18th February 2026
Buddhist
Tibetan New Year festival, but it is often celebrated in Nepal as well. Although largely a secular celebration, it also includes the rededication of the country to Buddhism. It especially celebrates the miracles performed by the historical Buddha at Sravasti, the capital city of the kingdom of Kosala.
It usually falls on or around the date of the Chinese New Year.
17th February 2026
Christian (Western Churches)
Commonly known as Pancake Day, this is the day before the start of Lent. Traditionally it is a day for repentance and absolution in preparation for Lent (‘shrive’ means to receive or make confession). Pancakes were originally made to use up all the rich foods, such as butter and eggs, before Lent. In some parts of the world people celebrate Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) by holding carnivals.
18th February 2026
Christian (Western Churches)
The first day of Lent when Christians remember the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness and the temptations he faced during this time. In Catholic and some Anglican churches, services are held where the worshipper’s forehead is marked with a cross of ash, which has been made from burning the palm crosses of the previous year – hence the name Ash Wednesday.
Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13
18th February – 2 April 2026
Christian (Western Churches)
Lent is a period of forty days (not counting Sundays) that leads up to Easter. It is a time of fasting, repentance, moderation, self-denial and spiritual discipline in preparation for Easter. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus, his life, death, burial, and resurrection. Traditionally Christians give up something during this time – a habit, such as smoking, watching TV, or swearing, or a food or drink, such as sweets, chocolate or coffee – to mark the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness, which end on Easter day. Many still do this, but the emphasis is now more on following a simpler lifestyle throughout the year. Those who give up something save the cost of these items for Church funds or a charity. For many Christians it is a time for study groups, and Bible reading.
In Western Christianity, Ash Wednesday marks the first day, or the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Technically 46, as Sundays are not included in the count). The exact date changes every year because Easter and its surrounding holidays are movable feasts. The significance of the 40-day period of Lent is based on two episodes of spiritual testing in the Bible: the 40 years of wilderness wandering by the Israelites, and the Temptation of Jesus after he spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness.
In Orthodox churches, the spiritual preparations for Pascha (Easter) begin with Great Lent, a 40-day period of self-examination and fasting (including Sundays), which starts on Clean Monday (seven weeks before Easter Sunday) and culminates on Lazarus Saturday (eight days before Easter Sunday) which signifies the end of Great Lent. Fasting continues however during the Holy Week of Orthodox Easter. Ash Wednesday is not observed.
The Bible does not mention the custom of Lent, although, the practice of repentance and mourning in ashes is a Biblical one, found in 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3; and Matthew 11:21. Likewise, the word ‘Easter’ does not appear in the Bible and no early church celebrations of the resurrection of Jesus are mentioned in the new Testament. Easter, like Christmas, is a tradition that developed later in Church history.
Many Christians who observe Lent celebrate Shrove Tuesday, also called Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, (French for Fat Tuesday), the day before Lent starts. Traditionally, pancakes are eaten to use up rich foods like eggs and dairy in anticipation of the 40-day fasting season of Lent. The name Shrove comes from the old English word ‘shrive’ which means to confess. On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins so that they would receive forgiveness before the season of Lent began.
Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22.
15th February 2026
Hindu
Every night of the new moon is dedicated to Shiva, but this moonless night i is particularly important since it is the night on which Shiva is said to perform the cosmic dance, the Tandava Nritya, the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. Many Hindus and all devotees of Shiva fast throughout the festival. All-night prayers focus on Shiva and his shrines and statues, where milk, water and honey are regularly poured on his symbol, the lingam, which is decorated with flowers and garlands. The festival is observed for one day and one night only.
Pujas conducted in Shaivite temples during the previous day also have significance. This is because the rituals are conducted strictly in accordance with the method prescribed in the Shiva Purana, a Hindu epic. According to this Purana, pujas should be conducted once in every three hours on Mahashivaratri. According to Hindu mythology Lord Shiva declared that the rituals performed by his devotees on the 14th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Phalgun please him the most. Therefore, year by year, the day is observed as Mahashivratri, and devotees observe the fast, sing songs and bhajans and offer prayers to the Almighty to seek his blessings.
To this end jujube fruits, stalks of Bilwa leaves, coconuts, flowers and garlands are offered to the Shiva lingam by the devotees at the shrine. At home, they may perform the Mahashivratri Puja by taking a holy bath (in warm water) early in the morning, wearing new clothes and then smearing bhasm (holy ash) on their forehead.
Mahashivaratri is especially important for women, both married and unmarried, who perform Shiva puja and observe the fast with great devotion and sincerity. This is predominantly done to appease Shiva along with his consort, the goddess Parvati, who is often called Ma Gauri. It is believed that Ma Gauri bestows marital bliss on women yet to be married and blesses the married with a healthy and blissful married life. Young girls observe the fast and worship Shiva so that he may bless them with good husbands. They sing devotional songs in praise of the lord, and holy texts are chanted throughout the night. The festival also celebrates the wedding of Shiva and Sati, the divine mother.
It is believed that devotion to Shiva on Mahashivaratri will free devotees from their past sins and those who pledge themselves to him on this occasion will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death and so attain moksha or salvation. The devotees of Shiva therefore flock to the temples on this day to offer their prayers.
23rd February 2026
Christian (Orthodox)
This is the beginning of the Lenten Fast, which involves abstinence from meat, fish and dairy products until Easter.
Unlike the Western tradition, where Lent begins on the Wednesday before the first Sunday of Lent, Eastern Churches start Lent on the Monday before the first Sunday. In addition, since Lent is calculated in relation to Easter, it follows that when the Orthodox date for Easter differs from that of the Western Churches, as here, the whole Lenten period will similarly differ.
BIRTHDAY of 12th IMAM, Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdi (Shi‘a)
3rd February 2026
Muslim
On the fourteenth of Sha’ban, the eighth month of the Muslim calendar and two weeks before Ramadan commences, Muslims seek forgiveness for their sins. Many Muslims believe that it is on this night that a person’s destiny is fixed by Allah for the coming year, and the night is often spent in prayer, asking for forgiveness and God’s guidance. Some Muslims fast during the daytime in preparation for the night. In certain parts of the world Muslims visit the graves of relatives, and the giving of charity is also traditional. In a number of places the night is marked with firework displays.
Lailat-ul-Bara’ah falls on the day that is celebrated by the Ithna Asheri Shi‘a community as being the birthday of the 12th Imam (Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdi), and they therefore observe the night in prayer and worship, and then celebrate the birthday during the daytime.
18th February – 18th March 2026
Muslim
Ramadan is the name of the 9th month of the Islamic Calendar.
The Muslim year is a lunar year which is about 11 days shorter than the solar year on which the Gregorian (British) calendar is based, so in the Gregorian calendar Ramadan occurs ten or eleven days earlier each year.
During the month of Ramadan Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. Fasting (sawm) is the fourth of the five pillars of Islam, requiring self-discipline and giving everyone some experience of deprivation. Those who are not able to fast are expected to give charity to compensate for the ‘lost’ days. While children may be encouraged to fast, the full fast is not compulsory until puberty is reached, often by the age of 12, but many young people still attempt to keep some, or even all of it.
It is most important that Muslims show intent before they fast. It is a requirement that they recite a short prayer of intent either before they sleep or just before Suhoor, the pre-fast meal. No food or drink may be consumed during the hours of daylight during Ramadan, and those fasting must also abstain from smoking and from sexual relations. According to the Quran, one may eat and drink at any time during the night ‘until you can plainly distinguish a white thread from a black thread by the daylight: then keep the fast until night’.
Muslims who are travelling or sick and women who are pregnant or nursing a child are allowed to postpone their fast. These are all required to make up the days of missed fasting during the year ahead. After the custom of the Prophet, the fast is traditionally broken each evening by taking dates and water (iftar).
For Muslims Ramadan one of the holiest months of the year, and one they dedicate to spiritual renewal, prayer and intensive devotional reading of the Qur’an. It is the month in which, according to Islamic belief, the Prophet received the first revelation of verses of the Qur’an, though the actual night is unknown. This night is called Lailat ul Qadr. To stand in prayer throughout the night is said to be ‘better than a thousand months of worship’. Ramadan is often called ‘the month of the Qur’an‘, and many Muslims attempt to recite as much of the Qur’an as they can during the month. Most Sunni mosques arrange a recital of one thirtieth of the Qur’an each night during the Taraweeh prayers, which are longer than the usual evening prayers and are special ones for Ramadan.
Surah 2:183-188.