October
October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
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Its length is 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus c. 750 BC, October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ôctō meaning "eight") after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the Romans. In Ancient Rome, one of three Mundus patet would take place on October 5, Meditrinalia October 11, Augustalia on October 12, October Horse on October 15, and Armilustrium on October 19. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. Among the Anglo-Saxons, it was known as Winterfylleth (Ƿinterfylleþ), because at this full moon, winter was supposed to begin.
October is commonly associated with the season of spring in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, and autumn in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to April in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.
Symbols
October's birthstones are the tourmaline and opal. Its birth flower is the calendula. The zodiac signs are Libra (until October 22) and Scorpio (from October 23 onward).
Observances
This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance.
Non-Gregorian: 2024 dates
(All Baha'i, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.)
- List of observances set by the Bahá'í calendar
- List of observances set by the Chinese calendar
- List of observances set by the Hebrew calendar
- List of observances set by the Islamic calendar
- List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar
Month-long
- Black History Month in the United Kingdom
- In Catholic Church tradition, October is the Month of the Holy Rosary.
- Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- Health Literacy Month
- International Walk to School Month
- Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month
- Rett Syndrome Awareness Month
- World Blindness Awareness Month
- World Menopause Month
- Vegetarian Awareness Month
United States
The last two to three weeks in October (and, occasionally, the first week of November) are normally the only time of the year during which all of the "Big Four" major professional sports leagues in the U.S. and Canada schedule games; the National Basketball Association begins its preseason and about two weeks later starts the regular season, the National Hockey League is about one month into its regular season, the National Football League is about halfway through its regular season, and Major League Baseball is in its postseason with the League Championship Series and World Series. To date there have been 30 occasions in which all four leagues played games on the same day (an occurrence popularly termed a sports equinox), with the most recent of these having taken place on October 30, 2023. Additionally, the Canadian Football League is typically nearing the end of its regular season during this period, while Major League Soccer is beginning the MLS Cup Playoffs.
- American Archives Month
- National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
- National Arts & Humanities Month
- National Bullying Prevention Month
- National Cyber Security Awareness Month
- National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- Filipino American History Month
- Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month
- Polish American Heritage Month
- National Work and Family Month
United States, health-related
- American Pharmacist Month
- Celebrating All of October Dwarfism/Little People/Short Stature/Skeletal Dysplasia Awareness
- Dwarfism/Little People Awareness Month
- Eczema Awareness Month
- National Dental Hygiene Month
- National Healthy Lung Month
- National Infertility Awareness Month
- Liver Awareness Month
- National Lupus Erythematosus Awareness Month
- National Physical Therapy Month
- National Spina Bifida Awareness Month
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month (United States)
United States, culinary
- National Pizza Month
- National Popcorn Poppin' Month
- National Pork Month
- National Seafood Month
Movable, 2022 dates
- Oktoberfest celebrations (varies globally based on area)
- Astronomy Day: October 1
- World Cerebral Palsy Day: October 6
- World College Radio Day: October 7
- Earth Science Week: October 9–15
- See also Movable Western Christian observances
- See also Movable Eastern Christian observances
October 2
First Sunday: October 2
- Daylight saving time begins (Australia)
- Father's Day (Luxembourg)
- Grandparents Day (Queensland, Australia, United Kingdom)
- Teachers' Day (Belarus, Latvia, Ukraine)
First full week: October 2–8
- Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (United States)
- Mental Illness Awareness Week (United States)
First Monday: October 3
- Child Health Day (United States)
- Children's Day (Chile, Singapore)
- Labour Day (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Australia)
- Peat Cutting Monday (Falkland Islands)
- Thanksgiving (Saint Lucia)
- World Architecture Day
- World Habitat Day
First Tuesday: October 4
First Wednesday: October 5
First Thursday: October 6
- National Poetry Day (UK, Ireland)
First Friday: October 7
Second Saturday: October 8
- International Migratory Bird Day (Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean)
- Home Movie Day (International observance)
- National Tree Planting Day (Mongolia)
Second Sunday: October 9
Week of October 9: October 9–15
- Fire Prevention Week (Canada, United States)
- Fire Service Recognition Day (Canada), last day of Fire Prevention Week: October 10
Week of October 10: October 9–15
Second Monday: October 10
- Columbus Day (United States)
- Indigenous Peoples' Day (Parts of the United States)
- Native American Day (South Dakota, United States)
- Fraternal Day (Alabama, United States)
- Health and Sports Day (Japan)
- Mother's Day (Malawi)
- Norfolk Island Agricultural Show Day (Norfolk Island)
- Thanksgiving (Canada)
- National Day (Republic of China)
Second Tuesday: October 11
Second Wednesday: October 12
Wednesday of second full week in October: October 12
Second Thursday: October 13
Second Friday: October 14
Third Saturday: October 15
Third Sunday: October 16
Third Monday: October 17
- Heroes' Day (Jamaica)
- Mother's Day (Argentina)
- Nanomonestotse (Native American communities)
- Boss's Day (United States, Canada, Lithuania and Romania)
Third Thursday: October 20
Fourth Saturday: October 22
Week of Fourth Wednesday: October 23–29
Fourth Monday: October 24
Fourth Wednesday: October 26
Last Friday: October 28
- National Bandanna Day (Australia)
- Nevada Day (Nevada, United States) (though the state was actually admitted on October 31, 1864)
- Teacher's Day (Australia) (If the last Friday is on October 31, this holiday is moved to November 7)
Last Sunday: October 30
- European Summer Time ends
- Grandparents Day (New South Wales, Australia)
- Székely Autonomy Day (Romania)
Last Monday: October 31
Fixed
- October 1
- Armed Forces Day (South Korea)
- Children's Day (El Salvador, Guatemala, Sri Lanka)
- Day of Prosecutors (Azerbaijan)
- Continuance of German-American Heritage Months, which runs from September 15 – October 15 (United States)
- Continuance of National Hispanic Heritage Month which runs from September 15 – October 15 (United States),
- Ground Forces Day (Russia)
- Independence Day (Cyprus)
- Independence Day (Nigeria)
- Independence Day (Palau)
- Independence Day (Tuvalu)
- International Coffee Day
- International Day of Older Persons
- International Music Day
- Lincolnshire Day (United Kingdom)
- National Day of the People's Republic of China (People's Republic of China)
- Pancasila Sanctity Day (Indonesia)
- Teacher's Day (Uzbekistan)
- Unification Day (Cameroon)
- World Vegetarian Day
- October 2
- Batik Day (Indonesia)
- Feast of the Guardian Angels
- Gandhi's birthday-related observances:
- Independence Day (Guinea)
- October 3
- October 4
- Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi
- Cinnamon Roll Day (Sweden)
- Day of Peace and Reconciliation (Mozambique)
- Independence Day (Lesotho)
- World Animal Day
- The beginning of World Space Week (October 4–10)
- October 5
- October 6
- October 7
- October 8
- October 9
- Hangul Day (South Korea)
- Independence Day (Uganda)
- Independence of Guayaquil (Ecuador)
- Leif Erikson Day (United States, Iceland and Norway)
- National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Romania)
- Takayama Autumn Festival (Takayama, Japan)
- World Post Day
- Valencian Community Day (Spain)
- October 10
- Arbor Day (Poland)
- Capital Liberation Day (Vietnam)
- Double Ten Day (Taiwan)
- Fiji Day (Fiji)
- Finnish Literature Day (Finland)
- Independence Day (Cuba)
- Party Foundation Day (North Korea)
- World Mental Health Day
- October 11
- General Pulaski Memorial Day (United States)
- International Day of the Girl Child
- International Newspaper Carrier Day
- National Coming Out Day (multinational, including United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland among others)
- Old Michaelmas Day (Celtic)
- Revolution Day (Republic of Macedonia)
- October 12
- Children's Day (Brazil)
- Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8):
- Columbus Day (United States, Honduras)
- Día de la Hispanidad or Fiesta Nacional de España, also Armed Forces Day (Spain)
- Día de la Raza (El Salvador, Uruguay)
- Día de la Resistencia Indígena, "Day of Indigenous Resistance" (Venezuela)
- Día de las Américas (Belize)
- Día de las Culturas, "Day of the Cultures" (Costa Rica)
- Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural, "Day of respect for cultural diversity" (Argentina)
- Discovery Day (The Bahamas, Colombia)
- Feast for Life of Aleister Crowley, celebrated as "Crowleymas" (Thelema)
- Fiesta Nacional de España (Spain)
- Freethought Day
- Independence Day (Equatorial Guinea), celebrates the independence of Equatorial Guinea from Spain in 1968.
- UN Spanish Language Day (United Nations)
- October 13
- October 14
- October 15
- Breast Health Day (Europe)
- Evacuation Day (Tunisia)
- Global Handwashing Day
- King Father's Commemoration Day (Cambodia)
- National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
- Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day (United States and Canada)
- Spirit Day (International observance)
- Teachers' Day (Brazil)
- White Cane Safety Day (United States)
- October 16
- October 17
- October 18
- Alaska Day (Alaska, United States)
- Independence Day (Azerbaijan)
- Necktie Day (Croatia)
- Persons Day (Canada)
- World Menopause Day
- October 19
- October 20
- Arbor Day (Czech Republic)
- Heroes' Day (Kenya)
- Revolution Day (Guatemala)
- Vietnamese Women's Day (Vietnam)
- World Osteoporosis Day
- World Statistics Day
- October 21
- Apple Day (United Kingdom)
- Armed Forces Day (Honduras)
- Egyptian Naval Day (Egypt)
- Indian Police Commemoration Day (India)
- International Day of the Nacho
- National Nurses' Day (Thailand)
- Ndadaye Day (Burundi)
- Overseas Chinese Day (Taiwan)
- Trafalgar Day (the British Empire in the 19th and early 20th century)
- October 22
- October 23
- Aviator's Day (Brazil)
- Chulalongkorn Day (Thailand)
- Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle (Republic of Macedonia)
- Liberation Day (Libya)
- Mole Day (International observance)
- National Day (Hungary)
- Paris Peace Agreement Day (Cambodia)
- October 24
- Azad Kashmir Day (Pakistan)
- Day of Special Forces of the Armed Forces (Russia)
- Food Day (United States)
- Independence Day (Zambia)
- Suez Day (Egypt)
- United Nations Day (International observance)
- World Development Information Day
- World Polio Day
- October 25
- October 26
- October 27
- Black Cat Appreciation Day (United Kingdom)
- Černová Tragedy Day (Slovakia)
- Flag Day (Greece)
- Independence Day (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
- Navy Day (United States) (unofficial, official date is October 13)
- World Day for Audiovisual Heritage
- October 28
- Day of the Establishment of an Independent Czecho-Slovak State (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- International Animation Day
- Ohi Day (Greece, Cyprus)
- Prefectural Earthquake Disaster Prevention Day (Gifu Prefecture, Japan)
- Youth Pledge Day (Indonesia)
- October 29
- Coronation Day (Cambodia)
- Cyrus the Great Day (Iran)
- National Cat Day (United States)
- Republic Day (Turkey)
- World Stroke Day
- October 30
- Anniversary of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation (Slovakia)
- Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions (former Soviet republics, except Ukraine)
- Indonesian Banknote Day (Indonesia)
- International Orthopaedic Nurses Day
- Mischief Night (United States and Canada)
- Beggars Night (certain regions of the United States)
- Devil's Night (Michigan, United States)
- Thevar Jayanthi (Thevar community, India)
- October 31
- Start of Allhallowtide October 31 – November 6
- The first day of the Day of the Dead, celebrated until November 2 (Mexico)
- Día de la Canción Criolla (Peru)
- Eve of Winter, the eve of the first day of winter in the Northern hemisphere:
- Allantide (Cornwall, United Kingdom)
- Halloween (English-speaking countries, also in other locations)
- Hop-tu-Naa (Isle of Man, United Kingdom)
- Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere, Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere; begins on sunset of October 31 (Gaels, Welsh people and Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
- Girl Scouts Founders Day (United States)
- King Father's Birthday (Cambodia)
- National Unity Day (India)
- Reformation Day (Slovenia, parts of Germany, Chile, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Evangelical Churches and Lutheran Churches)
- Saci day (Brazil)
- World Savings Day
- Statehood Day Nevada, United States
Miscellaneous
- Eric Whitacre composed a piece based on this month, titled October.
- Neil Gaiman wrote a story personifying the month, titled "October in the Chair", for his 2006 collection Fragile Things.
- Ray Bradbury published a collection of short stories titled The October Country in 1955.
- The song October doth before us go celebrates the progression of spring (from the perspective of the Southern Hemisphere).
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to October.
Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wiki Commons has media related to October.
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