Festivals of India

Pongal · Lohri · Magh Bihu · Uttarayan

14 January 2026

The sun's entry into Capricorn — one of the few solar-fixed festivals

Why it's celebrated

Marks the sun's turn northward (Uttarayan) and the winter harvest — one of the few Indian festivals fixed to the solar calendar, so it lands on roughly the same date each year.

How it's celebrated

Kite-flying in Gujarat, the boiling-over of new rice into Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Lohri bonfires in Punjab, Bihu feasts in Assam, and sesame-and-jaggery sweets everywhere.

Far from home

Tamil and Gujarati associations abroad hold community Pongal meals and kite days; the sweets travel well in a suitcase.

Saraswati Puja

23 January 2026

Magha Shukla Panchami — the first day of spring

Why it's celebrated

Honours Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, music and the arts, and greets the first day of spring — when the mustard fields turn gold.

How it's celebrated

Families wear yellow, place books and instruments before the goddess, and often hold a child's Vidyarambham — the ceremony of writing their very first letters.

Far from home

A natural fit for a diaspora child already learning to read: a day to bless the double task of two scripts.

The Great Night of Shiva

15 February 2026

The 14th night of the waning moon in Magha/Phalguna

Why it's celebrated

The 'great night of Shiva' — kept for the god of destruction and renewal, and associated with the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.

How it's celebrated

An all-night vigil and fast, with offerings of milk, water and bilva leaves poured over the Shiva lingam.

Far from home

Temple night-vigils worldwide; in Mauritius it draws one of the Hindu world's great pilgrimages, to the sacred lake at Ganga Talao.

The Festival of Colours

4 March 2026

Phalguna full moon (Holika Dahan the night before, 3 March)

Why it's celebrated

Celebrates the arrival of spring and the triumph of good over evil — the legend of Holika and the boy-devotee Prahlad — woven with the playful love of Krishna and Radha.

How it's celebrated

A Holika bonfire the night before, then a joyous morning of throwing coloured powder and water, with sweets like gujiya.

Far from home

One of the most exportable Indian festivals: 'Festival of Colours' events fill parks and campuses across the US, UK and Australia.

Ugadi · Gudi Padwa · Vishu · Puthandu · Poila Boishakh

Gudi Padwa & Ugadi 19 March; Vishu, Puthandu & Poila Boishakh mid-April 2026

The turn of the regional lunar/solar calendars

Why it's celebrated

A cluster of spring new-year festivals across the country — Ugadi (Deccan), Gudi Padwa (Maharashtra), Vishu (Kerala), Puthandu (Tamil), Poila Boishakh (Bengal) — each marking the turn of the local calendar and the coming harvest.

How it's celebrated

New clothes, doorway decorations, a first meal of symbolic foods (the neem-and-jaggery of Ugadi, bitter and sweet, for life's mix), and family visits.

Far from home

Regional associations abroad anchor the year for their communities, keeping a language and a calendar alive a generation on.

27 March 2026

Chaitra Shukla Navami

Why it's celebrated

Marks the birth of Lord Rama, hero of the Ramayana and, for many, the model of dharma.

How it's celebrated

Readings and recitations of the Ramayana, temple celebrations, fasting and processions.

Far from home

Temple readings and community bhajans; a gentle way to hand a child the Ramayana as a story before a scripture.

Vaisakhi

14 April 2026

The solar new year of Punjab (roughly fixed to 13–14 April)

Why it's celebrated

The Punjabi spring harvest — and the day in 1699 that Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa, giving it deep meaning for Sikhs.

How it's celebrated

Gurdwara services, nagar kirtan processions, langar (the free community kitchen), and bhangra and gidda dancing.

Far from home

A landmark of the year for the Sikh diaspora in Canada and the UK, where Vaisakhi parades draw tens of thousands.

The Chariot Festival

16 July 2026

Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya

Why it's celebrated

The great chariot procession of Lord Jagannath, from the temple town of Puri in Odisha — the deity comes out to the people rather than the people to the deity.

How it's celebrated

Vast wooden chariots are pulled through the streets by thousands of hands.

Far from home

ISKCON has carried Rath Yatra worldwide — chariots now roll through London, New York and Durban.

29 July 2026

Ashadha full moon

Why it's celebrated

A day to honour one's teachers and gurus — and the sage Vyasa, compiler of the Vedas.

How it's celebrated

Students and disciples pay respects to their teachers; ashrams and music schools hold special observances.

Far from home

A quiet favourite abroad: a day to thank a music teacher, a grandparent, anyone who passed something on.

Rakhi

28 August 2026

Shravana full moon

Why it's celebrated

Celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters: a promise of lifelong protection and love.

How it's celebrated

A sister ties a decorative thread (rakhi) on her brother's wrist; he gives a gift and a pledge to look after her.

Far from home

Rakhis are posted across oceans weeks in advance — one of the most faithfully kept rituals of the scattered family.

Thiruvonam 26 August 2026 (ten days from 16 August)

The star Thiruvonam in the month of Chingam

Why it's celebrated

Kerala's harvest festival, marking the annual homecoming of the just king Mahabali — kept across religions as a Kerala festival, not only a Hindu one.

How it's celebrated

The Pookkalam (a growing carpet of flower petals), the grand Onam Sadya feast on a banana leaf, new clothes, and the Vallam Kali snake-boat races.

Far from home

Huge among the Malayali diaspora, especially in the Gulf — community sadyas fill halls from Sharjah to Houston.

Gokulashtami

4 September 2026

Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami (midnight)

Why it's celebrated

Marks the midnight birth of Krishna, the flute-playing, butter-stealing, chariot-guiding god.

How it's celebrated

Fasting until midnight, temple celebrations, and the Dahi Handi — teams forming human pyramids to break a pot of curd hung high overhead.

Far from home

Temple midnight aartis and children dressed as the infant Krishna are a fixture from New Jersey to Sydney.

Vinayaka Chaturthi

14 September 2026

Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi (up to ten days)

Why it's celebrated

Celebrates the birth of Ganesha, the elephant-headed remover of obstacles and patron of beginnings.

How it's celebrated

Clay idols are installed in homes and pandals, worshipped for up to ten days, then carried in procession and immersed in water (visarjan).

Far from home

Eco-friendly clay idols and backyard or community immersions have made this a growing diaspora festival, largest among Maharashtrians.

Navaratri · Durga Pujo · Vijayadashami

Navratri from 11 October; Dussehra 20 October 2026

Ashwin Shukla — nine nights, then the tenth day

Why it's celebrated

Nine nights honouring the goddess Durga and her victory over the buffalo-demon Mahishasura, ending on the tenth day (Dussehra/Vijayadashami) with Rama's victory over Ravana — good over evil, twice told.

How it's celebrated

Garba and Dandiya dancing in Gujarat, elaborate Durga Puja pandals in Bengal, and the burning of towering Ravana effigies in the north.

Far from home

Garba nights and Durga Puja pandals are among the biggest diaspora gatherings of the year, from London to New Jersey.

Deepavali · the Festival of Lights

8 November 2026 (Lakshmi Puja)

Kartik new moon — the five days run early-to-mid November

Why it's celebrated

The festival of lights, and the biggest of all — marking, by region, Rama's return to Ayodhya, the worship of Lakshmi for prosperity, or Krishna's defeat of Narakasura; for Sikhs, the release of Guru Hargobind. Everywhere, light over darkness.

How it's celebrated

Rows of diyas and lights, rangoli at the doorstep, Lakshmi puja, fireworks, new clothes and an ocean of sweets — often five days, from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj.

Far from home

Now a mainstream festival abroad: officially marked at the White House, Downing Street and in Times Square, and a school holiday in a growing number of places.

Chhath Puja

13–16 November 2026

Kartik Shukla Shashthi (a four-day rite)

Why it's celebrated

A thanksgiving to the sun god, Surya, and Chhathi Maiyya — kept above all for the wellbeing of one's children. The one major festival with no temple, no idol and no priest.

How it's celebrated

A thirty-six-hour fast without food or water, and offerings (arghya) of fruit and thekua raised to the setting and then the rising sun, standing in water.

Far from home

Because it needs only water and a sunrise, it travels anywhere — kept at lakes and parks from New Jersey to London.

Gurpurab · Guru Nanak's Prakash Utsav

24 November 2026

Kartik full moon

Why it's celebrated

Celebrates the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and its first Guru.

How it's celebrated

A 48-hour continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib (Akhand Path), nagar kirtan processions, and langar; gurdwaras are lit up.

Far from home

Gurdwaras worldwide mark it with kirtan and langar open to all — one of the Sikh diaspora's most public days.