Image Credit: Stanley Dai
Events, celebrations, awareness events, saint's days, annual campaigns, major sporting events - UK and global festivities happening in January 2026.
Happy New Year! January is the month when we celebrate a new year, Burn's Night, Martin Luther King Day and Winnie The Pooh Day.
Whether you are a teacher, a parent, an event organiser or just want to know what is going on this month, here are the key dates and events happening this January in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as around the world.
1st Jan 2026
Happy New Year! It's the first day of the year, so it is time to look ahead to the new year. 1st January is a Bank Holiday in the UK and many countries across the world.
– Free 2026 Printable Calendar
2nd Jan 2026
An unofficial holiday for Sci-Fi fans to celebrate, chosen because 2nd January was the birthday of Sci-Fi writer Isaac Asimov. Settle down with a sci-fi book, or watch your favourite sci-fi film today.
– Doctor Who Toys & Games That Little (and Big!) Whovians Will Love
– Doctor Who Free Colouring Pages and Printables
4th Jan 2026
A day to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people.
5th Jan 2026
The twelfth day after Christmas and the official end of the the Christmas season, today is the day when you should have taken all your Christmas decorations down.
14th Jan 2026
UNESCO's World Logic Day brings the intellectual history, conceptual significance and practical implications of logic to the attention of interdisciplinary science communities and the broader public.
16th Jan 2026
On a cold winter's day, why not snuggle up with a fun and educational wordsearch. A wordsearch will keep your brain active and can help to widen your vocabulary as well.
– 300+ Free Printable Wordsearches
18th Jan 2026
Celebrated on author A. A. Milne's birthday, Winnie the Pooh Day celebrates the beloved honey-obsessed bear with readings and teddy bear's picnics.
– 10 Inspirational and Funny Winnie The Pooh Quotes
19th Jan 2026
A day for celebration of the life and work of civil rights activist Martin Luther King. In the US some workers are given the day off work and schools may close for the day.
21st Jan 2026
Red squirrels are native to the UK, but are under threat from invasive grey squirrels. Across the UK as a whole red squirrel numbers are declining and many conservation projects are monitoring and trying to reverse this decline.
21st Jan 2026
Created by Kevin Zaborney, the purpose of the day is to encourage everyone to hug family and friends more often. Always ask permission of course, before hugging someone,
24th Jan 2026
This UN day celebrates of the role of education in peace and development. The UN calls for free and compulsory elementary education, as well as stipulating that countries shall make higher education accessible to all.
25th Jan 2026
A celebration of the birthday of Scotland's national poet Robert Burns, celebrated with a Burn's Night Supper which includes many traditional Scottish dishes and reading of Burns' poetry.
25th Jan 2026
St Dwynwen's Day, or Dydd Santes Dwynwen is the Welsh St. Valentine's Day, as the saint was the Welsh patron saint of lovers, and the day is a special day dedicated to love in Wales.
26th Jan 2026
Australia Day is the national day of Australia which marks the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. A public holiday in Australia, it is celebrates the diversity of the Australian people with community and family events.
26th Jan 2026
This day is celebrated across India as the anniversary of the day that the Constitution of India came into effect in 1950.
27th Jan 2026
The date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945. It remembers not only the victims of the holocaust but of all genocide.
28th Jan 2026
LEGO Day marks the date when Ole Kirk Christiansen, a Danish inventor, patented the original 2x4 LEGO brick. Celebrate by building a LEGO model - why not create something all your own?
More About International LEGO Day
31st Jan 2026
A day to raise awareness of the conservation issues of Zebras. Zebras are an endangered species which are at risk from habitat loss, hunting for their meat and competition with livestock.
Here are some more important events that are coming soon.