Welcome to 2025! We hope that you are excited to support your health goals as we enter the new year. This calendar is designed as a year-long guide to support you through every religious, cultural and social event. So let’s get started!
January
January is a cold and quiet month, and often one that brings the blues, so let’s think about how we can support ourselves.
Perhaps you’ve set yourself some healthy New Year resolutions . Remember to keep these resolutions as balanced goals that serve your purpose of a healthier lifestyle, rather than strict rules.
It can help to set yourself an exercise challenge for the year. Here are some of the challenges available for 2025.
Along with this, here is the Second Nature guide to help you to keep active during the winter months.
The 25th of January is Burns Night, celebrating the famous poet Rabbie Burns. We have some great recipes and tips for this in our Great British Guide.
The 29th January is Chinese New Year. We have a guide and Chinese balanced plate guide to support our Chinese members.
February
The 14th of February is the day of love - St Valentines Day. Here are some delicious but healthy recipes for you to consider:
March
The 1st of March is the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer, and reflection for Muslims.
We have a guide on Ramadan here and also recipes for Iftar here. For our Muslim members, we also have a guide to support you all year long!
Shrove Tuesday, which is on the 4th of March 2025, is Pancake Day to celebrate the last supper. Who doesn’t love a pancake? Check out some of our Second Nature pancake recipes here.
Adding fresh fruit to pancakes with a spoon of yoghurt offers much more nutrition to your plate.
Opting for a savoury pancake can align with our balanced plate model of having 25% of the meal as carbohydrates, 25% of a protein filling such as tuna, egg, or tofu, and lots of lovely vegetables to make up 50% of the dish.
Here are some more ideas for balancing your pancakes.
Following this, the 5th of March is Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent.
We’ve been told by some of our members that they celebrate this with ‘Tatty ash’, which is potatoes, stewed meat and carrots in a rich gravy. Try adding a side of pickled red cabbage for an acidic kick.
If you are planning to give up a food or drink item for Lent, and you have concerns about how you will manage this, reach out to your Health Coach.
Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring, is on the 14th of March. Here’s the link to our Holi guide. With this, remember to check out our top tips for following Second Nature as a Hindu.
St Patrick’s is on the 17th of March, celebrating the Irish Patron Saint, St Patrick. This is quite a day of celebration for the Irish community.
Here are some top tips for how to enjoy the day while considering alcohol intake:
Choose an option without added sugar (limit the intake of tonic water, juice, fizzy drinks and energy drinks)
If you intend to have more than one drink, try and alternate between an alcoholic beverage and a glass of water or sparkling water
When you do drink, have it over a relaxing meal or with friends and enjoy it, rather than mindlessly drinking while distracted
Set a goal before drinking. You may decide only to have a certain number of drinks, stop drinking at a particular time, or stick to non-alcoholic or lower-strength drinks
Have a balanced, filling meal before drinking
Have 1 or 2 alcohol-free days in the build-up to and following Paddy’s day. Alcohol-free days allow the liver to recover, break habits around drinking, and reduces the number of units you drink over the week.
March 31st marks the end of Ramadan and the start of the Islamic celebration, Eid al-Fitr, which is celebrated with a feast and prayers. We have a guide to support you: Staying healthy this Eid
April
On April 13th-20th this year, Jewish people will celebrate the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery with Passover.
Over the following months, the Jewish annual religious days will take place, each with their own traditions and meanings.
Our guide on Judaism goes into detail about all of these events and how to approach them with a healthy and balanced mindset and plan.
April 14th marks the founding of the Sikh identity and Sikh path named the Khalsa. This day is known as Vaisakhi and brings with it the Sikh New Year and Spring harvest festival. If following Second Nature as a Sikh, this guide may be helpful.
As we approach Easter Sunday on the 20th April, how about trying some healthy Easter bakes for the family this long weekend? Navigating Easter chocolate and other foods can be tricky and this guide offers more help on this.
May
Bank holidays are one of life’s joys in the UK, and we have 2 of them in May; Mayday which is the 5th of May and the Spring bank holiday, which is on the 26th of May.
Bank holidays are synonymous in the UK with overindulgence. Try taking some inspiration for eating and drinking mindfully at the weekend and planning ahead for the weekend from these two guides.
June
June 2-3 is the Jewish festival of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Remember, we have the Judaism guide to support you.
June 7-10 is the 2nd Islamic Eid celebration, Eid-al-Adha. This commemorates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son, and it generally involves a feast of lamb or goat. Our general Eid guide is above.
July and August
Summer is finally here, so bring on festival and camping season. This may include seaside trips, hiking, and festivals.
To support you, we have a few guides relevant to the summer season:
Here are some external resources from the BBC to help support you through the summer festivals:
British summer isn’t complete without some ice cream and lollies, but here are some healthy and delicious homemade versions.
The bank holiday in the last weekend in August is the famous Nottinghill Carnival. During the 3 days there is a wide range of delicious Caribbean foods to enjoy. To support your choices, here’s our Caribbean guide.
September
September 23rd-24th brings in the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, a time of reflection and renewal. You can find our guide for this day here.
October
October means cosy days and Autumnal recipes.
October 2nd is Yom Kippur, a day dedicated to atonement and repentance for Jewish people. Remember to check out our Judaism guide and our Rosh Hashanah guide above to help you navigate this special day in a healthy way.
Following Yom Kippur, on October 7th-13th, Judaism celebrates the fall harvest with a week-long festival called Sukkot. Here is our guide on celebrating Sukkot.
On October 20th, Hindus and Sikhs will celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, signifying the victory of light over darkness in many ways, such as fireworks, candles, and lanterns.
As well as our Diwali guide here, you may also find it helpful to tune into our Indian guide to create balanced meals and moderate your sugar intake this Diwali.
October 31st is the spooky yet fun festival of Halloween. Here is our guide for navigating this healthily.
November
Let’s kick off November with some Winter warmer recipes!
Remember, remember the 5th of November as it's fireworks night. Are you planning an event? Think traditional foods like jacket potatoes with healthier toppings and delicious, vegetable-packed soups and stews.
November 27th is Thanksgiving. This American family gathering occurs on the last Thursday of November every year and consists typically of a big family meal with Turkey as the main dish.
To balance this meal, think about what you can eat during the day that is nutritious and delicious, and what you can have prepared for the following day.
Consider your plate and make sure you load up with vegetables. It might be worth tapping into our Christmas guides below also, for more specific tips and advice.
November 30 – Christian: Advent
Marks the beginning of the Christian liturgical year leading up to Christmas.
Here is a list of amazing alternative advent calendars:
December
December 15-22th marks the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. This can be an indulgent event, so be sure to check out our Celebrating Hanukkah guide.
December 25th is Christmas! Whether planning a holy day of church prayers and contemplations, or getting together for festive meals and games, our Second Nature resources below should hopefully help you to keep on track with your health targets:
As Christmas comes to a close and we approach New Years Day, we can start to reflect on our year.
Come January, we may want to set new goals and resolutions, and building on our previous year can help ensure these goals align with our health and values.
Here’s a guide to help walk you through doing just that. Here’s to 2025 - let’s make our new goals second nature!
And if planning a New Year’s or Hogmanay party on December 31st, there are plenty of delicious but healthy nibbles you can make for guests, such as:
Second Nature Beetroot hummus
Whatever the time of year, we hope our Second Nature guides help you make the most of 2025 and enjoy every moment, season, occasion, meal, and health goal.