November 23

Holidays

61 holidays recorded on November 23 throughout history

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Antiquity 13

The Eastern Orthodox calendar doesn't just mark November 23 — it layers centuries of saints, martyrs, and commemorati…

The Eastern Orthodox calendar doesn't just mark November 23 — it layers centuries of saints, martyrs, and commemorations onto a single day. Dozens of names. Some died in arenas, some in exile, some quietly in monasteries nobody remembers anymore. The Orthodox liturgical year operates on the Julian calendar, running 13 days behind the Gregorian. So November 23 Orthodox isn't November 23 everywhere. Same faith, different clock. And that gap isn't a glitch — it's a theological statement about time itself belonging to God, not emperors.

Before it was a national holiday, it was a harvest ritual.

Before it was a national holiday, it was a harvest ritual. Japan's Labor Thanksgiving Day traces directly to Niiname-sai, a Shinto ceremony dating back to 678 AD where the emperor personally offered newly harvested rice to the gods — and then ate it himself. After WWII, American occupiers rebranded it, stripping the religious framing and folding in workers' rights. But the harvest soul never left. Today, Japanese schoolchildren hand-made thank-you cards to local police and firefighters. Two traditions, separated by centuries, somehow became one day.

Clement I wrote a letter.

Clement I wrote a letter. That's it. One letter to the Corinthians around 96 AD, and it became the earliest surviving Christian document outside the New Testament. He didn't sign it — the whole Roman church sent it. But Clement got the credit, and eventually the papacy itself. Third or fourth pope, depending on who's counting. He supposedly died martyred, tied to an anchor, thrown into the Black Sea. No historical evidence supports this. And yet that anchor became his symbol forever.

Frederick County said no before anyone else did.

Frederick County said no before anyone else did. In November 1765, local citizens flat-out refused to enforce the British Stamp Act, becoming the first governmental body in the colonies to officially repudiate it. No stamps. No compliance. Full stop. Their clerk, John Dill, wouldn't process a single document under the new rules. Boston gets the credit in most textbooks, but Frederick County beat them to official defiance by years. And that's exactly why Maryland still marks the day.

A soldier who refused to wait for permission.

A soldier who refused to wait for permission. In November 1918, General Rudolf Maister seized Maribor with a small, improvised force — before any official border was drawn — essentially daring diplomats to undo what he'd already done. They didn't. His bold, unauthorized grab secured Slovenia's second-largest city from German-Austrian control. No orders authorized it. Just one man's decision in a 48-hour window. And because he moved first, Slovenia kept Maribor. The holiday honors a general who understood that maps get drawn around facts on the ground.

Before it honored workers, this day honored rice.

Before it honored workers, this day honored rice. Ancient Japan's Niinamesai festival — traced back to 678 CE — had emperors personally offering the first harvest to the gods, tasting new rice themselves in sacred ceremony. Then 1948 arrived. Postwar reformers needed to sever Shinto ritual from national holidays, so they repackaged it. Same date, November 23rd. Completely different framing. Labour Thanksgiving Day was born — honoring workers, production, and peace. But every year, the Imperial Palace still quietly performs Niinamesai anyway. Two holidays. One day. Neither quite erasing the other.

St. George never set foot in Georgia.

St. George never set foot in Georgia. Yet this medieval soldier-saint became the soul of an entire nation. Georgia adopted him as patron centuries ago — his cross embedded in their flag, five bold red crosses on white. And April 23rd? It's practically woven into Georgian identity itself. Families gather, toasts are raised, and the man who slayed a dragon in legend still guards a Caucasian mountain country he never knew existed. Patron saints, it turns out, don't need passports.

Born in Ireland around 543, Columbanus didn't stay put.

Born in Ireland around 543, Columbanus didn't stay put. He walked away from his monastery, crossed the sea, and spent decades irritating European church officials with his stubborn Irish customs — calculating Easter wrong, they said. But he kept building monasteries anyway. Luxeuil. Fontaines. Bobbio. Dozens of communities eventually traced their roots back to him. The man they kept trying to exile became the monk who rewired medieval Christian Europe. Exile, it turns out, was his superpower.

The Bahá'í calendar didn't just rename months — it reinvented time itself.

The Bahá'í calendar didn't just rename months — it reinvented time itself. Each of the 19 months carries a name of God, and Qawl means "Speech." Not coincidence. Bahá'u'lláh, the faith's founder exiled and imprisoned for decades, believed words held literal divine power. The Feast isn't ceremonial — it's three parts: prayer, then community consultation, then food. Every 19 days. The consultation portion lets ordinary members critique their own institutions directly. And that accountability structure, baked into the calendar's rhythm, was radical for 1844. It still is.

She had seven sons.

She had seven sons. And Rome killed every single one of them while she watched. Felicitas, a wealthy Roman widow, refused to sacrifice to the gods — so Emperor Antoninus Pius made her witness each execution individually, hoping she'd break. She didn't. Her sons died across different locations, different methods, different days. Then she died too, around 165 AD. What makes her story stick isn't the martyrdom. It's that the empire thought a mother watching her children die would be the breaking point. It wasn't.

The Russian Orthodox Church commemorates the repose of Prince Alexander Nevsky, the medieval warrior-saint who defend…

The Russian Orthodox Church commemorates the repose of Prince Alexander Nevsky, the medieval warrior-saint who defended Novgorod against Swedish and Teutonic invaders. By securing the borders of the Russian lands during the thirteenth century, he preserved the autonomy of the Orthodox faith against Western expansion and remains a foundational figure in Russian national identity.

Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans honor Pope Clement I today, reflecting on his role as one of the earliest leaders…

Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans honor Pope Clement I today, reflecting on his role as one of the earliest leaders of the Roman Church. His surviving letter to the Corinthians remains a vital primary source for understanding the structure and authority of the early Christian hierarchy during the first century.

Roman Catholics and Lutherans honor the Jesuit priest Miguel Pro today, who faced a firing squad in 1927 during Mexic…

Roman Catholics and Lutherans honor the Jesuit priest Miguel Pro today, who faced a firing squad in 1927 during Mexico’s Cristero War. His execution, captured in a famous photograph, transformed him into a symbol of religious resistance against state-mandated secularism and solidified his status as a martyr for the freedom of conscience.

Undated 48

Bahaïsme : fête de Qawl ou « du discours », marquant le premier jour du mois de Qawl dans le calendrier badīʿ.

Slovénie : dan Rudolfa Maistra ou « fête de Rudolf Maister » en mémoire d'un événement marquant de la vie du militair…

Slovénie : dan Rudolfa Maistra ou « fête de Rudolf Maister » en mémoire d'un événement marquant de la vie du militaire, peintre et poète (en photographie ci-contre) en 1918.

Uruguay Uruguay: Día del Inmigrante Italiano.

San Anfiloquio de Iconio.

Santa Cecilia Yu So-sa.

San Clemente de Metz.

Santa Felicidad de Roma.

San Gregorio de Agrigento.

Santa Lucrecia de Mérida.

Santa Mustiola.

San Severino recluso.

San Sisinio de Cícico.

Beata Margarita de Saboya.

México México: Día de la Armada.

México México: Día de la Armada. Se instituyó en 1991, cuando el Ejecutivo Federal expidió un decreto en el Diario Oficial de la Federación para que cada 23 de noviembre se conmemorara a la Armada del país, ya que antes de ese año se celebraba el 1 de junio.

JapónJapón Japón: Día de Acción de Gracias por el Trabajo.

JapónJapón Japón: Día de Acción de Gracias por el Trabajo. La gente presenta sus respetos a los trabajadores.

Dia Mundial da Aquarela.

Feriado Municipal de Gavião.

Dia do Combate ao Câncer Infantil.

Aniversário do município de Rochedo, Mato Grosso do Sul

Aniversário do município de São Jorge d'Oeste, Paraná

Aniversário do município de Jaguarão, Rio Grande do Sul

Aniversário do município de Macambira, Sergipe

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día Nacional del Anacardo (también conocido como cayú, nuez de la India, anacardo, mer…

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día Nacional del Anacardo (también conocido como cayú, nuez de la India, anacardo, merey, cajú, casho, castaña de cajú, marañón, cajuil, caguil o pepa).Es un fruto seco originario de Brasil, de forma ovalada y cáscara dura. Es rico en nutrientes, como grasas saludables y proteínas, y se utiliza en la cocina en diversas preparaciones, como salsas, postres y snacks.(en inglés: National Cashew Day).

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día de Comer Un Arándano.

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día de Comer Un Arándano. Celebración que busca fomentar el consumo de esta nutritiva fruta.(en inglés: National Eat A Cranberry Day).

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día Nacional de Luto (National Day of Mourning).

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día Nacional de Luto (National Day of Mourning). Protesta anual para honrar a los antepasados nativos americanos y educar e informar a las personas sobre su historia.(en inglés: World Listening Day).

Unión Europea Unión Europea: Día Europeo de las Personas sin Hogar.

Unión Europea Unión Europea: Día Europeo de las Personas sin Hogar. También conocido como Día Europeo de los Sin Techo. Jornada de concientización sobre la problemática de la falta de vivienda en Europa. Tiene como objetivo sensibilizar a la sociedad sobre la situación de las personas sin hogar y promover acciones para combatir este grave problema social.

Beata María Cecilia Cendoya y Araquistain.

Día Internacional de la Palabra.

Día Internacional de la Palabra. Con el objetivo de fomentar el diálogo y la paz entre las naciones del mundo, orientado hacia el avance pacífico de la sociedad mundial sin discriminaciones políticas ni religiosas.

Día Internacional del Asesor de Imagen.

Día Internacional del Asesor de Imagen. Se rinde un especial homenaje a aquellos profesionales que se destacan por apoyar a las personas en lograr una apariencia impecable.

Día Mundial del Café Expreso o Café Express.

Aux Bieuzi et ses variantes autant bretonnes : Beuzy, Bieuzy, Bihui, Buzy, etc.

Día Mundial de Fibonacci.

Día Mundial de Fibonacci. En honor al matemático italiano Leonardo de Pisa, también conocido con el nombre de Fibonacci.

Aux Lucrèce, Lucrecia, Lucrécia, Lucretia, Lucrétia, Lucrezia.

Aux Séverin, sa variante masculine Severino et leurs formes féminines : Severina, Sévérina, Séverine ou Séverinne ; a…

Aux Séverin, sa variante masculine Severino et leurs formes féminines : Severina, Sévérina, Séverine ou Séverinne ; aux Sören.

Bassim et ses variantes : Bassam, Bassem (en proximité sémantique avec Sainte Félicité ci-avant).

Marie-Félicité Cendoya y Araquistain († 1936), bienheureuse religieuse espagnole martyre lors de la guerre civile.

Enrichetta Alfieri († 1952), bienheureuse religieuse italienne.

Christian feast day: Alexander Nevsky (Repose, Russian Orthodox Church)

Cécile Yu So-sa († 1839), Laïque coréenne - martyre.

Adalbert de Cassoria — ou « Albert » — († 1045), moine bénédictin de Cassoria (Pescara).

Séverin († vers 540), ermite sur les bords de Seine, à Paris, enterré sur le lieu même de son ermitage.

Rachilde († 946), originaire d'Allemagne, recluse dans le couvent de Saint-Gall, en Suisse.

Phalier († 525), originaire de Limoges, ermite dans le Berry, inhumé à Chabris.

Paulin († 505), moine gallois, et abbé du monastère de Whithland.

Grégoire d'Agrigente († vers 603 ou 690), moine sicilien et évêque.

Clément de Metz (IIIe siècle ou IVe siècle ou Ier siècle), premier évêque de Metz.

Shintoïsme : Niiname-sai (fête de la récolte) dirigée chaque année par l'empereur du Japon, qui est a l'origine du jo…

Shintoïsme : Niiname-sai (fête de la récolte) dirigée chaque année par l'empereur du Japon, qui est a l'origine du jour férié kinrō kansha no hi, suite à l'interdiction des fêtes nationales à caractère shintoïstes par l'occupant américain. Lorsqu'un nouvel empereur est intronisé, cette célébration est organisée avec l'appui du gouvernement à plus grande envergure, sous le nom de Daijō-sai.

Christianisme : station dans la fondation d'Euplius avec dédicace de la chapelle dédiée à Saint Georges de Lydda et l…

Christianisme : station dans la fondation d'Euplius avec dédicace de la chapelle dédiée à Saint Georges de Lydda et lectures de I Tim. 3, 14-16 et Jn 7, 28-31 dans le lectionnaire de Jérusalem.