General

Boxing Day is a day to spend with family and friends and to eat up all the leftovers from Christmas Day dinner. The name is a reference to holiday gifts and charity drives.

Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated generally on December 25 as a religious and cultural holiday.

The 8-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukka or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.

A day to commemorate the ground-breaking Universal Declaration of Human Rights, issued in 1948. It encourages people to stand up for equality, justice, and human dignity. 

For more information about International Human Rights Day, please follow this link https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day. 

The day is observed in Canada on December 6 as the anniversary of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, in which an armed male student murdered 14 women engineering students and injured 10 others in the name of "fighting feminism". The day aims to examine the power dynamics between men and women and to take action against gender-based violence.

For more information about this day, please visit https://cfc-swc.gc.ca/commemoration/vaw-vff/remembrance-commemoration-en.html. 

This international day aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society. As well, it heightens awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

For more information about this day, please visit https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-of-persons-with-disabilities. 

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

International Men’s Day is an opportunity for people everywhere to celebrate the men in their lives and the contributions they make to the greater good. It is also used to highlight social issues faced by men and boys, and to feature male role models.

Diwali is the biggest holiday in India, known as the festival of lights, and celebrated by Hindus worldwide. It symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. During the 5-day celebration, temples, homes, shops and office buildings are brightly lit with lights and candles.