To the UConn Community:
The Office for Diversity and Inclusion and the Provost’s Office would like to remind you of several celebrations, commemorations, and moments of raising awareness for members of our community during the month of February:
Heritage Month Celebrations:
Black History Month (February): Black History Month celebrates Black and African American history, culture, achievements, and excellence. It also draws attention to the lived experiences of Black and African Americans within the United States, including by celebrating Black and African American communities and creating awareness about issues these communities face. This celebration began in the United States in 1926, when Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) head Dr. Carter G. Woodson recommended that schools use the second week of February—which holds the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass—to ensure students are exposed to Black history. Fifty years later, this week was expanded into a month-long celebration. Every president since 1976 has proclaimed February to be Black History Month.
The theme for this year’s Black History Month is “African Americans and Labor.” According to ASALH, this theme centralizes “the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people… It intends to encourage broad reflections on intersections between Black people’s work and their workplaces in all their iterations and key moments, themes, and events in Black history and culture across time and space and throughout the U.S., Africa, and the Diaspora.”
Black History Month is a time to celebrate the fullness of Black and African American history and culture, though such celebrations cannot—and should not—be limited to a single month. At UConn, we believe that Black history, culture, and excellence should be celebrated every day. The University aims to provide opportunities for celebration, community building, and education through the African American Cultural Center (AACC) and Africana Studies Institute.
We invite the entire UConn community to join in celebrating this year’s Black History Month. The AACC’s opening Black History Month event is Creating New Paths with Chanelle Howell. It will take place on February 3rd at 6pm in the Student Union Ballroom [Rm 330/331]. Register for this event here.
Please check the AACC’s website for a full calendar of events!
Cultural and Federal Holidays
National Freedom Day (February 1): National Freedom Day celebrates the end of slavery in the United States and recognizes the United States as a symbol of liberty. National Freedom Day was proposed in 1941 by Richard Robert Wright, Sr. to commemorate the day President Lincoln signed a Congressional resolution stating that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This resolution would become the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865. National Freedom Day became a national holiday in 1948.
World Hijab Day (February 1): World Hijab Day was started in 2013 by Nazma Khan, who wanted to foster religious tolerance and understanding by inviting all women to wear a hijab for one day each year. In the decade since, World Hijab Day has grown to promote awareness, education, and empowerment in order to dismantle bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice against Muslim women. World Hijab Day celebrates religious tolerance and women’s rights around the world.
Valentine’s Day (February 14): Valentine’s Day is celebrated annually on February 14. The origins of the holiday are disputed; some accounts point to pagan fertility festivals while others point to St. Valentine, an early Christian saint martyred for performing weddings in defiance of a ban on marriage for military-aged men. Today, Valentine’s Day is typically regarded as a celebration of romantic love.
Presidents Day (February 17): President’s Day, also known as Washington’s Birthday on the federal level and for the State of Connecticut, is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday of February. Established in 1879 to honor Washington’s February 22 birthday, Presidents Day was moved to the third Monday of February in 1970 as part of the Uniform Monday Holidays Act to create more three-day weekends for workers. The holiday now celebrates all US presidents, past and present.
Religious Holidays
Imbolic (February 1-2): This Pagan and Wiccan festival serves as the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox, celebrating fire, light, and the return of life.
Candlemas (February 2): Candlemas is a Christian holiday that occurs 40 days after Christmas. Also known as Presentation of the Lord, Candlemas commemorates Jesus’ presentation at the Temple. For Catholics, in particular, Candlemas honors the purification of the Virgin Mary. Many Orthodox Christians celebrate by having beeswax candles blessed at church or at home. Candlemas is celebrated as Día de la Candelaria in many Spanish speaking countries. Whoever finds the baby figures hidden inside the Rosca de Reyes cake from El Día de Reyes/Three Kings Day is obliged to host the Candelaria gathering. Candlemas is halfway between the December Solstice and the March Equinox, marking the halfway point for winter.
Tu B’Shevat (February 12 – February 13): The 15th of the Jewish month of Shevat is the day that marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees. This day marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. Today, many Jews hold a modern version of the Tu B’Shevat seder (festive meal) during the holiday and celebrate by eating fruit, particularly from the kinds that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. The holiday has also become a tree-planting festival in which many Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees in honor or memory of loved ones and friends.
Parinirvana (February 15): This day, also known as Nirvana Day, marks the death of the Buddha and his attainment of final Nirvana. Buddhists may observe this day by meditating or by visiting Buddhist temples or monasteries. Many take this time to reflect on their lives and consider how they can attain the perfect peace of Nirvana.
Maha Shivaratri (February 26 – 27): The most important sectarian festival of the year for devotees of the Hindu god Shiva. The 14th day of the dark half (waning moon) of each lunar month is especially sacred to Shiva, but when it occurs in the month of Magha (January–February) and especially in the month of Phalguna (February–March), it is an observance of rejoicing. The preceding day the participant observes a fast and at night a vigil during which a special worship of the lingam (symbol of Shiva) is performed along with prayer and relating myths about Shiva. The following day is celebrated with feasting, festival fairs, and, among the members of the South Indian Lingayat sect, the giving of gifts to the guru (personal spiritual guide). Devotees believe that worship on this night provides extraordinary religious and worldly benefits.
We welcome the celebration of each of these holidays on our campuses and encourage support for those requiring accommodation. You can find information and guidance about academic accommodations for religious observations on the Provost Office’s webpage.
To see more information about resources and events happening this month and throughout the semester, please visit our events page at www.diversity.uconn.edu/events. ODI writes these letters in collaboration with our partners across the UConn system. If we inadvertently omitted a cultural or religious holiday, please let us know by emailing us at diversity@uconn.edu.
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Sincerely,
Jeff and Anne
Jeffrey F. Hines, MD
Interim Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, University of Connecticut
Chief Diversity Officer, UConn Health
Anne D’Alleva, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs