 <p>You can use <code>$.proxy</code> to set the context within which a function should be called. try this:</p> <pre><code>beforeShowDay: $.proxy(this._processDate, this), </code></pre> <p>Now, within your <code>_processDate</code> function the <code>this</code> keyword will refer to your widget. You can get access to the element the event was raised on using <code>this.element</code>.</p>