your month ahead - April
14, Vaisakhi, Sikh
Vaisakhi is one of the most important dates of the calendar for Sikhs, marking the founding of the Khalsa in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh. Sikhs observe the day by visiting their gurdwara and singing devotional hymns. Vaisakhi is also a spring harvest festival; this aspect is celebrated by both Sikhs and Hindus, particularly in Punjab and the north of India. These festivities take the form of village fairs with music and decorated floats.
18-21, Easter Weekend, Christian
Easter weekend is a very significant holiday for Christians, remembering the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It covers four days: Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and is a sombre day of reflection; Holy Saturday is another day of reflection and preparation for the following day; Easter Sunday marks Jesus’s resurrection and is celebrated with long church services and family meals; Easter Monday is a public holiday without any specific religious significance, other than to relax and reflect. Easter is also celebrated by non-Christians as a festival of spring, with chocolate eggs representing new life.
April dates at a glance
Religious/cultural
April dates at a glance
Religious/cultural
4 – Navpad Oli begins, Jain
6 – Rama Navami, Hindu
10 – Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, Jain
12 – Hanuman Jayanti, Hindu
12 – Lazarus Saturday, Orthodox Christian
13 – Palm Sunday, Orthodox Christian
13 – Songkran (Thai New Year), Buddhism
13-15 – Theravada New Year, Buddhism
13-20 – Passover, Judaism
14 – Puthandu, Hindu
14 – Vaisakhi, Hindu and Sikh
17 – Maundy Thursday, Christian
18 – Holy Friday, Orthodox Christian
18 – Guru Tegh Bahadur Jayanti, Sikh
18 – Good Friday, Christian
20 – Easter Sunday, Christian
20 – Pascha (Easter), Orthodox Christian
20 – First Day of Ridvan, Baha’i
20 – Guru Arjun Dev Jayanti, Sikh
21 – Easter Monday, Christian
21 – Grounation Day, Rastafari
23 – Saint George’s Day, Christian
24 – Yom Hashoah, Judaism
25 – Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist, Catholic Christian
28 – Ninth Day of Ridvan, Baha’i
28 – Guru Angad Dev Jayanti, Sikh
30 – Saint James the Great’s Day, Orthodox Christian
30 – Akshaya Tritiya, Hindu and Jain
30 – Yom Hazikaron, Judaism
Awareness and Events
1 – Fools’ Day
2 – World Autism Awareness Day
6 – International Asexuality Day
7 – World Health Day
8 – International Romani Day
11-13 – TUC's Black Workers' Conference
22 – Earth Day
25 – World Malaria Day
26 – Lesbian Visibility Day
28 – World Day for Health and Safety At Work
Language fact file: Mandarin
Mandarin is spoken in: Mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore
Number of native speakers: 918 million
Learn some: In Mandarin, the standard way to ask ‘how are you?’ is ‘ni hao ma?’ (你好吗?) But a more colloquial and Chinese way to ask is ‘ni chi le ma?’ (你吃了吗?), which literally means ‘have you eaten?’ and shows the importance of food to Chinese culture!
Fast facts:
Mandarin is tonal, which means the way you express a sound (high, rising, dip and falling) affects its meaning. There are four tones, plus a neutral one, so for learners there is a lot of potential for (sometimes embarrassing) mistakes!
Mandarin has lots of different names, which have various meanings. One of these is Putonghua, which means ‘common tongue’. This is used to highlight the existence of the many other Chinese languages and dialects, besides the standard.
We have several expressions taken directly from the Mandarin, such as ‘long time no see’ and ‘no can do’. These show how succinct and concise the language is; expressing yourself in Mandarin takes far fewer words than in English!
linguist's story - March '25
Every month, we get to know a bit more about one of our linguists. This month, meet Qiufu Wang, an interpreter and examiner, working in Mandarin.
Tell us about the work you do for TLS.
I work for TLS as a Mandarin interpreter, Mandarin examiner, and do exam paper creation and piloting for the examination team.
What's been your favourite project?
My favourite project has been exam paper creation. It involved lots of research, creative thinking and creative approaches to achieve tasks. I've learned a lot and developed new skills.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is probably when I was interpreting some mental health sessions, when clients talked about the unbelievable and horrible things that happened to them when they were young. As a mother, I usually get very emotional afterwards.
Can you tell us about a time your work has made a difference to someone’s life?
I'm proud of what I do as a professional interpreter and examiner, because I make a difference to someone's life each day. One typical case is a lady whom I interpreted for with her weekly mental health sessions, face to face. She was very depressed, unhappy and had suicidal thoughts. She was frustrated trying to express herself because of her limited English. She was very worried about being fired at work because she was often misunderstood. Through my professional interpreting, careful wording and accurate interpreting, she began to trust me after the first session. She then asked for me for the rest of her sessions. Eventually after a couple of months' sessions, she was happy and gained confidence. I feel I made a difference to someone's life.
Tell us something interesting about you
I'm a Chinese woman who's been living in the UK for more than 20 years. As a linguist, I'm always fascinated to meet people from different backgrounds and cultures. I enjoy travelling around the world, especially small places that are not popular with tourists, to experience the local culture and people.
your month ahead - March
1 Mar - Ramadan begins, Islam
The Holy Month of Ramadan celebrates the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an, being revealed to the Prophet Muhammed. Observant Muslims (excepting children under 14, the elderly and those who are pregnant, menstruating or travelling) will fast from dawn to dusk and engage in more prayer and charitable giving than usual.
3 Mar - World Hearing Day
The World Health Organization’s is an annual event, raising awareness of deafness prevention and promoting ear and hearing care. The theme for 2025 is Changing Mindsets: Empower Yourself. This encourages us all to learn about looking after our hearing and reducing harmful behaviours.
March dates at a glance
Religious/cultural
1 – St David’s Day, Christian
1 – Nineteen-Day Fast begins, Baha’i
1 – Saturday of Souls, Orthodox Christian
1 – Ramadan begins, Islam
2 – Cheesefare Sunday, Orthodox Christian
3 – Great Lent begins, Orthodox Christian
3 – Shrove Monday, Christian
4 – Shrove Tuesday, Christian
5 – Ash Wednesday, Christian
8 – Saturday of Souls, Orthodox Christian
9 – Feast of Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christian
13 – Holika Dahan, Hindu
14 – Nanakshahi (New Year), Sikh
14 – Purim, Judaism
14 - 16 – Hola Mohalla Sikh
15 – Holi, Hindu
17 – St Patrick’s Day, Christian
19 – Feast of Saint Joseph, Christian
20 – Ostara, Wicca and Pagan
20 – Nowruz (New Year), Persian and Zoroastrian
20 – Naw-Rúz, Bahá’í
25 – Annunciation to the Theotokos, Orthodox Christian
25 – Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, Christian
26 – Khordad Sal, Zoroastrian
26 – Laylat Al-Qadr, Islam
30 – Chaitra Navratri begins, Hindu
30 – Ugadi (New Year), Hindu
31 – Eid Al-Fitr, Islam
Awareness and Events
1 – Zero Discrimination Day
1 – Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD)
1 – International Wheelchair Day
3 – World Hearing Day
5-7 – TUC's Women's Conference
8 – International Women’s Day
17 - 23 – Neurodiversity Celebration Week
20 – Spring Equinox
20 – International Day of Happiness
21 – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
21 – World Down Syndrome Day
24 – World Tuberculosis (TB) Day
25 – International Day of Remembrance of The Victims of Slavery and The Transatlantic Slave Trade
30 – Mother’s Day
30 – World Bipolar Day
31 – International Trans Day of Visibility
31 Mar - 6 Apr – World Autism Acceptance Week
language fact file: Albanian
Albanian is mainly spoken in: Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro.
Number of native speakers: 7.5 million
Learn some: Here’s something we can all master: In Albania, you can express thanks by placing your hand on your chest.
Fast facts:
More Albanian speakers live outside Albania than inside. This is because the country has an uncommonly large diaspora.
The Albanian alphabet is unique. It has 36 letters and words are written exactly as they are pronounced, which is very helpful if you are learning it!
If you are stubborn, in Albania they might say your head is full of garlic. This is an idiom that is thought to derive from the strength and toughness of garlic, which is a deeply rooted theme in Balkan tradition.
Linguist story - February
Every month, we get to know a bit more about one of our linguists. This month, meet Dorina Ndreu, an interpreter working in Albanian.
Tell us about the work you do for TLS.
I interpret for the Albanian community for a variety of services. My role as an interpreter is bridging communication between the professional and the client. Whether is in a medical, social or legal setting, I must ensure people understand and are understood. This could be hospitals, GP practices, schools, workplaces and conferences, which can be face to face but also from the comfort of my own home.
What's been your favourite project at TLS?
To be honest it is just interpreting for the Albanian community - it’s difficult to choose which is my favourite project as I love my job very much. It’s seeing my community happy, being able to explain and express what they want despite their difficulties in communication.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is travelling into the city when having face to face assignments is that sometimes you are stuck in traffic.
Can you tell us about a time your work has made a difference to someone’s life?
I have made a big difference to a client who is blind and the mother of five children. All the social workers she has had, as well as the current one, try to book me whenever we can arrange the time, especially when she has conferences and parents’ meetings. This makes me feel not only proud of myself but spiritually fulfilled that my everyday job makes such a difference.
Tell us something interesting about you
Since I was a child I have been a very sociable person. I studied grammar and literature in Albania alongside the English language, which I loved more than my French, which I cannot make any sentences in anymore – haha!
I find myself really happy with my job as an interpreter, compared to what I did in my past. In my long-term future I would like to see myself working as a social worker to be able to help my community more.
Children’s Mental Health Week: Know Yourself, Grow Yourself
Children’s Mental Health Week ran from 3 to 9 February this year.
At TLS, we work with many NHS trusts to provide qualified healthcare interpreters. The skills, experience and expertise that these professionals bring to the work help to ease the stress that your service users can be going through.
This can be especially acute when working with children and young people, who are navigating a system in a language they don’t understand.
We are proud to be part of the essential work that so many of our customers do.
Read more about Children’s Mental Health Week here: Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week - Official site
TLS portal: much more than bookings
Have you explored our portal yet?
As well as being a one stop space for managing bookings, it has all kinds of information, training and insights that could help you to get the absolute best from your experiences with us.
Catch our guides and videos on how to access our various services, such as our telephone or video interpreting, which could save you time and money. Find out best practice on working with different groups of service users or in a variety of interpreting scenarios.
Got suggestions for anything you would like to see on the portal? Contact enquiries@languageshop.org
Your month ahead - important dates for February
14, Lailat al-Bara’ah, Islam
Lailat al-Bara’ah translates into English as ‘night of forgiveness’ and marks an evening in which many Muslims pray for forgiveness and fast. Some believe that your destiny for the year ahead is determined by God on this night. The occasion usually falls roughly two weeks before the start of Ramadan, the Holy Month.
23, Meatfare Sunday, Orthodox Christian
This is the third Sunday in the three-week pre-Lent period, and from this point until the end of Lent, observant Orthodox Christians refrain from eating meat (though they can still eat dairy and eggs for the final week until Lent begins). The day focuses on Christ’s final judgement, aiming to focus followers’ minds on good deeds.
January’s dates at a glance
Religious/cultural
2 Imbolc/Candlemas, Wicca and Pagan
2 Vasant Panchami, Hindu, Sikh and Jain
2 Zacchaeus Sunday, Orthodox Christian
3 Setsubun-sai, Shinto
9 Triodion begins, Orthodox Christian
10 Guru Harrai Jayanti, Sikh
11 Thaipusam, Hindu
13 Magha Puja, Buddhist
13 Tu Bishvat, Judaism
14 Valentine’s Day, Christian
14. Lailat al Bara’ah, Islam
15 Nirvana Day, Buddhist
16 Sunday of the Prodigal Son, Orthodox Christian
22 Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Catholic Christian
22 Saturday of Souls, Orthodox Christian
23 Meatfare Sunday, Orthodox Christian
25-28 Intercalary days, Baha’i
26 Maha Shivratri, Hindu
28 Losar begins, Buddhist
28 Ramadan begins (subject to moon sighting), Islam
Awareness and Events
1 World Hijab Day
1-7 World Interfaith Harmony Week
3-9 UK Race Equality Week
3-9 Children’s Mental Health Week
4 World Cancer Day
6 Time to Talk Day
6 International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation
11 Safer internet Day
11 International Day of Women and Girls in Science
12 Red Hand Day for Child Soldiers
15 International Childhood Cancer Day
17 World Human Spirit Day
20 World Day of Social Justice
Language fact file: Tamil
Tamil is mainly spoken in: the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and territory of Puducherry, Sri Lanka and Singapore
Number of native speakers: more than 80 million
Learn some: ‘Vanakkam’ is a very useful Tamil greeting, which can be used at any time of day, in person, over the phone or online!
Fast facts:
Tamil is thought to be one of the world’s oldest living languages, with records dating back as far as the 3rd century BC.
The language is worshipped! Tamil Thāi Temple in Karaikudi, India, is dedicated to the Tamil language. Outside the main shrine are statues of Murthis of Oli Thai (Goddess of Sound) and Vari Thai (Goddess of Letters). The Tamil festival of Pongal on 14 January also celebrates the language.
Tamil has 12 vowels, more than double the number in English. The alphabet contains 247 letters in total – compare that to 26 in the Roman alphabet!