The Dates For Your Diary resource is back again for its 12th consecutive year. So many teachers make use of this list while they are making plans for seasonal and related activities in the classroom during the school year. Huge thanks again to Ciara Reilly (@PrimEdTeacher on Twitter, @CiaraReillyLecturer on Instagram) for help with compiling this annual list.
As well as special days, feasts, festivals and celebrations it also includes dates of conferences that will be of educational interest to teachers. Links are provided for further information. Save the dates in your school diary.
All of these dates give teachers great opportunities to celebrate special occasions in school and to see how they can be integrated into the curriculum for educational purposes. So if you are in the midst of planning the year ahead, why not incorporate some of these special occasions into your plans.
It is important to remember that it is not intended that teachers feel that they should/need to include the majority of these dates into their classroom planning. It’s best to pick a couple each month that interest you or your pupils and focus on those to integrate into your planning.
If any occasions/dates have been omitted, or if there are any mistakes, please email me to let me know and I’ll update the list.
You can download a colourful PDF booklet of the complete list, organised month by month, at the bottom of the page. A version as Gaeilge is also included. All of the links are active and can be accessed by clicking on the digital version.
Some dates have not yet been finalised at this point and this is indicated on the calendar with “TBC” (To Be Confirmed).
DISCLAIMER
Seomra Ranga does not maintain any of the web sites provided as links in this resource so it assumes no responsibility for their contents, nor does any link constitute an endorsement of any other site, its sponsor or its contents. These links are just suggestions of websites that teachers may wish to visit to compliment their classroom teaching. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of each individual teacher or school to determine whether the links provided are suitable for children to visit.
| Date | Event | More Info |
| 1st | Advent Begins | https://hallow.com/blog/the-schedule-of-advent-when-does-advent-start/ |
| 3rd | International Day of Persons with Disabilities | https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-of-persons-with-disabilities |
| 5th | Birthday of Walt Disney | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walt-Disney |
| 10th | Human Rights Day | https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/human-rights-day-2024/ |
| 11th | International Mountain Day | https://internationaleventday.com/event/international-mountain-day/ |
| 13th | Christmas Jumper Day | https://www.childrenshealth.ie/christmas-jumper-day/ |
| 21st | Winter Solstice | https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/seasons.html |
| 25th | Christmas Day | https://nollaigshona.ie/ |
| 25th – Jan 2nd | Hanukkah | https://www.almanac.com/content/when-is-hanukkah |
| 26th | St. Stephen’s Day/Boxing Day | https://kids.kiddle.co/Saint_Stephen%27s_Day |
| 26th | Kwanzaa | https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/kwanzaa-2024/ |
| 31st | New Year’s Eve |
14thValentines’ Dayhttps://www.calendarpedia.com/when-is/valentines-day.html
| Date | Event | More Info |
| 1st | April Fools’ Day | https://www.calendardate.com/april_fools_day_2024.htm |
| 2nd | World Autism Awareness Day | https://autism.ie/https://asiam.ie/ |
| 7th | World Health Day | https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day |
| 12th | International Day of Human Space Flight | https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-spaceflight-day |
| 13th-20th | Holy Week | https://nationaltoday.com/holy-week/ |
| 15th | Sinking of the Titanic | https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titanic |
| 20th | Easter Sunday | https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/ireland/easter |
| 22nd | Earth Day | https://www.earthday.org/ |
| 23rd | Shakespeare Day | https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/shakespeare-day |
| 25th | World Penguin Day | https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/world-penguin-day/ |
| 28th | Superhero Day | https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/superhero-day/ |
| 29th | International Dance Day | https://nationaltoday.com/international-dance-day/ |
| 30th | International Jazz Day | https://jazzday.com/ |
The full list of Dates for your Diary can be downloaded as a .PDF file (2.32 MB) here:
(Months of the Year visuals are available as a download HERE)
Ciara Reilly is Assistant Lecturer in Education in ICT and Digital Education in Marino Institute of Education. You can follow her on Twitter @PrimEdTeacher or on Instagram @CiaraReillyLecturer
Huge thanks to Ciara for helping out with the compilation of this list for the 12th year in a row.
