BLACK HISTORY MONTH
THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY
Black History Month was created to focus attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States. It honors all of the Black diaspora from all periods of U.S. History. It's an opportunity to spotlight and celebrate the achievements that African Americans have accomplished in this country, despite the history of racism and oppression.
Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.
Black History Month highlights the evolution of Black History, promoting, protecting, and preserving the legacy of African American history and its impact on the modern world.
This year commemorates the 100th Anniversary of Negro History Week (NKA Black History month) established in 1926. However, we all know, BLACK HISTORY is to be celebrated EVERY DAY!
LENT
LENT - Ash Wednesday (February 18th) to Good Friday (April 3rd)
Lent is a season of spiritual growth. A time for progressive unfoldment into a higher, purer, more spiritual state. Lent is more than a season of preparation for Easter - it is an invitation for Self-transformation. Easter reminds us of our own Christ nature, and Lent commemorates the forty days of fasting and prayer that Jesus spent in the wilderness.
These weeks provide an opportunity to release thoughts that discourage us, habits that hinder us, and beliefs that keep our lives small.
The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday, and it comes forty-six days before Easter. Ash Wednesday is a powerful time for reflection and contemplation. It reminds us of our own mortality. It calls us to examine our beliefs about life, the finite form that is our body, and our understanding of our infinite true nature. It is honored by placing ashes on the foreheads of believers, signifying that death is not the end of our journey.
In the Western Church, Sunday is always a Feast Day. Therefore, the six Sundays within the Lenten Season are not considered a part of Lent, only the forty weekdays beginning with Ash Wednesday.
The fifth Sunday in Lent is known as Passion Sunday, because it marks the beginning of Passion-tide, the last two weeks of Lent. These two weeks specifically commemorate the Passion of Jesus, or His experiences following the Last Supper.
The last week of Lent is called Holy Week. It includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.
The Unity theme for Lent 2026 is "Release and Reimagine," encouraging us to release what impedes us and reimagine the infinite possibilities that await us.
RAMADAN - Islamic Holy Month
FEBRUARY 18th - MARCH 19TH, 2026 (or March 20th Depending on Moonsighting)
Ramadan is the Islamic Holy Month, celebrated during the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar. The Islamic Calendar follows the phases of the moon commonly known as the lunar cycle. As a result, the Holy month of Ramadan falls approximately 10 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar. Ramadan's duration is between 29 and 30 days, depending on the moonsighting. It begins at dusk on the day the first crescent of the New Moon is sighted.
The auspicious month of Ramadan is a time for reflection, contemplation and celebration.
Muslims, if healthy enough, fast during the month of Ramadan from dawn until dusk. This includes abstaining from drinking, eating, negative acts and energy. Abstaining from food and drink during daylight hours allows Muslims to practice willpower and focus their energy on working on their faith. Other acts of worship such as prayer, reading the Quran and charity are also encouraged during the holy month.
The last 10 days of Ramadan are especially revered, with a focus on intense worship, as the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during this period, which is known as Laylat al-Qadr, Arabic for "night of decree" or "night of power".
At the end of the holy month there is a three-day celebration known as Eid al-Fitr or, more commonly, Eid. Families will typically wake up early to go and pray in the mosque and greet friends, family and others in the community. It is a time of food and festivities, when young children receive presents and homes are decorated to mark the occasion.
Remembering The Honorable Reverend Jesse L. Jackson
Sunrise ~ October 8, 1941 - Sunset ~ February 17, 2026
The Honorable Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, born Jesse Louis Burns, October 8, 1941, in Greensville, South Carolina, to Helen Burns and Noah Louis Robinson, will forever be revered. Jesse, who later took the last name of his Stepfather Charles Jackson, who raised him, became one of the most influential figures of the late 20th century. Throughout his lifetime, he was a Civil rights leader, two-time Democratic presidential candidate, diversity pioneer, and valued member of the NAACP.
As a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and James Bevel, he rose to prominence working within MLK Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and was at the Memphis hotel with King when he was assassinated. Through Operation PUSH, the organization he founded in 1971, Jackson pressed for broader employment opportunities for African Americans.
In his 1984 and 1988 Presidential campaigns, Jackson won 16 state contests and millions of votes, making him the first viable Black candidate for President. During the 1980s and 1990s, he negotiated the release of dozens of international hostages and prisoners, including 22 Americans held in Cuba on drug charges, as well as 27 Cuban political prisoners, and worked to free hostages from Iraq and Kuwait before the Persian Gulf War. He also secured the release of three U.S. soldiers captured during the Kosovo conflict.
Reverend Jesse Jackson championed voting rights, diversity, and fought against apartheid, becoming a national figure for empowerment and a unifying voice for marginalized communities, ultimately and rightfully being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.
Jackson's journey on this side ended peacefully on February 17, 2026, at the age of 84.
VALENTINE'S DAY
FEBRUARY 14TH
Valentine's Day has origins in ancient Roman and Christian customs. It's thought to have started as a Christian feast day to honor a martyr named Valentine. The holiday has since become a celebration of love and romance in many parts of the world.
At Unity, we choose to Celebrate the Love of God, and the Joy that Love creates when we allow it to radiate through us and out into the world! We focus on Self-Love and honoring the Divine Love within.
WANT TO HIGHLIGHT YOUR CULTURE?!
Share an interesting fact, story, legend, holiday, etc. of your culture! Accepting submissions for January!