Hindu Festival Calendar 2026

Every major Hindu festival of 2026 with its date, the lunar month and tithi it falls on, and why it is observed then. Dates are computed from the Moon and Sun themselves for New Delhi — not copied from a list.

How these dates are found

A Hindu festival is fixed to a tithi (a lunar day) in a named lunar month, not to a calendar date — which is why it moves each year. Each date here is computed from the actual angle between the Moon and the Sun, and placed on the day the tithi prevails at the moment that festival's rite belongs to: dusk for Diwali, midday for Ram Navami, midnight for Shivaratri.

Why dates sometimes differ by a day

Two almanacs can disagree honestly. A tithi can begin and end between two sunrises and touch neither, or stretch across two. Regional traditions also differ: North India names lunar months from full moon to full moon, most of the south from new moon to new moon. Janmashtami is observed on different days by smarta and vaishnava families in the same city.

Solar festivals stay put

Makar Sankranti sits on 14-15 January every year while Diwali wanders across six weeks, because Sankranti tracks the Sun entering Makara rather than a lunar day. The same is true of Baisakhi and Vishu, which follow the Sun into Mesha each April.

The lunar months

The lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar one. Roughly every third year an extra month — adhika masa — is inserted to close the gap, which is why festivals drift earlier and then jump back.

Planning around them

Festival dates are the same for everyone in a city, but the muhurat inside the day is not, and neither is what the day means for your chart. Use the panchang for daily timings.

✦ Dates computed for New Delhi. Timings shift with your city — check the panchang for the day itself.