The cheese calendar
64 markets, fairs, feasts and fasts of the year, with the cheeses each one calls for. Dates are worked out afresh every day; those marked "about" follow the moon or local calendars and can shift by a day.
December 2026
5 to 12 Dec 2026Hanukkah and the cheese of JudithEight nights of lights, when some families fry cheese latkes in memory of Judith, alongside the potato kind.
13 Dec 2026St Lucy's Day and cuccìaOn 13 December, many Sicilians eat no bread or pasta, and instead eat cuccìa, boiled wheat with sweet ricotta.
24 Dec 2026Noche Buena and queso de bolaThe Filipino Christmas Eve feast after midnight Mass, with a red-waxed ball of Edam, the queso de bola, beside the ham.
24 Dec 2026Wigilia, the Polish Christmas EveThe meatless Polish Christmas Eve supper, with pierogi of potato and twaróg, and sernik baked for the holidays.
25 Dec 2026Christmas and the Stilton boardThe British Christmas cheeseboard: Stilton with port, Cheddar, and in Yorkshire a slice of Wensleydale with Christmas cake.February 2027
about 8 Feb to 9 Mar 2027Ramadan iftar and suhoorThe month of fasting, when white cheese anchors the pre-dawn meal and cheese-filled pastries come out at iftar.
10 Feb 2027Ash Wednesday and the Lenten dairy ruleThe first day of Lent, which once banned cheese and butter, and now leans on cheese for its meatless meals.March 2027
8 to 14 Mar 2027Tyrini, Cheesefare WeekThe Greek and Cypriot week of cheese before Lent, with tyropita, cheese pies and macaroni baked with cheese.
about 9 to 11 Mar 2027Eid al-Fitr and kunafaThe feast at the end of Ramadan, when kunafa with melted Nabulsi cheese is cut from great round trays.
19 Mar 2027St Joseph's Day and ricotta sfinceItaly's feast of St Joseph and Father's Day, with sfince and zeppole filled with sweet ricotta or custard.
25 to 26 Mar 2027Fanesca for Holy WeekEcuador's Holy Week soup of twelve grains and salt cod, finished with crumbled fresh cheese.
28 Mar 2027Easter, pastiera and cheese breadsEaster in Italy and Poland, with ricotta pastiera from Naples, pecorino crescia from Umbria and twaróg sernik.May 2027
2 May 2027Orthodox Easter, paskha and flaounesEaster in the Orthodox churches, when the fast ends with tvorog paskha in Russia and cheese flaounes in Cyprus.
2 May 2027Fasika, Ethiopian EasterEthiopian Easter, when a fifty-five day fast without meat or dairy ends with doro wat, kitfo and fresh ayib cheese.June 2027
about 10 Jun 2027Jamai SasthiBengal's day for sons-in-law, who are fed a long lunch that ends with rasgulla, sandesh and other chhena sweets.
11 to 12 Jun 2027Shavuot, the dairy festivalThe festival of the giving of the Torah, when cheesecake, cheese blintzes and bourekas are the custom in many homes.
11 to 12 Jun 2027Shavuot, the dairy festivalThe festival of the giving of the Torah, when cheesecake, cheese blintzes and bourekas are the custom in many homes.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Paskha: Mitrius, Public domain, source
- Navratri Vrat Paneer: Gpkp, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rasagola Dibasa: User:Utcursch , based on images, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ramadan Iftar Cheese: Gabby Canonizado, CC BY 2.0, source
- Eid Al Fitr Kunafa: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shavuot Dairy: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hanukkah Cheese: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- Yom Kippur Break Fast: Johann Leusden, Public domain, source
- Tyrini Cheesefare Week: Yin Z, Li L, CC BY 3.0, source
- Fanesca Holy Week: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Christmas Cheeseboard: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- St Joseph Sfince Ricotta: Guido Reni, Public domain, source
- St Lucy Cuccia: Fredrik Magnusson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wigilia Twarog: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ash Wednesday Lenten Dairy: Oxh973, Public domain, source
- Easter Pastiera Ricotta: Piero della Francesca, Public domain, source