A Look at Catholic Holy Days

A really cool thing about Catholicism is that many days of the calendar year are a cause for celebration. Nearly every day marks the feast day of a saint — a day when that saint’s holy life and deeds are remembered. Some days are holy days of obligation, which means that you’re obliged to attend Mass that day.

The following table shows holy days on the Catholic calendar. An asterisk indicates that it’s also a holy day of obligation:

Date	Holy Day	What It Commemorates
January 1	Feast of Mary	As the Mother of God, Mary receives special adoration from Catholics (and has a whole month set aside to honor her; see “May” later in this list).
January 6	Feast of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day)	Epiphany commemorates the visit of the Magi, the three kings bearing gifts for the newborn Christ in the stable at Bethlehem. Many Catholic parishes in the United States, celebrate this feast on the first Sunday after New Year’s Day.
February 2	Feast of Candlemas	Also known as the Presentation of the Christ. White beeswax candles are blessed during or after Mass on February 2, and people take some home to be used during prayer.
March 17	St. Patrick’s Day	Who doesn’t know about the wearing o’ the green to commemorate the Emerald Isle on the Patron Feast Day of Ireland? Morning Mass, parades, Irish soda bread, potato soup, green beer — all great customs.
March 19	Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Husband of Mary and Patron of the Universal Church	Even though Lent is a time of penance and mortification, some feast days are so special that the Church wants you to celebrate them with gusto, and so it is with the feast day of St. Joseph, which provides a respite from Lenten privations.
The first Sunday after the first full moon following the March equinox.	Easter Sunday (Resurrection Day)	Easter celebrates Jesus’ rising from the dead. All Catholics are required not only to attend Mass, but to receive Communion on Easter.
Ascension Thursday	40 days after Easter Sunday	Celebrates Christ’s ascension into Heaven.
May	The whole month	All 31 days of May are dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Catholics traditionally have May Crownings when crowns of roses adorn a statue of Mary, and boys and girls who just made their First Holy Communion wear their same outfits for the occasion.
June 13	Feast of St. Anthony of Padua	Many local Italian communities celebrate the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua with special Masses and processions.
August 15	The Assumption of Mary (The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)	Christ’s mother was so holy that when she died, she was assumed (taken up), both body and soul, into heaven.
October 1	Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux	This St. Thérèse is also known as the Little Flower. Roses are traditionally blessed and given to the sick, infirm, elderly, and other special-needs parishioners on this date.
November 1	All Saints’ Day	A day to commemorate all saints, known and unknown
December 8	Feast of the Immaculate Conception	The immaculate conception refers not to Jesus’s birth, but to the fact that Mary, his Mother, was free of original sin.
December 12	Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe	Catholics, especially those of Hispanic heritage, celebrate this feast about two weeks before Christmas every year.
December 25*	Christmas Day	Christians around the planet celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on this day. It is a holy day of obligation for Catholics, who also are required to receive Communion.