Wednesday, Feb 18, 2015: Holidays Today

Brazil  Ash Wednesday (until 2pm) [Morning/Ponto Facultativo]
Cape Verde  Ash Wednesday (except morning only in São Vicente)
Cayman Islands  Ash Wednesday
China  Spring Festival (Chinese New Year's Eve)
East Timor  Public Sector Holiday (Ash Wednesday) (morning until 12:00 noon) [Government]
French Guiana  Ash Wednesday (Mercredi des Cendres) (jour chômé d'usage)
Gambia  Independence Day (National Day)
Guadeloupe  Ash Wednesday (jour chômé d'usage) [Other]
Haiti  Public Holiday (Carnival)
Jamaica  Ash Wednesday
Macau  Lunar New Year's Eve (afternoon) [Government/Afternoon]
Martinique  Ash Wednesday (jour chômé d'usage) [Other]
Mongolia  Bituun (Lunar New Year's Eve) [Banks]
Panama  Carnaval (Ash Wednesday) [Banks]
Saint Barthélemy  Ash Wednesday [Other]
Saint Martin  Ash Wednesday [Other]
South Korea  Seol-nal Holiday
Taiwan  Chinese New Year's Eve
Vietnam  Tet Eve (Vietnamese New Year's Eve)

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Tuesday, Feb 15, 2015: Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday / Pancake Day

http://www.chiff.com/a/shrove-tuesday.htm

Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving, when the faithful confessed their sins to the local priest and received forgiveness before the Lenten season began.

As far back as 1000 AD, "to shrive" meant to hear confessions. (Trivia note: the term survives today in the expression "short shrift" or giving little attention to anyone's explanations or excuses.)

Shrove Tuesday also marked the beginning of the 40-day Lenten fasting period when the faithful were forbidden to consume meat, butter, eggs or milk.

However, if a family had a store of these foods they would certainly spoil by the time the fast ended on Easter Sunday. What to do? Solution: use up the milk, butter and eggs no later than Shrove Tuesday. And so, with the addition of a little flour, the solution quickly presented itself in... pancakes.

Today, the Shrove Tuesday pancake tradition lives on in Western Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia. It is most associated with the UK, where it is simply known as Pancake Day with a traditional recipe that looks to all the world more like a French crepe rather than the 'mile-high' stack so popular on National Pancake Day in America.

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Tuesday, Feb 17, 2015: Holidays Today

Angola  Carnival
Argentina  Martes de Carnaval
Bolivia  Carnaval
Brazil  Carnival [Ponto Facultativo]
Cape Verde  Carnaval (except full day in São Vicente) [Afternoon]
Dominica  Carnival Tuesday
Ecuador  Carnaval (workday moved to Sat. Feb. 28)
French Guiana  Mardi Gras (jour chômé d'usage) [Other]
Grenada  Carnival Tuesday (Carriacou and Petite Martinique) [Regional]
Guadeloupe  Mardi Gras (jour chômé d'usage) [Other]
Haiti  Mardi Gras (Carnival)
India  Maha Shivaratri (AP CG CH GJ HP HR JK KA KL MH MP OR UK UP) [Regional]
Kosovo  Kosovo Independence Day (Dita e Pavarësisë)
Libya  February 17 Revolution Day
Liechtenstein  Fasnachtsdienstag [Banks]
Martinique  Mardi Gras (jour chômé d'usage) [Other]
Mauritius  Maha Shivaratree
Nepal  Maaha Shivaratri
Panama  Carnaval (Mardi Gras)
Portugal  Shrove Tuesday (Carnival) (optional but widespread) [Ponto Facultativo]
Saint Barthélemy  Mardi Gras [Other]
Saint Kitts and Nevis  Public Holiday (Post-Election Celebration) (tentative)
Saint Martin  Mardi Gras [Other]
Serbia  National Day Holiday
Sri Lanka  Mahasivarathri Day
Trinidad and Tobago  Carnival Tuesday [Banks/Other/Government]
Uruguay  Carnaval [Banks/Government]
Venezuela  Carnival
Vietnam  Tet Holiday

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Monday, Feb 16, 2015: Family Day (South Africa, Canada[Regional], AZ, NV, Vanautu, Vietnam)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Day

Family Day is the name of a public holiday in South Africa, in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, in the American states of Arizona and Nevada, in Vanuatu, in Vietnam and (as "Family & Community Day") in the Australian Capital Territory.

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #today

Monday, Feb 16, 2015: Holidays Today

American Samoa  Presidents' Day
Andorra  Carnival
Argentina  Lunes de Carnaval
Aruba  Carnival Monday
Bolivia  Carnaval
Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba  Carnival Holiday (Bonaire) [Regional]
Brazil  Carnival [Ponto Facultativo]
Canada  Family Day (AB ON SK) [Regional]
Canada  Heritage Day (NS) (Honouring Viola Desmond) [Regional]
Canada  Islander Day (PE) [Regional]
Canada  Louis Riel Day (MB) [Regional]
Curaçao  Carnival Holiday
Dominica  Carnival Monday
Ecuador  Carnaval (workday moved to Sat. Feb. 21)
French Guiana  Carnaval Monday (jour chômé d'usage) [Other]
Grenada  Carnival Monday (Carriacou and Petite Martinique) [Regional]
Guadeloupe  Carnaval Monday (jour chômé d'usage) [Other]
Haiti  Lundi Gras (Carnival Monday) (afternoon) [Afternoon]
Lithuania  Independence Day (National Day)
Luxembourg  Carnival (jour férié d'usage) (not official) [Other]
Martinique  Carnaval Monday (jour chômé d'usage) [Other]
North Korea  Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong Il's Birthday)
Northern Mariana Islands  Presidents' Day
Panama  Carnaval (Shrove Monday) [Banks]
Puerto Rico  Día de los Próceres Puertorriqueños [Banks/Government]
Saint Barthélemy  Carnaval Monday [Other]
Saint Martin  Carnaval Monday [Other]
Serbia  National Day Holiday
Trinidad and Tobago  Carnival Monday (J'ouvert) [Banks/Other]
Uruguay  Carnaval [Banks/Government]
US Virgin Islands  Presidents' Day [Government]
USA  Presidents' Day (widespread in gov. and fin. sectors) [Other]
Venezuela  Carnival
Vietnam  Tet Holiday (workday moved to Sat. Feb. 14)

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

February 15: National Flag of Canada Day

Flag Day, officially named National Flag of Canada Day (French: Jour du drapeau national du Canada), is observed annually on February 15, commemorating the inauguration of the Flag of Canada on that date in 1965.^[1] The day is marked by flying the flag, occasional public ceremonies, and educational programs in schools. It is not a public holiday, although there has been discussion about creating one.

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Sunday, Feb 15, 2015: Holidays Today

Afghanistan  Liberation Day
Serbia  National Day (Sretenje)
Vietnam  Tet Holiday

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #today

Feb 14, 2015: Valentine's Day

From our diversity calendar...

One version states that a priest named Valentine was martyred on February 14, 269 A.D. in Rome for secretly marrying couples against the orders of the Roman Emperor, Claudius II. This was the night before a festival called Lupercalia associated with fertility. Probably both customs became associated with this day.

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #today

Saturday, Feb 14th, 2015: Holidays Today

Lebanon  Rafik Hariri Memorial Day

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Friday, Feb 13th - Black Friday

The first of three Friday the 13th that will occur in 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th

Friday the 13th, also known as Black Friday in some countries, is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday. There is no written evidence for a "Friday the 13th" superstition before the 19th century, and the superstition only gained widespread distribution in the 20th century. The fear of the number 13 has been given a scientific name: triskadekaphobia; and on analogy to this the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek wordsParaskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning "Friday"), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning "thirteen").^[1][2]


Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Friday, Feb 13, 2015: Holidays Today

No public holidays, anywhere in the world, on this date.


Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

February, Black History Month (USA/Canada)

Many organizations throughout North America publicly recognize and celebrate February as Black History month.  If your organization wishes to celebrate and promote diversity, we believe you will find an online electronic diversity calendar a useful resource for planning for and promoting diversity.

The electronic diversity calendar, now in its 21st edition, features over 600 cultural, religious and national events and holidays.  Our calendar can become your calendar, quickly customized with your own corporate look and feel and installed on your organization's intranet.

We would be very pleased to mock up a demonstration calendar for you to preview.  Contact:

Wayne Thorn, Partner
Snyder Thorn Inc. / Diversitynet.org
(613) 749 1286

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #today #blackhistorymonth

Thursday, Feb 12, 2015: Holidays Today

Myanmar  Union Day

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Wednesday, Feb 11, 2015: Holidays Today

Cameroon  Youth Day
Iran  Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution
Japan  Foundation Day
Liberia  Armed Forces Day
Vatican City  Lateran Treaty Day

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015: Holidays Today

Malta  Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck
Qatar  National Sports Day

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Monday, Feb 9th, 2015: Holidays Today

Canada  Family Day (BC) [Regional]
Lebanon  Saint Maroun's Day

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #today

Sunday, Feb 8, 2015: Holidays Today

Slovenia  Preseren's Day (Day of Slovenian Culture)

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Saturday, Feb 7, 2015: Holidays Today

Grenada  Independence Day (National Day)

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Friday, Feb 6, 2015: Holidays Today

New Zealand  Waitangi Day (National Day)
Niue  Waitangi Day

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Thursday, Feb 5, 2015: Holidays Today

Thursday February 5

Burundi  Pakistan  San Marino  Turks and Caicos Islands*

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Weds, Feb 4, 2015: Holidays Today

Angola  Liberation Day
Sri Lanka  National Day (Independence Day)

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #today

Tuesday, Feb 3, 2015: Holidays Today

Cambodia  Meaka Bochea Day
India  Guru Ravidas Jayanti (CH HR PB) [Regional]
Malaysia  Thaipusam (JHR KDH KUL NSN PJY PNG PRK SGR) [Regional]
Mauritius  Thaipoosam Cavadee
Mozambique  Mozambique's Heroes' Day
Nauru  Independence Day Holiday
Sao Tome and Principe  Martyrs' Day
Sri Lanka  Navam Full Moon Poya Day

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Monday, Feb 2, 2015: Holidays Today

Liechtenstein  Candlemas (Mariä Lichtmess)
Malaysia  Federal Territory Day (day in lieu) (KUL LBN PJY) [Regional]
Mexico  Constitution Day Holiday
Nauru  Independence Day Holiday
New Zealand  Provincial Anniversary Day (Nelson) [Regional]

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda

Sunday, Feb 1, 2015: Holidays Today

Malaysia  Federal Territory Day (KUL LBN PJY) [Regional]
Mauritius  Abolition Day
Nauru  Independence Day Holiday
Rwanda  National Heroes' Day

Snyder Thorn Diversity Calendar #toda