Heritage Months 2025-2026
Heritage Celebrations 2025-2026 School Year
- July 26, 2025 - Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Day - Commemorates the 1990 signing of the American's with Disabilities Act, which guarantees equal opportunity for people with disabilities.
- August 9, 2025 - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples - Celebrates the richness of Indigenous cultures and recognizes the challenges Indigenous peoples face today, ranging from poverty and disease to dispossession, discrimination, and denial of basic human rights.
- September 15 - October 15, 2025 - National Hispanic Heritage Month - Celebrates the contributions, heritage, and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans.
- October 2025 - LGBT History Month - Celebrates the lives and achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States.
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October 13, 2025 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - (Native American Day) Celebrates and honors Native American history and culture. [The second May of October is also marked as a U.S. federal holiday, Columbus Day. Many people are opposed to the celebration of a man who led and committed atrocities against Indigenous people. Some states and cities in the U.S. have officially changed the day to Indigenous Peoples' Day. Similarly, it is celebrated as Dia de la Raza, "Day of the Race", in Spanish-speaking countries and communities].
- November 2025 - National American Indian Heritage Month - Celebrates and honors the history and culture of Native Americans and Indigenous people in the United States.
- February 2026 - Black History Month - Celebrates Black History and African American culture in the United States.
- March 2026 - National Women's History Month - Honors women as significant agents of historical change.
- April 2026 - National Arab American Heritage Month - Recognizes the contributions and celebrates the culture of Arab Americans in the United States.
- April 13-14, 2026 - Holocaust Memorial Day - begins at sundown on Monday, April 13, 2026 and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 - Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Memorial Day, is a solemn day in the Jewish calendar dedicated to the memory of the six million Jews and five million others who perished during the Holocaust. The Holocaust (Shoah in Hebrew) was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and annihilation of Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators, and to remember those who participated in the Jewish resistance.
- May 2026 - Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - Recognizes the contributions and celebrates the culture of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
- May 2026 - Jewish American Heritage Month - Recognizes the history of Jewish contributions to American culture, acknowledging the diverse achievements of American Jews.
- May 5, 2026 - Cinco de Mayo - Cinco de Mayo, meaning "Fifth of May" in Spanish, is a significant cultural celebration primarily observed in Mexico and the United States. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
- June 2026 - LGBTQ+ Pride Month - Commemorates the anniversary of the June 28, 1969 Stonewall riot in New York City, the incident that initiated the modern gay rights movement in the United States.
- June 19, 2026 - Juneteenth - Marks the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the U.S. It commemorates Union General Granger's 1865 announcement in Texas that freed the last slaves following the Civil War end. Initially signed by President Lincoln in 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation's enforcement was inconsistent, and many enslaved individuals remained in bondage. Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom and achievements with parades, concerts, educational events, and reflections. Recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, it highlights the ongoing fight for equality and justice.
