What holidays do wizards celebrate?

Question

We've seen two of the holidays that the students of Hogwarts celebrate, as far as I remember; Halloween and Christmas.

Are there any others? Or do they follow whatever muggle traditions are closest to them; for instance, do Irish Wizards celebrate St Patrick's Day?

I'm asking purely because I'm interested in knowing how the wizarding world has altered traditions which are common among muggles.

_{(And I'm not limiting it to religious holidays; are there, for instance, bank holidays, or do goblins not want/need holidays?)}

Answer 1

Wizards celebrate Valentine's Day, as Meg Coates says. In OotP, Harry and Cho have their cringeworthy, awkward date at Madam Puddifoot's tearoom, and of course in CoS, there's Ginny's infamous singing valentine to Harry: His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad. . . Dave DeLong mentioned this was one of Lockhart's schemes.

Halloween and Christmas have already been mentioned.

In DH, the chapter Malfoy Manor takes place during the Easter holidays; Narcissa Malfoy specifically says Draco is home from Hogwarts on his Easter holiday.

And I make a case that perhaps Guy Fawkes day might be observed by at least some :D

Answer 2

I'm fairly certain they celebrate Valentine's Day. Wasn't there a scene between Harry and Cho that occurred around Valentine's Day in Hogsmeade in OotP?

I would go dig out my copy and look, but I just don't feel like it right now.

Other than that, though, I can't recall any other holidays being mentioned either real or imaginary.

Answer 3

Muggle holidays

• Christmas is celebrated at Hogwarts, as at many British boarding schools.

  No one, not even someone dreading taking Polyjuice Potion later, could fail to enjoy Christmas dinner at Hogwarts.

  The Great Hall looked magnificent. Not only were there a dozen frost-covered Christmas trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling. Dumbledore led them in a few of his favorite carols, Hagrid booming more and more loudly with every goblet of eggnog he consumed. Percy, who hadn’t noticed that Fred had bewitched his prefect badge so that it now read “Pinhead,” kept asking them all what they were sniggering at.

  _{Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}

• They also celebrate Halloween.

  By the time Halloween arrived, Harry was regretting his rash promise to go to the deathday party. The rest of the school was happily anticipating their Halloween feast; the Great Hall had been decorated with the usual live bats, Hagrid’s vast pumpkins had been carved into lanterns large enough for three men to sit in, and there were rumors that Dumbledore had booked a troupe of dancing skeletons for the entertainment.

  _{Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}

• Witches and wizards celebrate Valentine’s Day, some with more gusto than others:

  Ron pointed to the teachers’ table, apparently too disgusted to speak. Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced. From where he sat, Harry could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall’s cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day!” Lockhart shouted. “And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all — and it doesn’t end here!”

  _{Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}

• Easter

  The second years were given something new to think about during their Easter holidays. The time had come to choose their subjects for the third year, a matter that Hermione, at least, took very seriously.

  _{Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}

• A department store in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them appeared to celebrate the Hunter’s Moon.

More generally, though, it’s worth noting that wizards and witches can be of more or less any Muggle religion (for example, Anthony Goldstein is Jewish), and thus might celebrate virtually any Muggle religious holiday. Perhaps, say, Porpentina and Queenie Goldstein observe Hannukah.

Wizarding holidays

There aren’t so many of these! Of the ones I could find, one was non-canon, one was never instituted, and one was part of a cult of personality in a dystopian alternate reality.

• Voldemort Day was a holiday in celebration of the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, celebrated in an alternate reality in which he had taken over wizarding Britain and defeated all opposition.

  DOLORES UMBRIDGE: Have you swallowed something funny in there? Become a Mudblood without any of us noticing? Harry Potter died over twenty years ago as part of that failed coup on the school — he was one of those Dumbledore terrorists we bravely overthrew at the Battle of Hogwarts. Now come along — I don’t know what game you’re playing but you’re upsetting the dementors and entirely ruining Voldemort Day.

  _{Harry Potter and the Cursed Child}

• Merlin Remembrance Day was a proposed holiday mentioned in the short-lived Daily Prophet newsletter by J.K. Rowling. As detailed in the Lexicon:

  Letter written by Harold Skively to the Daily Prophet, suggesting a new public holiday (DP1). Mr Skively in his letter makes a case for a wizarding public holiday to honour the wizard Merlin, but ruins it by mentioning that what he would really like is a day off that would fall in the summer months. The editor of the Daily Prophet sees through this (DP1).

• A Goblin Bank Holiday was listed in the Chamber of Secrets video game, and is thus dubiously canon.