Hindu Festival Calendar 2026: Print Hindu Holidays

Hindu Festival Calendar 2026: It’s been said often enough that Hindus celebrate everything. So they do. The birth of gods, death of asuras, victory of the gods, marriage of the gods, the new year, new months, full moons, new moons, harvests, birthdays, initiations, marriages, deaths, anniversaries – you name the event, and it is reason for music, dance, processions, and what have you.

Hindu Festival Calendar 2026

DAY	DATE	HOLIDAY
Wednesday	January 14, 2026	Makar Sankranti / Pongal
Friday	January 23, 2026	Vasant Panchami
Sunday	February 01, 2026	Thaipusam
Sunday	February 15, 2026	Maha Shivaratri
Tuesday	March 03, 2026	Holika Dahan
Wednesday	March 04, 2026	Holi
Thursday	March 19, 2026	Ugadi / Gudi Padwa / Telugu New Year
Friday	March 27, 2026	Ramanavami
Thursday	April 02, 2026	Hanuman Jayanti
Tuesday	April 14, 2026	Vaisakhi / Baisakhi / Vishu
Tuesday	April 14, 2026	Tamil New Year
Wednesday	April 15, 2026	Bengali New Year / Bihu
Sunday	April 19, 2026	Akshaya Tritiya
Saturday	May 16, 2026	Savitri Pooja
Thursday	July 16, 2026	Puri Rath Yatra
Wednesday	July 29, 2026	Guru Purnima
Monday	August 17, 2026	Nag Panchami
Wednesday	August 26, 2026	Onam
Friday	August 28, 2026	Raksha Bandhan
Friday	August 28, 2026	Varalakshmi Vrat
Friday	September 04, 2026	Krishna Janmashtami
Monday	September 14, 2026	Ganesh Chaturthi
Thursday	September 17, 2026	Vishwakarma Puja
Saturday	October 10, 2026	Mahalaya Amavasya
Sunday	October 11, 2026	Navaratri begins
Monday	October 19, 2026	Navaratri ends / Maha Navami
Monday	October 19, 2026	Maha Navami
Tuesday	October 20, 2026	Dusshera
Sunday	October 25, 2026	Sharad Purnima
Thursday	October 29, 2026	Karwa Chauth
Friday	November 06, 2026	Dhan Teras
Sunday	November 08, 2026	Diwali
Wednesday	November 11, 2026	Bhai Dooj
Sunday	November 15, 2026	Chhath Puja
Tuesday	November 24, 2026	Kartik Poornima
Wednesday	December 16, 2026	Dhanu Sankranti
Sunday	December 20, 2026	Geeta Jayanti

And there is the religious bit lurking behind it all. The reasons for this lie deep, in the origin of Hinduism as an organic religion. Its followers have over time considered anything, animate or inanimate, to be sacred and aspects of divinity.

That is also why even secular events like harvests take on religious overtones, with the patron deity presiding over the festivities. As soon as something happens, there is a kind of thanksgiving to the divine that follows it.

Apart from the universally celebrated festivals like Dussehra, Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi, there are others that are observed in specific communities or geographical areas. Hindu holidays are also confined to particular regions by the importance a certain god enjoys.

Worship of Kartikeya (as during the festival of Skanda Shashti) is predominant in Tamil Nadu, where the god is considered a patron of the region. Onam is a good example of a festival that is celebrated solely by Keralites. Another interesting aspect of Onam is that it is perhaps the only major Hindu festival that celebrates the reign of an asura king, although a benevolent one.

The profusion of legends and the contradictions inherent in them is reflected in festivals too. Travel around the country, and you will hear people tell you a variety of legends involving different gods behind a single festival. Besides, you will also find versions of the same festival being celebrated under different names in different regions.

All this adds that facet of unending novelty and constant change to the strikingly colorful kaleidoscope that is India. You might end up thinking the thought: “The more things change, the more they remain the same”, which is something often said about India and its magical agelessness.

With so many holy days and more than 20 major Hindu festivals, the calendar should be liberally sprinkled with them. But it isn’t so. There is a distinct festival season, which runs from late August through December. This is when there is a fever of celebrations, with a string of important festivals following one another in a rush.

But the major festivals are not the only ones that the people celebrate. Browse through the Hindu almanac, and you will find a mention of holiness or sacredness against almost every day of the year. Most of the lesser festivals are lesser because they have a private rather than public face. There are rituals for phases of the moon, solar and lunar eclipses, days of the week, a person’s auspicious star or zodiac sign.