Events calendar – 2009

Important dates in 2009

New Year’s Day – 1st January
Valentine’s Day – 14th February
St. David’s Day (Welsh Saint) – 1st March
St. Patrick’s Day (Irish Saint) – 17th March
Mothering Sunday – 22nd March
Good Friday – 10th April
Easter Sunday – 12th April
St. George’s Day (English Saint) – 23rd April
Longest day of the year – 20th June
Halloween – 31st October
Guy Fawke’s Night – 5th November
Remembrance Sunday – 8th November
St. Andrew’s Day (Scottish Saint) – 30th November
Shortest day of the year – 21st December
Christmas Day – 25th December
New Year’s Eve – 31st December

National holidays / Bank holidays

The UK’s national and bank holidays in 2009:

New Years Day – 1st January
Good Friday – 10th April
Easter Sunday – 12th April
May Bank holiday – 4th May
Spring Bank holiday – 25th May
Summer Bank holiday – 31th August
Christmas Day – 25th December
Boxing Day – 26th December

School holidays

School holidays vary greatly all over London, so this should be taken as a rough guide only:

Spring half-term – last week of February
Easter holiday – one week either side of Easter Sunday
Summer half-term – last week of May
Summer holiday – late July to early September
Autumn half-term – last week of October
Christmas holiday – Mid-December to 1st week of January

Religious dates

Some important religious dates for your diary:

Epiphany (Christian) – 6th January
Nirvana Day (Buddhist) – 8th February
Shrove Tuesday (Christian) – 24th February
Ash Wednesday (Christian) – 25th February
Maha Shiva Ratri (Hindu) – 23rd February
Purim (Jewish) – 10th March
Holi (Hindu) – 11th March
Rama Navami (Hindu) – 3rd April
Palm Sunday (Christian) – 5th April
Passover (Jewish) – 9th April
Good Friday (Christian) – 10th April
Easter Sunday (Christian) – 12th April
Buddha Day (Buddhist) – 9th May
Ascension Day (Christian) – 21st May
Shavuot (Jewish) – 29th May
Whit Sunday (Christian) – 31st May
Trinity Sunday (Christian) – 7th June
Corpus Christi (Christian) – 11th June
Dhamma Day (Buddhist) – 7th July
First day of Ramadan (Muslim) – 22nd August
Navaratri (Hindu) – 19th September
Yom Kippur (Jewish) – 28th September
Sukkot (Jewish) – 3rd October
Diwali (Hindu) – 17th October
All Saint’s Day (Christian) – 1st November
Advent Sunday (Christian) – 29th November
Hanukkah (Jewish) – 12th December
Christmas Day (Christian) – 25th December

Upcoming events in 2009

>>  Guide to what’s on in London

Catch the Blue Man Group’s Megastar World Tour

• 15th February 2009
• Catch the Blue Man Group's peculiar brand of dance, music and theatre when their Megastar World Tour hits the O2 Arena on the 15th February.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

• 14th – 21st February 2009
• Take your kids to the London Transport Museum for "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" This is a stage adaptation of the children's book by Mo Willems -- winner of the Caldecott Honor for children's literature. The show sticks in lots of singing and interactive parts, and your kids will even get the chance to sit behind the wheel of the museum's old London buses.

Meet Bollywood’s stars, at the Zee Festival

• 13th – 15th February 2009
• The Zee Festival at Kensington Olympia is run by the Zee Network, and will offer music and demonstrations of everything Indian -- from the country's top chefs, to travel holidays, property and bridal wear. The Zee Carnival Autograph stage will be home to well-known Bollywood actors, and you can have your photograph taken with your favourite celebrity.

Imagine… the Children’s Literature Festival

• 12th – 20th February 2009
• The Imagine Children's Literature Festival at London's Southbank Centre will have every kind of book from fiction, comedy, poems and songs. There will be loads of famous authors in attendance, led by the Children's Laureate Michael Rosen.

See Michel Legrand and Alison Moyet

• 12th – 14th February 2009
• Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand will be performing at the Shaw Theatre, with 80s pop singer Alison Moyet. The concert will include music from his classic film scores.

Listen to some classical music at Wigmore Hall

• 12th February 2009
• Wigmore Hall will be hosting a performance by the Academy of Ancient Music, playing classical works by Vivaldi, Purcell and Handel.

See the Brit Insurance Design Awards

• 12th February – 14th June 2009
• The Brit Insurance Design Awards will be held at the Design Musuem in Shad Thames. The entries will be split into seven different categories, and feature the likes of Big Brother Iogo, Oslo Opera House and House of Viktor & Rolf.

Catch Keane live — at the O2 Arena

• 12th – 13th February 2009
• Go and see "Keane" live in concert at the O2 Arena -- where they will be performing songs from their brand-new album "Perfect Symmetry".

Choristers in concert, at St Paul’s Cathedral

• 11th February 2009
• Listen to some classical music in the confines of St Paul's Cathedral. The St. Paul's School Foundation presents "Choristers in Concert" -- including works by Faure, Poulenc, Tallis and Handel's "Messiah".