ABSTRACT
The religious or liturgical year is characterised by annual commemorations and celebrations of the beliefs of individual religions, often based on events in the lives and deaths of deities, gurus or saints. Some fasts and festivals dominate not only the sacred but also the secular calendar, and have significance for people who are not members of the particular (or any) religious congregation - for example, in the UK Christmas and Easter are celebrated by many people who are not practising Christians.
