Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy The seventh greatest festival, "New Day" is the first day of the Zoroastrian/Persian and Baha'i New Year. It falls on the spring equinox and symbolizes the renewal of the world after the winter. For Zoroastrians, Naw Ruz also celebrates the creation of fire that is symbolic of Asha, or righteousness. It is also the day on which Zarathustra received his revelation. Observances may include limits to participation in academics or work.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy The anniversary of the birth of the founder of the Zoroastrian faith.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy The Night of Power or Destiny commemorates the first revelation of the Qur'an (the Islamic scriptures) to Prophet Muhammad in 610 CE.

Building: Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus City: Medford, MA 02155 Campus: Medford/Somerville campus Location Details: Distler Performance Hall Open to Public: Yes Primary Audience(s): Faculty,Postdoctoral Fellows,Staff,Students (Graduate),Students (Postdoctoral) Event Type: Conference/Panel Event/Symposium Event Subject: Arts,Diversity/Identity/Inclusive Excellence,Global Engagement,Humanities,Music,Social Justice/Human Rights Event Sponsor: School of Arts and Sciences Event Sponsor Details: Center for Humanities at Tufts, Department of Music RSVP Information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdF91ogr6RejKaMuUfkJaVwpNO_qa3x6Rz8SfQCmnjfvBY2Qw/viewform Admission/Cost: Free Event Contact Name: Amanda Pepper Event Contact Email: amanada.pepper@tufts.edu Event Contact Phone: 2037639353 Link: https://humanities.tufts.edu/international-symposium-musical-arts-africa-coit-phelps-lecture-2025 Join us March 28 and 29 for a dialogue between communities of practice and communities of learning—an interface between orality and literacy—in the context of African music and its research. African musical arts on the continent are as vibrant and diverse as the societies and communities whose creativity and performances enliven life in both temporal and non-temporal domains. As a form of communication, African musical arts operate within a larger framework of orality where musical sounds and expressions constitute symbolic and living curricula, which consistently generate knowledge systems about the African worldview. Orality, however, does not imply lack of literacy, as songs, instrumental accompaniment, storytelling, epic poems, instrumental music, and the physical body of musical instruments indexes literacy in subtle and intricate ways. Ultimately, the International Symposium on the Musical Arts of Africa (ISMAA) will foster crucial dialogues on critical issues, including the imbalanced power dynamics between researchers and African communities, the persistent challenge for African societies to access scholarship produced in the West, and “research fatigue” among African communities, which occurs when Africans become uncomfortable and less receptive toward Western academics.

Building: Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus City: Medford, MA 02155 Campus: Medford/Somerville campus Location Details: Distler Performance Hall Open to Public: Yes Primary Audience(s): Faculty,Postdoctoral Fellows,Staff,Students (Graduate),Students (Postdoctoral) Event Type: Conference/Panel Event/Symposium Event Subject: Arts,Diversity/Identity/Inclusive Excellence,Global Engagement,Humanities,Music,Social Justice/Human Rights Event Sponsor: School of Arts and Sciences Event Sponsor Details: Center for Humanities at Tufts, Department of Music RSVP Information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdF91ogr6RejKaMuUfkJaVwpNO_qa3x6Rz8SfQCmnjfvBY2Qw/viewform Admission/Cost: Free Event Contact Name: Amanda Pepper Event Contact Email: amanada.pepper@tufts.edu Event Contact Phone: 2037639353 Link: https://humanities.tufts.edu/international-symposium-musical-arts-africa-coit-phelps-lecture-2025 Join us March 28 and 29 for a dialogue between communities of practice and communities of learning—an interface between orality and literacy—in the context of African music and its research. African musical arts on the continent are as vibrant and diverse as the societies and communities whose creativity and performances enliven life in both temporal and non-temporal domains. As a form of communication, African musical arts operate within a larger framework of orality where musical sounds and expressions constitute symbolic and living curricula, which consistently generate knowledge systems about the African worldview. Orality, however, does not imply lack of literacy, as songs, instrumental accompaniment, storytelling, epic poems, instrumental music, and the physical body of musical instruments indexes literacy in subtle and intricate ways. Ultimately, the International Symposium on the Musical Arts of Africa (ISMAA) will foster crucial dialogues on critical issues, including the imbalanced power dynamics between researchers and African communities, the persistent challenge for African societies to access scholarship produced in the West, and “research fatigue” among African communities, which occurs when Africans become uncomfortable and less receptive toward Western academics.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Begins at sundown on the first day listed. Approximate date (moon dependent).  Also known as the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast. One of the two main Islamic festivals (the other is Eid al-Adha), this day celebrates the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. It comes on the first day of the next lunar month, Shawal. Observances may include limits to participation in academics or work.