While no list can capture every tradition observed in our community, ORSEL’s Refresh Days bring together new year’s celebrations and festivals of light from the world’s major religions and our recognized religious student groups.
Refresh Days create an opportunity to celebrate our diversity and let people know that we welcome their religious identities. We invite you to put up Refresh Days posters and/or share the digital files to bring these dates to the attention of folks in your area. Each Refresh Day poster includes a message highlighting the way we can all connect to the meaning of the day, through values like gratitude, reflection, hope, or living with purpose.
On Rosh Hashana, Jews eat the new fruits of the harvest with gratitude for the blessings of life. This is also a time to repair relationships and start the new year from a good place.
For Hindus, Diwali, the festival of lights, represents the victory of understanding over ignorance. At Diwali, Sikhs also celebrate the release of a spiritual leader from imprisonment, while Jains honor the day their great teacher attained enlightenment.
Many Native American communities honor the cycles of the moon with thanksgivings, and to create a healthy rhythm of action and reflection. In November (Native American Heritage Month), MIT celebrates the Beaver Moon, the traditional name for the full moon marking the time when beavers are ready for winter.
In 2025, November 30 marks the beginning of Advent for Catholics and many Protestants, and this day falls in the middle of the longer Advent season for Orthodox Christians. In this time of hope and expectation, Christians reflect on the promise of a better future.
Across East Asian cultures, people connect to their families and celebrate the Lunar New Year. Many people visit Buddhist, Taoist, or Confucian temples to offer prayers and seek a blessing on the coming year.
In Persian culture, Nowruz marks the start of spring and a new year. Bahá’í communities celebrate the end of a 19-day fast. Zoroastrians put together an elaborate thanksgiving table with symbolic items, including sprouted wheatgrass, that serve as reminders to lead a good life, help each other, and take care of the earth.
On Eid Al-Fitr, the “festival of breaking the fast,” Muslims celebrate the end of the community’s journey through the holy month of Ramadan. It is a day of joy and gratitude for the spiritual growth found in fasting, praying, and caring for the less fortunate.