the full moon of Tazaungmon in the eighth lunar month. Satipa, the festival of lights, fills the night sky over Bagan and Sagaing with thousands of floating paper lanterns.
Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement on 10 Tishrei, fasting, and Jewish observance
Yom Kippur on 10 Tishrei (Hebrew calendar) is the Day of Atonement, observed with a 25-hour fast, intensive prayer, and synagogue services. Public holiday in Israel. Culminates the High Holy Days that begin with Rosh Hashanah ten days earlier.
Guru Nanak Jayanti - the birth anniversary of Sikhism's founder, observed on the full moon of Kartik
Guru Nanak Jayanti (also Gurpurab) is the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Observed on the full moon (Purnima) of the Hindu month of Kartik (October-November), it is one of the most important Sikh festivals. Major celebrations at the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar.
International observance(9)
International Day of the Girl Child - October 11, the UN day for girls' rights
International Day of the Girl Child on October 11 is the UN International Day recognizing girls' rights and the unique challenges girls face globally. Established by UNGA Resolution 66/170 in 2011. Observed in 100+ countries. Not a public holiday.
Nobel Prize - October announcements of the world’s highest-profile academic awards
The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards recognising outstanding contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences. Established by Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will, first awarded in 1901. Announcements run in early October; the Stockholm ceremony is December 10.
World Food Day - October 16, the FAO founding anniversary
World Food Day on October 16 marks the anniversary of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. Observed globally with FAO campaigns on hunger, food security, and sustainable agriculture.
World Mental Health Day - October 10 origins, the WHO campaign, and how it is observed
World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10 each year, established by the World Health Organization and World Federation for Mental Health in 1992. Each year has a theme; 2025 focuses on access to mental health services in humanitarian emergencies. Observed with awareness campaigns, public screenings, and policy pledges.
World Space Week - October 4 to 10, the UN-declared annual celebration of space science and technology
World Space Week is a UN-declared international observance held every October 4 through 10. It marks the 1957 launch of Sputnik 1 (October 4) and the 1967 Outer Space Treaty signing (October 10). Coordinated by the World Space Week Association, the week involves 90+ countries through 8,000+ events organized by space agencies, schools, museums, and astronomy clubs. Not a public holiday.
World Teachers' Day - October 5, the UNESCO day for teachers and education
World Teachers' Day on October 5 is the UNESCO International Day for teachers, marking the 1966 adoption of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. Observed in 100+ countries. Not a public holiday.
International Coffee Day - October 1, the annual observance for the world's second-most-traded commodity after crude oil
International Coffee Day on October 1 is the annual sector-wide observance organised by the International Coffee Organization (ICO) and 75+ member coffee associations to celebrate coffee growers, promote sustainable sourcing, and run consumer-facing campaigns. First launched in 2014, it overlaps with China's National Day and runs alongside World Vegetarian Day.
World Cities Day - October 31, the UN day for sustainable urban development
World Cities Day on October 31 is the UN International Day for sustainable urban development, established by UNGA Resolution 68/239 in 2013. Coordinated by UN-Habitat, observed in 150+ cities. Not a public holiday.
World Statistics Day - October 20, the UN-recognised day celebrating official statistics
World Statistics Day on October 20 is a UN-recognised international day established by the UN Statistical Commission in 2010 to highlight the role of official statistics in national development. First observed on October 20, 2010; second edition October 20, 2015; third on October 20, 2020. Not a public holiday.