Religious Calendar

The UIC Senate Policy on religious holidays (approved May 25, 1988) is below:

"The faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago shall make every effort to avoid scheduling examinations or requiring that student projects be turned in or completed on religious holidays. Students who wish to observe their religious holidays shall notify the faculty member by the tenth day of the semester of the date when they will be absent unless the religious holiday is observed on or before the tenth day of the semester. In such cases, the students shall notify the faculty member at least five days in advance of the date when he/she will be absent. The faculty member shall make every reasonable effort to honor the request, not penalize the student for missing the class, and if an examination or project is due during the absence, give the student an exam or assignment equivalent to the one completed by those students in attendance. If the student feels aggrieved, he/she may request remedy through the campus grievance procedure."

EEOC Guidance-Workplace Religious Accomodation

This list is NOT all-inclusive and customs may use a variation of the dates listed. If a holiday is not listed, that does not mean the holiday is not observed.

Shabbat (Jewish) is observed every Friday from sunset until Saturday sunset.
* These holidays have been designated non-work days by the religions that celebrate them.
** Group B – For employees working in the hospital, clinics, Office for the Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services, all departments under the Department of Facilities Management and Capital Programs, Environmental Health and Safety, Telecommunications Services, Facility and Space Planning, UIC Police Department, Campus Auxiliary Services, and Biological Resources Laboratory.
# Some of these dates are not fixed to a calendar but are based on the actual sighting of the moon and/or astronomical calculations, therefore there may be some variance by a day.

2020-2021 Religious Holidays of Observance

Academic Year Holidays and Religious Days of Special Observance

Academic Year Holidays and Religious Days of Special Observance    
2021-2022 Academic Year2022-2023 Academic YearHoliday or ObservanceAffiliationNotes
7/19/2021 sunset to 7/20/2021 sunset #7/9/22 sunset to 7/10/2022 sunset #Eid al-Adha #Islamic
8/18/2021 sunset to 8/19/2021 sunset #8/7/2022 sunset to 8/8/2022 sunset #Ashura #Islamic, Shia
August 23, 2021August 22, 2022Instruction Begins
8/30/2021 *8/18/2022 *Janmashtami *Hinduism
September 6, 2021September 5, 2022Labor Day - No classesNational University Holiday
9/6/2021 sunset to 9/8/2021 sunset *9/25/2022 sunset to 9/27/2022 sunset *Rosh Hashanah *Judaism
9/15/2021 sunset to 9/16/2021 sunset *10/4/2022 sunset to 10/5/2022 sunset *Yom Kippur *Judaism
9/20/2021 sunset to 9/27/2021 sunset *10/9/2022 sunset to 10/16/2022 sunset *Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) *JudaismPrimary Obligation Days Sept 21-22, 2021
9/27/2021 sunset to 9/29/2021 sunset10/16/2022 sunset to 10/18/2022 sunset *Shemini Atzeret/ Simchat Torah *JudaismPrimary Obligation Days Sept 28-29, 2021
October 15, 2021October 5, 2022Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami)Hinduism
10/18/2021 sunset to 10/19/2021 sunset #10/7/2022 sunset to 10/8/2022 sunset #Mawlid al-Nabi #Islamic
11/4/2021 *10/24/2022 *Diwali *Hinduism
11/6/2021 sunset to 11/7/2021 sunset10/26/2022 sunset to 10/127/2022 sunsetBirth of Baha'u'llah *Baha'i
November 25, 2021November 24, 2022Thanksgiving - No ClassesNationalUniversity Holiday
11/28/2021 sunset to 12/6/2021 sunset12/18/2022 sunset to 12/26/2022 sunsetHanukkah (Chanukah)JudaismCommemorative - does not require absence from work
December 10, 2021December 9, 2022Last Day of Finals
December 25, 2021December 25, 2022Christmas ObservedNational / ChristianUniversity Holiday
12/26/2021 to 1/1/202212/26/2022 to 1/1/2023KwanzaaInterfaith / African AmericanCommemorative - does not require absence from work
1/1/20221/1/2023New Years Day
January 7, 2022January 7, 2023Orthodox ChristmasOrthodox ChristianOrthodox
January 10, 2022January 9, 2023Instruction Begins
January 17, 2022January 16, 2023Martin Luther King DayNationalUniversity Holiday
February 28, 2022February 18, 2023Maha Shivatri *Hinduism
3/16/2022 sunset to 3/17/2022 sunset3/6/2023 sunset to 3/7/2023 sunsetPurimJudaism
3/17/2022 sunset to 3/18/2022 sunset3/7/2023 sunset to 3/8/2023 sunsetHoli *Hinduism
3/21/2022 to 3/25/20223/20/2023 to 3/24/2023Spring Break - No ClassesUniversity
4/2/2022 #3/22/2023 #Beginning of Ramadan #Islamic
4/15/2022 sunset to 4/17/2022 sunset*4/5/2023 sunset to 4/7/2023 sunset*Passover (Pesach) - First Two Days *JudaismPrimary Obligation Days Apr 16-17, 2022
April 15, 2022April 7, 2023Good FridayChristian
April 17, 2022April 9, 2023EasterChristian
April 14, 2022April 14, 2023VaisakhiSikh
4/21/2022 sunset to 4/23/2022 sunset *4/11/2023 sunset to 4/13/2023 sunset *Passover (Pesach) - Last Two Days *JudaismPrimary Obligation Days Apr 22-23, 2022
April 22, 2022April 14, 2023Orthodox Good FridayOrthodox Christian
April 24, 2022April 16, 2023Orthodox EasterOrthodox Christian
4/29/2022 #4/18/2023 #Laylat al QadrIslamic
5/2/2022 sunset to 5/3/2022 sunset *4/21/2023 sunset to 4/22/2023 sunset *Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)Islamic
May 6, 2022May 5, 2023Last Day of Finals
May 16, 2022May 5, 2023Vesak or Buddha DayBuddhist
May 16, 2022May 15, 2023Summer Session 1 Instruction Begins
May 30, 2022May 29, 2023Memorial DayNationalUniversity Holiday
6/4/2022 sunset to 6/6/2022 sunset*5/25/2023 sunset to 5/27/2023 sunset *Shavuot *Judaism
June 9, 2022June 8, 2023Summer Session 1 Instruction Ends
June 13, 2022June 12, 2023Summer Session 2 Instruction Begins
July 4, 2022July 4, 2022Independence DayNationalUniversity Holiday
August 3, 2022August 2, 2023Summer Session 2 Instruction Ends
This list is NOT all-inclusive and customs may use a variation of the dates listed. If a holiday is not listed, that does not mean the holiday is not observed.
Shabbat (Judaism) is observed every Friday from sunset until Saturday sunset.
* These holidays have been designated non-work days by the religions that celebrate them.
# Some of these dates are not fixed to a calendar but are based on the actual sighting of the moon and/or astronomical calculations, therefore there may be some variance by a day.

UIC Holiday Schedule-Fiscal Year 2021