* Sept/Oct HARVEST FESTIVAL Christian (Western, Anglican and Free Churches)

Displays of various foods are made in churches and Sunday schools and services are held to give thanks for the goodness of God’s gifts in nature.

1 September (Monday) FRAVARDIN MAH PARAB Zoroastrian (Shenshai; Parsi)

At Fravardin Zoroastrians visit the Towers of Silence in India (or in the UK the Zoroastrian Cemetery in Brookwood, Surrey) to participate in a jashan ceremony in memory of the departed fravashis (guardian spirits and souls of the community). Sacred food is prepared as an offering to the departed during the jashan and is later shared by the participants.

1 September (Monday) INSTALLATION OF THE GURU GRANTH SAHIB IN THE HARMANDIR SAHIB
The Golden Temple, Amritsar 1604 CE - Sikh

The Sikhs’ fifth Guru, Arjan Dev, installed the volume of scripture, the Adi Granth, on this date. It consisted of the hymns of the first five Gurus plus those of other ‘saint-poets’. Hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur were later added to form the present Guru Granth Sahib.

6 September (Saturday) FESTIVAL OF HUNGRY GHOSTS/ ZHONGQIUJIE / CHUNG CH’IU Chinese

Chinese Buddhist and ancestral festival, when paper objects for use in the spirit world are made and offered to aid those spirits who have no resting place or descendants. Large paper boats are made and burnt at temples to help spirits cross the sea of torment to Nirvana.

11 September (Thursday) ETHIOPIAN NEW YEAR’S DAY Rastafarian

Rastafarians have a four year cycle, in which each year is named after one of the evangelists.

21 September (Sunday) – 25 September (Thursday) HIGAN
23 September (Tuesday) SHUBUN NO HI Japanese

Marks the autumn equinox. As at the spring equinox, harmony and balance are the themes; sutras are recited and the graves of relatives are visited.

22 September (Monday) AUTUMN EQUINOX (MABON) Wiccan / Pagan

Day and night stand hand in hand as equals. As the shadows lengthen, Pagans see the darker faces of the God and Goddess. For many Pagans, this rite honours old age and the approach of Winter

22 September (Monday) AUTUMN EQUINOX (ALBAN ELUED or ALBAN ELFED) Druid

Day and night stand hand in hand as equals. As the shadows lengthen, Pagans see the darker faces of the God and Goddess. For many Pagans, this rite honours old age and the approach of Winter

22 September (Monday) to 1 October (Wednesday) NAVARATRI Hindu

Navaratri is a Hindu festival that spans nine nights and is celebrated every year in the autumn season. It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Hindu Indian cultural sphere.

23 September (Tuesday) HIGAN DAY Buddhist

23 September (Tuesday) - 24 September (Wednesday) ROSH HASHANNAH Jewish

5781 years from the creation of the world, this festival begins ten days of self examination. The ram’s horn (shofar) blown in the synagogue recalls Abraham’s sacrifice of a ram instead of his son, Isaac. Apples dipped in honey are eaten in the hope of a ‘sweet’ new year. The greeting is ‘Leshanah Tovah Tikatev’ (may you be inscribed for a good year).

27 September (Saturday) THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S BIRTHDAY / MILAD UL NABI (12th Rabi'ul-Awwal) Muslim (Sunni)

Widely celebrated and a public holiday in many Muslim countries. Qur’anic readings and songs in praise of the Prophet feature.  The exact date of the Prophet’s birth is uncertain.

28 September (Sunday) CONFUCIUS' BIRTHDAY Chinese

Confucius’ Birthday falls on the 25th day of the eighth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is officially celebrated on Taiwan as "Teachers' Day" on September 28, and in Hong Kong on the third Sunday of September as "Confucius Day", though the traditional date is also often observed. Mainland China observes a "Teachers' Day" on September 10 to celebrate the efforts of today's teachers, and there is a legislative effort underway to move that to September 28.

29 September (Monday) MICHAELMAS National

One of the four Quarter Days in the UK legal calendar.

30 September (Tuesday) DURGASHTAMI Hindu

Durgashtami, also known as Durga Ashtami or Maha Ashtami, is the eighth day of the Navratri festival celebrated by Hindus in honor of Goddess Durga. It holds significant religious and cultural importance, particularly in Eastern India, where it is a crucial part of the five-day Durga Puja festival.