Posts Tagged ‘Indian festivals’
Indian Holidays 2014 (National)
India has so many traditions, religions and cultures, that it can sometimes be hard to track whether a certain festival is a holiday or not.
Below is a list of official holidays for 2014 (as published by the Government of India), observed nationally.
| Date | National Holidays in India | Week Day |
| Jan 14 | Id-E-Milad | Tuesday |
| Jan 26 | Republic Day | Sunday |
| Mar 17 | Holi | Monday |
| Apr 08 | Ram Navmi | Tuesday |
| Apr 13 | Mahavir Jayanthi | Sunday |
| Apr 18 | Good Friday | Friday |
| May 14 | Buddha Purnima | Wednesday |
| Jul 29 | Id-Ul-Fitr | Tuesday |
| Aug 15 | Independence Day | Friday |
| Aug 18 | Krishna Janmastami | Monday |
| Oct 02 | Mahatma Gandhi Jayanthi | Thursday |
| Oct 03 | Dussera/ Vijaya Dashami (Maha Navmi) | Friday |
| Oct 06 | Bakri Id (Id-ul-zuha) | Monday |
| Oct 23 | Diwali | Thursday |
| Nov 04 | Muharram | Tuesday |
| Nov 06 | Guru Nanak Jayanthi | Thursday |
| Dec 25 | Christmas | Thursday |
In addition, individual states/ regions may have additional holidays for festivals and local celebrations. Key regional holidays and festivals are listed below.
| Date | Other regional holidays/ major festivals in India | Week Day |
| Jan 01 | New Year’s Day | Wednesday |
| Jan 07 | Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti | Tuesday |
| Jan 14 | Makar Sankranti | Tuesday |
| Jan 14 | Pongal | Tuesday |
| Feb 04 | Vasant/ Shree Panchami | Tuesday |
| Feb 14 | Guru Ravidas Jayanti | Friday |
| Feb 19 | Shivaji Jayanti | Wednesday |
| Feb 24 | Swami Dayananda Saraswati Jayanti | Monday |
| Feb 27 | Maha Shivratri | Thursday |
| Mar 16 | Holika Dahan | Sunday |
| Mar 31 | Chaitra Sukladi/ GudiPadava/ Ugadi/ Cheti Chand | Monday |
| Apr 14 | Vaisakhi/ Vishu/ Mesadi/ Mashadi Uczadi | Monday |
| Apr 15 | Vaisakhadi(Bengal)/ Bahag Bihu (Assam) | Tuesday |
| Apr 20 | Easter | Sunday |
| May 09 | Guru Rabindranath’s Birthday | Friday |
| May 13 | Hazarat Ali’s Birthday | Tuesday |
| Jun 29 | Rath Yatra | Sunday |
| Jul 25 | Jamat-Ul-Vida | Friday |
| Aug 10 | Raksha Bandhan | Sunday |
| Aug 18 | Parsi New Year’s day | Monday |
| Aug 29 | Vinayaka Chaturthi/Ganesh Chaturthi | Friday |
| Sep 07 | Onam | Sunday |
| Oct 01 | Dussehra (Maha Saptami) (Additional) | Wednesday |
| Oct 02 | Dussehra (Maha Ashtami) (Additional) | Thursday |
| Oct 08 | Maharishi Valmiki’s Birthday | Wednesday |
| Oct 11 | Karva Chauth (Karaka Chaturthi) | Saturday |
| Oct 22 | Narak Chaturdashi/ Deepavali – South India | Wednesday |
| Oct 24 | Govardhan Puja | Friday |
| Oct 25 | Bhai Duj | Saturday |
| Oct 29 | Pratihar Sashthi or Surya Sashthi (Chhat Puja) | Wednesday |
| Nov 24 | Guru Teg Bahadur’s Martyrdom Day | Monday |
| Dec 24 | Christmas Eve | Wednesday |
| Dec 28 | Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti | Sunday |
PS: Local names/ spellings of these holidays/festivals may differ.
Indian Holidays 2013
India has so many traditions, religions and cultures, that it can sometimes be hard to track whether a certain festival is a holiday or not.
Below is a list of official holidays for 2013 (as published by the Government of India), observed nationally.
| Date | National Holidays in India | Day of Week |
| January 25 | Id-E-Milad | Friday |
| January 26 | Republic Day | Saturday |
| March 27 | Holi | Wednesday |
| March 29 | Good Friday | Friday |
| April 19 | Ram Navmi | Friday |
| April 24 | Mahavir Jayanti | Wednesday |
| May 25 | Buddha Purnima | Saturday |
| August 9 | Id-Ul-Fitr | Friday |
| August 15 | Independence Day | Thursday |
| August 28 | Krishna Janmastami | Wednesday |
| October 2 | Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti | Wednesday |
| October 13 | Dussera/ Vijaya Dashami (Maha Navmi) | Sunday |
| October 16 | Bakri Id (Id-ul-zuha) | Wednesday |
| November 3 | Diwali | Sunday |
| November 14 | Muharram | Thursday |
| November 17 | Guru Nanak Jayanti | Sunday |
| December 25 | Christmas |
Wednesday |
In addition, individual states/ regions may have additional holidays for festivals and local celebrations. Key regional holidays and festivals are listed below.
| Date | Other regional holidays/ major festivals in India | Day of week |
| January 1 | New Year’s Day | Tuesday |
| January 13 | Makar Sankaranti | Sunday |
| January 14 | Pongal | Monday |
| January 18 | Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti | Friday |
| February 14 | Shree Panchami | Thursday |
| February 15 | Vasant Panchami | Friday |
| February 19 | Shivaji Jayanti | Tuesday |
| February 25 | Guru Ravidas Jayanti | Monday |
| March 7 | Swami Dayananda Saraswati Jayanti | Thursday |
| March 10 | Maha Shivratri | Sunday |
| March 26 | Holika Dahan | Tuesday |
| March 31 | Easter | Sunday |
| April 11 | Chaitra Sukladi/ GudiPadava/ Ugadi/ Cheti Chand | Thursday |
| April 13 | Vaisakhi/ Vishu | Saturday |
| April 14 | Mesadi/ Mashadi Uczadi | Sunday |
| April 15 | Vaisakhadi(Bengal)/ Bahag Bihu (Assam) | Monday |
| May 9 | Guru Rabindranath’s birthday | Thursday |
| May 24 | Hazarat Ali’s Birthday | Friday |
| July 10 | Rath Yatra | Wednesday |
| August 2 | Jamat-Ul-Vida | Friday |
| August 18 | Parsi New Year’s day | Sunday |
| August 20 | Raksha Bandhan | Tuesday |
| September 9 | Vinayaka Chaturthi/ Ganesh Chaturthi | Monday |
| September 16 | Onam | Monday |
| October 11 | Dussehra (Maha Saptami) (Additional) | Friday |
| October 12 | Dussehra (Maha Ashtami) (Additional) | Saturday |
| October 18 | Maharishi Valmiki’s birthday | Friday |
| October 22 | Karva Chauth (Karaka Chaturthi) | Tuesday |
| November 2 | Narak Chaturdashi/ Deepavali – South India | Saturday |
| November 5 | Bhai Duj | Tuesday |
| November 8 | Pratihar Sashthi or Surya Sashthi (Chhat Puja) | Friday |
| November 24 | Guru Teg Bahadur’s Martyrdom Day | Sunday |
A great way to introduce festivals of India to young minds is “Tell me about: Festivals of India“
PS: Local names/ spellings of these holidays/festivals may differ.
