LEEP CALENDAR
LEGEND
HOW TO READ THE EVENTS
LEGEND
HOW TO READ THE EVENTS
HOW TO USE THE LEEP
If the event includes a designation such as National, World, Global etc., the event is likely listed thus: Grandparent's Day, National: September 8. Once you understand how we've organized the dates, the calendar is very easy to read. Please note, if you are visiting the LEEP Calendar and are not using the free trial or a subscriber, the dates, categories and some other information is removed from the listing. This information is for subscribers and free trial members only.
The following two examples cover how our dates are displaced and what the various symbols mean.
The following two examples cover how our dates are displaced and what the various symbols mean.
Example 1:
Jewish religious holidays normally begin at sundown. For these dates you'll now find them listed in the calendar with a slash:
Hanukkah (J) (160 BC): December 16/17-24
This listing reads:
Hanukkah = The name of the event
(J) = Jewish Faith,
(160 BC) = Commemorating an event that occurred in the year 160 Before Christ (or Before the Common Era):
December 16/17 = This year it begins at sundown on the 16th of December. The first full day is
December 17 - 24 = This event ends on December 24.
Jewish religious holidays normally begin at sundown. For these dates you'll now find them listed in the calendar with a slash:
Hanukkah (J) (160 BC): December 16/17-24
This listing reads:
Hanukkah = The name of the event
(J) = Jewish Faith,
(160 BC) = Commemorating an event that occurred in the year 160 Before Christ (or Before the Common Era):
December 16/17 = This year it begins at sundown on the 16th of December. The first full day is
December 17 - 24 = This event ends on December 24.
Example 2:
Sunglasses Day (1100s AD / 1919): June 27
Sunglasses Day = The name of the event (1100s AD / 1919) = Sunglasses were first used in China during the 12th Century AD. It wasn't until 1919 when Sam Foster began marketing them to the Hollywood crowd to protect their eyes from bright studio lights that they began to take off in popularity.
June 27th = The date this event is celebrated on. In this particular case we were unable to ascertain whether June 27th is a historical anniversary patent, birthday, death or first sale. If June 27 is an anniversary, the event will be listed under “Anniversaries”.
Sunglasses Day (1100s AD / 1919): June 27
Sunglasses Day = The name of the event (1100s AD / 1919) = Sunglasses were first used in China during the 12th Century AD. It wasn't until 1919 when Sam Foster began marketing them to the Hollywood crowd to protect their eyes from bright studio lights that they began to take off in popularity.
June 27th = The date this event is celebrated on. In this particular case we were unable to ascertain whether June 27th is a historical anniversary patent, birthday, death or first sale. If June 27 is an anniversary, the event will be listed under “Anniversaries”.
YEARS WITHIN EVENTS (2001)
Events with a year in parenthesis (1951) have two possible meanings. Either it is an anniversary for a historical event, in which case it is also listed in the category Anniversaries. Or it is included to mark the year that subject matter first came into existence. Anniversaries are very specific. For example Beer Can Appreciation Day (1935): January 24 marks the date of the invention of the modern beer can and its removable top. Other historical dates may include the birth or death of the inventor or person honored, battle dates, publishing date, release date or other significant event. Treat events with dates as flags telling you there is more behind that event than simply its name. Visit the URL to access more information.
RELIGIOUS DESIGNATIONS: (B), (H), (M), (J), (S) & (C)
You'll notice throughout the list the letters (B), (H), (M), (J) (S) and (C). These designate events tied culturally or religiously to the six primary faiths: Buddhism (B), Hinduism (H), Islam (I), Judaism (J) Sikh (S) and Christianity (C).
INTERNATIONAL (EU), (CA), (UK), (MX), (CN) etc...
Many events take place or originate in a specific region or country and as the years go by we will continue to add international dates to this calendar. Anything with World, International or Global in the name is a worldwide event. When a specific country is observing, we've included the country designations. To simplify European dates, we've chosen to use the accepted two letter designations for the country and region. (EU) designates mainland Europe and (UK) for Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. If Ireland only (IE), it is noted in the listing. (CA) is Canada. (AU) is Australia, (NZ) New Zealand. (MX) is Mexico. (CN) is China. (JP) is Japan etc.
(est) = Estimated date of event
Often the actual date of an event is not set until a few months or weeks out. When we are unable to get a firm date from the source, we've compared previous year's schedules and estimated when it is most likely to occur. Often the organizations promoting the event will change months, time of year, dates or even discontinue the event and inquiries often do not produce answers. Estimated dates are prevalent in the Weekly, Religion, Sports, Entertainment and Music categories.
Asterisk (*)
Dates with several occurrences, disputed dates or an event that can reside under different names. When a date is listed several times and we're unable to find the originator of that event, we'll go with the one most common. For example, Mayflower Day (1620): November 11* is one example. The two dates listed as the anniversary vary with multiple sources by 11 days, leading us to believe that one is based upon the Julian Calendar and the other translated to the Gregorian Calendar, which came into effect in 1752. We chose the earlier as authentic.
ABSENT DATES
Some dates you'll find online are not here. Mutt Day: July 31 is an example. Research indicated it occurs in December, not July. Other dates were eliminated. One example is Atheist's Day on April 1. Investigating the event disclosed the originator to be a fundamentalist Christian group who chose April 1st, also known as April Fools Day, to mock Atheism and proselytize. Furthermore, the date was not acknowledged by a single atheist group. Other dates marking historical and political events will come and go. They're included to add interest and to assure we have something to put on each day of the year. Rest assured, no person will look up their birthday and find it blank.
URLs
In the following section, each date is listed alphabetically with a URL. When available, the URL goes to the source of the event. Often a viable promoter or organization is not available. No website exists; the event may be historical in nature or it may be a silly holiday with no actual origin. In these cases we've provided links to information about the topic, often via online encyclopedias including Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannia and other common sources. Researchers frown upon using online encyclopedias as sources. We were forced to when an independent, well written alternative was not available. Often these had the best explanation.
Food category listings may link to recipes. Other events are linked to news articles or blog posts. On occasion we've linked to the organizer's LinkedIn profile or to an exceptional promotion of that event. The link for National Cat Herder's Day is an example. Ultimately, when the source is absent, we sought the best example of that subject.
ISSUES
Sports, Entertainment, Media and Weekly Events are dynamic and prone to change. Many of these could not be confirmed at time of publication.
Any event can be affected by strikes, weather, politics, natural disasters and other unknowns that can cause it to be cancelled, postponed or preempted. Religious holidays based upon your location or the location of the sun, moon, stars or any combination thereof may fall a day or two before or after the date listed.
Historical dates prior to 1752 may be off by 11 days due to the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar that year.
Nationally proclaimed days, weeks and months by congress normally are renewed within a few days or weeks of their occurrence. To include them in the calendar, we have to go off the previous year's declarations.
SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Multiple factors can change these dates: strikes, extended playoffs, natural disasters, etc. Many championships occur at two or four year intervals. This may be the reason your favorite event is not on the calendar.
A similar scenario exists with entertainment events such as The Academy Awards, Grammy Awards and Webby Awards.
RELIGION
Buddhism, Judaism and Islam rely on the moon, sun, planets and/or a combination for their calendar. Additionally, there are different Buddhist and Hindu calendars for different parts of the world including Thailand, South East Asia and the Americas.
The Buddhist calendar is the shortest. The majority of the dates marked within the Buddhist faith are tied to various benchmarks in the life of The Buddha. The Sikh calendar is similar. Most of its dates are tied to the birth or death of the founding gurus.
The Hindu calendar uses the sun, moon and positions of planets and stars to designate which days are which, and when. Your longitude and latitude determines the exact time for the holiday and most Hindu celebrations go on for days. These dates should be seen as estimates and points of interest rather than exact. If you are going to be covering them or planning an event around them, contact your local Hindu temple and get the exact dates and times for your location. These will vary from city to city. The same day may have a different name depending upon the language. We endeavored to find the most common.
In Islam an observance commences when the local clergy (mufti) proclaims it has begun. This means the actual event for these faiths may start a day later or earlier depending upon where you are and when the moon can be seen. The Muslim events include dates that are only celebrated by Shi'a and dates only celebrated by Sunni as well as dates observed by both.
There are commonalities between the doctrines as well as major differences, though both are classified as Islam. In Islam many of the dates are acknowledged but not celebrated. Prior to committing resources, contact your local mosque for details on the event and the appropriate protocol for observation.
Jewish religious holidays normally begin at sundown on the first date listed. Jewish cultural holidays begin on the day listed. Because of this, the actual date noted for the holiday may be a day earlier or later. Consult your local Jewish temple or synagogue for verification prior to committing resources to a specific celebration. Some of the Jewish holidays are only observed by ultra Orthodox sects. Other dates are political in nature, usually relating to the state of Israel. These are only celebrated by members of the faith who support the political ideology of Zionism.
The Christian dates follow the Gregorian calendar and do not have the aforementioned issues. The Orthodox Christian dates follow a different calendar; dates will move year-to-year. Some dates in the Christian calendar are observed by the Roman Catholic faith and conservative sects of mainline churches but not acknowledged within some Protestant denominations.
NATIONAL, WORLD & INTERNATIONAL
Several events and dates have national days and international, world and/or universal days. Others occur in the spring and again in the fall or in the Southern Hemisphere then the Northern Hemisphere, causing them to appear more than once in the calendar. Typically national dates are within the country (usually the US) and were either proclaimed by congress, the President, mark an anniversary or originate from an industrial collective, special interest group, non-profit or professional association. World events typically originate with the United Nations and international events generally derive from an anniversary or come from an industrial collective, NGO, special interest group, non-profit or professional association. Other dates, especially the silly dates developed through custom. Different organizations will proclaim the same day at different times of the year. In these cases we've looked for the most established organization backing the day and have chosen their designation as official.
REGIONAL AND WEEKLY CELEBRATIONS
Some dates will be different depending upon the region of the country you are in. Weeks dealing with natural disasters and weather, harvest related weeks and sometimes sports can be dynamic. We've chosen the weeks, days and celebrations with the greatest consistency nationally. Timing is another issue. Many of the promoters of these events will state that it occurs during the 'first week of X' or 'the third week of X'. Do they mean the first full week? Do they mean the week with the first of the month? Do they mean the first seven days? Often there is no explanation and 80% of the time e-mail queries and phone calls to verify are not returned or the information is unknown.
Events with a year in parenthesis (1951) have two possible meanings. Either it is an anniversary for a historical event, in which case it is also listed in the category Anniversaries. Or it is included to mark the year that subject matter first came into existence. Anniversaries are very specific. For example Beer Can Appreciation Day (1935): January 24 marks the date of the invention of the modern beer can and its removable top. Other historical dates may include the birth or death of the inventor or person honored, battle dates, publishing date, release date or other significant event. Treat events with dates as flags telling you there is more behind that event than simply its name. Visit the URL to access more information.
RELIGIOUS DESIGNATIONS: (B), (H), (M), (J), (S) & (C)
You'll notice throughout the list the letters (B), (H), (M), (J) (S) and (C). These designate events tied culturally or religiously to the six primary faiths: Buddhism (B), Hinduism (H), Islam (I), Judaism (J) Sikh (S) and Christianity (C).
INTERNATIONAL (EU), (CA), (UK), (MX), (CN) etc...
Many events take place or originate in a specific region or country and as the years go by we will continue to add international dates to this calendar. Anything with World, International or Global in the name is a worldwide event. When a specific country is observing, we've included the country designations. To simplify European dates, we've chosen to use the accepted two letter designations for the country and region. (EU) designates mainland Europe and (UK) for Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. If Ireland only (IE), it is noted in the listing. (CA) is Canada. (AU) is Australia, (NZ) New Zealand. (MX) is Mexico. (CN) is China. (JP) is Japan etc.
(est) = Estimated date of event
Often the actual date of an event is not set until a few months or weeks out. When we are unable to get a firm date from the source, we've compared previous year's schedules and estimated when it is most likely to occur. Often the organizations promoting the event will change months, time of year, dates or even discontinue the event and inquiries often do not produce answers. Estimated dates are prevalent in the Weekly, Religion, Sports, Entertainment and Music categories.
Asterisk (*)
Dates with several occurrences, disputed dates or an event that can reside under different names. When a date is listed several times and we're unable to find the originator of that event, we'll go with the one most common. For example, Mayflower Day (1620): November 11* is one example. The two dates listed as the anniversary vary with multiple sources by 11 days, leading us to believe that one is based upon the Julian Calendar and the other translated to the Gregorian Calendar, which came into effect in 1752. We chose the earlier as authentic.
ABSENT DATES
Some dates you'll find online are not here. Mutt Day: July 31 is an example. Research indicated it occurs in December, not July. Other dates were eliminated. One example is Atheist's Day on April 1. Investigating the event disclosed the originator to be a fundamentalist Christian group who chose April 1st, also known as April Fools Day, to mock Atheism and proselytize. Furthermore, the date was not acknowledged by a single atheist group. Other dates marking historical and political events will come and go. They're included to add interest and to assure we have something to put on each day of the year. Rest assured, no person will look up their birthday and find it blank.
URLs
In the following section, each date is listed alphabetically with a URL. When available, the URL goes to the source of the event. Often a viable promoter or organization is not available. No website exists; the event may be historical in nature or it may be a silly holiday with no actual origin. In these cases we've provided links to information about the topic, often via online encyclopedias including Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannia and other common sources. Researchers frown upon using online encyclopedias as sources. We were forced to when an independent, well written alternative was not available. Often these had the best explanation.
Food category listings may link to recipes. Other events are linked to news articles or blog posts. On occasion we've linked to the organizer's LinkedIn profile or to an exceptional promotion of that event. The link for National Cat Herder's Day is an example. Ultimately, when the source is absent, we sought the best example of that subject.
ISSUES
Sports, Entertainment, Media and Weekly Events are dynamic and prone to change. Many of these could not be confirmed at time of publication.
Any event can be affected by strikes, weather, politics, natural disasters and other unknowns that can cause it to be cancelled, postponed or preempted. Religious holidays based upon your location or the location of the sun, moon, stars or any combination thereof may fall a day or two before or after the date listed.
Historical dates prior to 1752 may be off by 11 days due to the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar that year.
Nationally proclaimed days, weeks and months by congress normally are renewed within a few days or weeks of their occurrence. To include them in the calendar, we have to go off the previous year's declarations.
SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Multiple factors can change these dates: strikes, extended playoffs, natural disasters, etc. Many championships occur at two or four year intervals. This may be the reason your favorite event is not on the calendar.
A similar scenario exists with entertainment events such as The Academy Awards, Grammy Awards and Webby Awards.
RELIGION
Buddhism, Judaism and Islam rely on the moon, sun, planets and/or a combination for their calendar. Additionally, there are different Buddhist and Hindu calendars for different parts of the world including Thailand, South East Asia and the Americas.
The Buddhist calendar is the shortest. The majority of the dates marked within the Buddhist faith are tied to various benchmarks in the life of The Buddha. The Sikh calendar is similar. Most of its dates are tied to the birth or death of the founding gurus.
The Hindu calendar uses the sun, moon and positions of planets and stars to designate which days are which, and when. Your longitude and latitude determines the exact time for the holiday and most Hindu celebrations go on for days. These dates should be seen as estimates and points of interest rather than exact. If you are going to be covering them or planning an event around them, contact your local Hindu temple and get the exact dates and times for your location. These will vary from city to city. The same day may have a different name depending upon the language. We endeavored to find the most common.
In Islam an observance commences when the local clergy (mufti) proclaims it has begun. This means the actual event for these faiths may start a day later or earlier depending upon where you are and when the moon can be seen. The Muslim events include dates that are only celebrated by Shi'a and dates only celebrated by Sunni as well as dates observed by both.
There are commonalities between the doctrines as well as major differences, though both are classified as Islam. In Islam many of the dates are acknowledged but not celebrated. Prior to committing resources, contact your local mosque for details on the event and the appropriate protocol for observation.
Jewish religious holidays normally begin at sundown on the first date listed. Jewish cultural holidays begin on the day listed. Because of this, the actual date noted for the holiday may be a day earlier or later. Consult your local Jewish temple or synagogue for verification prior to committing resources to a specific celebration. Some of the Jewish holidays are only observed by ultra Orthodox sects. Other dates are political in nature, usually relating to the state of Israel. These are only celebrated by members of the faith who support the political ideology of Zionism.
The Christian dates follow the Gregorian calendar and do not have the aforementioned issues. The Orthodox Christian dates follow a different calendar; dates will move year-to-year. Some dates in the Christian calendar are observed by the Roman Catholic faith and conservative sects of mainline churches but not acknowledged within some Protestant denominations.
NATIONAL, WORLD & INTERNATIONAL
Several events and dates have national days and international, world and/or universal days. Others occur in the spring and again in the fall or in the Southern Hemisphere then the Northern Hemisphere, causing them to appear more than once in the calendar. Typically national dates are within the country (usually the US) and were either proclaimed by congress, the President, mark an anniversary or originate from an industrial collective, special interest group, non-profit or professional association. World events typically originate with the United Nations and international events generally derive from an anniversary or come from an industrial collective, NGO, special interest group, non-profit or professional association. Other dates, especially the silly dates developed through custom. Different organizations will proclaim the same day at different times of the year. In these cases we've looked for the most established organization backing the day and have chosen their designation as official.
REGIONAL AND WEEKLY CELEBRATIONS
Some dates will be different depending upon the region of the country you are in. Weeks dealing with natural disasters and weather, harvest related weeks and sometimes sports can be dynamic. We've chosen the weeks, days and celebrations with the greatest consistency nationally. Timing is another issue. Many of the promoters of these events will state that it occurs during the 'first week of X' or 'the third week of X'. Do they mean the first full week? Do they mean the week with the first of the month? Do they mean the first seven days? Often there is no explanation and 80% of the time e-mail queries and phone calls to verify are not returned or the information is unknown.
