Indian Festivals and Holidays

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Festivals are essential threads woven in the fabric of Indian society. These are special occasions for social get-together with family, friends and neighbors to forge new bonds and strengthen the existing ones. And they come ever so often. There are probably more festivals and occasions for celebrations than there are days in a year. Major events defined in religious scriptures; birthdays of gods, goddesses, saints and prophets; bride's homecoming; birth of a child etc. are some examples of reasons for celebration. The culture and traditions of vibrant Indian festivals have been handed down for generations. All these celebrations have religious, seasonal and social elements to them. Though the same festival may be celebrated differently in various parts of the country- the enthusiasm, spirit and gaiety have still remained the same after hundreds of years (and in some cases thousands of years) Here is the 2008-2009 calendar with dates for some of the main Indian festivals which are celebrated with equal fervor all over the country. This is intended as a starting point to understanding the vast culture and heritage of India.

2008
Date	Festival	Remarks
Jan 05	Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti	Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib
Jan 10	Muharram	Muslim New Year
Jan 13	Lohri
Jan 14	Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogi, Bihu
Feb 11	Basant Panchami, Saraswati Puja
Jan 26	Republic Day	Indian National Holiday
Mar 06	Maha Shivaratri
Mar 14	Sikh New Year
Mar 20	Mawlid al-Nabi
Mar 22	Holi, Holi Mohalla	Festival of Colors
Apr 06	Bikrami Samvat, Gudi Padwa	Bikrami Samvat: Hindu New Year Gudi Padwa: Maharastrian New Year
Apr 07	Ugadi	Ugadi: Telugu and Kannadika New Year
Apr 13	Tamil New Year
Apr 14	Ram Navami, Baisakhi, Poila Baisakh	Baisakhi: Punjabi New Year Poila Baisakh: Bengali New Year
Apr 18	Sri Mahavir Jayanti
Apr 19	Sri Hanuman Jayanti	Sri Hanuman's Birthday
May 08	Akshaya Tritiya
May 20	Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima
Jun 16	Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib
Jul 18	Guru Purnima
Aug 15	Independence Day	Indian National Holiday
Aug 16	Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi)	This date may be Aug 16 or Aug 17 in 2008
Aug 24	Sri Krishna Janmashthami	Sri Krishna's Birthday. This date may be Aug 23 or Aug 24 in 2008
Sep 01	First Parkash Guru Granth Sahib
Sep 02	Ramadan Begins
Sep 03	Ganesh Chaturthi, Samvatatsari
Sep 12	Onam
Sep 29	Commencement of Navratras
Oct 02	Eid al-Fitr	Eid al-Fitr: Ramadan Ends
Oct 09	Dusshera (Vijay Dashami/Durga Dashami)
Oct 18	Karva Chauth, Durga Puja
Oct 26	Dhan Teras
Oct 28	Diwali	Festival of Lights
Oct 29	Govardhan Puja
Oct 30	Bhai Dooj
Nov 13	Guru Nanak Jayanti	Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib
Nov 19	Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib
Dec 09	Eid al-Adha	Festival of Sacrifice
Dec 25	Christmas
Dec 29	Muharram	Muslim New Year. 2008 has this new year twice.
	2008 dates not available for ---------->	Saradhas begin, Jnana Panchami, Rathayatra (Jain), Teej, Onam, Kali Puja, Durga Puja, Bakr-Id
* The dates for the Sikh festivals are given according to both the Bikrami (Hindu) calendar, which is based on the sidereal year, and the reformed Nanakshahi (Sikh) calendar, which is based on the tropical year. All Bikrami dates are moveable. * All Islamic holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the date given. These are based on the lunar calendar and may vary by 1-2 days. Dates apply to North America. * Great care has been taken in putting together this page. We are not responsible for any errors or omissions.
2009
Date	Festival	Remarks
	2009 dates not available at this time