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Public holidays in India

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India, being a multicultural and multireligious society, celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. There are three national holidays in India: states and regions have local festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic demographics. Popular religious festivals include the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Dussehra and the Islamic festivals of Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Mawlid an-Nabī which are celebrated throughout the country. Muharram, mourning for the Prophet Muhammad's grandson is observed by some sects of Islam. In addition, the Sikh festivals such as Guru Nanak Jayanti, the Christian festivals such as Christmas, Good Friday and Jain festivals like Mahavir Jayanti, Paryushan are celebrated in certain areas where these religions have a significant following.

While having so many Government Holidays keep in line with the idea of peaceful co-existence of all religions, there have been demands from various public bodies that the system of a multitude of religious holidays is hampering economic activities to a great extent. The past two Central Govt. Pay Commissions[1] have recommended the abolition of all Central Govt. Holidays on religious festivals, and instead, substitute with three national Holidays, i.e., Independence Day (August 15), Republic Day (January 26) and Gandhi Jayanti October 2). It was also recommended to increase the amount of existing Restricted Holidays (Optional Holidays) depending on one's religious persuasion from existing two to eight. The rationale being, 8 holidays can more than cater for the festivals of any particular religion. So there is no point in having more than these many number of holidays, since religion does not warrant a Hindu to celebrate Id or a Muslim to celebrate Diwali. With the proposed system, however, it was left to the individual to chose which 8 Holidays to celebrate, irrespective of his religious belief. However, this logical recommendation has not been accepted by the Govt. of India, fearing a loss of popularity, and thus Indian Govt. continues with an unusually large number of religious holidays as compared to most other countries.

The following is a List of Festivals in India that are declared public holidays in the calendar of Government of India or the States or both in some cases:

National

Hinduism

People celebrating Holi.

Hindus celebrate a number of festivals all through the year. From celebrating the advent of spring to celebrating the win of good over evil, Hindu religion and culture provide its followers endless reasons to celebrate. Given below is the list of just a few of these festivals that are celebrated with great zest and fervor.

For dates see:

Main article: Hindu festivals

Sikhism

Major Hindu Festival dates 2009

Holidays

  • Dhanurmasa Pooja Samapthi 13-01-2009
  • Makar Sakranti Pongal Wednesday 14-01-2009
  • Vasant Panchami Saturday 31-01-2009
  • Maha Shivaratri Monday (22) 23-02-2009
  • Holi Wednesday 11-03-2009
  • Chaandramaana Ugadi Friday 27-03-2009
  • Ramayana Week Friday 27-03-2009 to 03-04-2009
  • Ramanavami Friday 03-04-2009
  • Hanuman Jayanti Thursday 09-04-2009
  • Buddha Purnima Friday 08-05-2009
  • Guru Purnima Tuesday 07-07-2009
  • solar Eclipse Wednesday 22-07-2009
  • Raksha Bandhan Wednesday 05-08-2009
  • Krishna Janmashthami Friday 14-08-2009
  • Ganesh Chaturthi Sunday 23-08-2009
  • Pitr-paksha begins Saturday 05-09-2009 to 18-09-2009
  • Navaratri Begins Saturday 19-09-2009 to 27-09-2009
  • Durgashtami 26-09-2009
  • Mahanavami 27-09-2009
  • Vijay Dashami (Dasera) Monday 28-09-2009
  • Deepavali (Diwali) Saturday 17-10-2009
  • Vikram New Year 2066 Sunday 18-10-2009
  • lunar Eclipse Thursday 31-12-2009

Other Festival Holidays in 2009

  • January 2009, 01 Thursday New Year, 26 Monday Republic Day
  • March 2009, 09 Monday Milad un Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet), Sunni
  • April 2009, 10 Friday Good Friday,12 Sunday Easter (Western) ,Souramaana Ugadi, Vishu
  • May 2009, 09 Saturday Buddha Jayanti / Buddha Purnima
  • June 2009, 24 Wednesday Rath Yatra PURI
  • August 2009, 15 Saturday Independence Day, 22 Saturday Ramadan begins
  • September 2009, 02 Wednesday Onam, 21 Monday E-d-ul-Fitr- Ramadan Ends,Mahalaya Amavasya
  • October 2009, 02 Friday Gandhi Jayanti, 08 Thursday Karva Chauth
  • November 2009, 02 Monday Guru Nanak Jayanti, 28 Saturday Eid-Ul-Adha
  • December 2009, 25 Friday Christmas , About 10/12th Siva/Visnu Deeputsav

Below are listed the Public Holidays for the January 2009-December 2010 period.

2009

  • 26 Jan** Republic Day.
  • 23 Feb Mahashivratri.
  • 9 Mar Milad-Un-Nabi (Birth of the Prophet).
  • 7 Apr Mahavir Jayanthi.
  • 10 Apr Good Friday.
  • 13 Apr Easter Monday.
  • 9 May Buddha Purnima.
  • 14 Aug Janmashtami.
  • 15 Aug** Independence Day.
  • 20-21 Sep Id ul Fitr (End of Ramadan).
  • 28 Sep Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami).
  • 2 Oct** Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday.
  • 17 Oct Deepavali or Diwali (Festival of Lights).
  • 2 Nov Guru Nanak's Birthday.
  • 27-28 Nov Idu'l Zuha/Bakrid (Feast of the Sacrifice).
  • 18 Dec Muharram (Islamic New Year).
  • 25 Dec Christmas Day.
  • 26 Dec Boxing Day.

2010

  • 26 Jan** Republic Day.
  • Feb/Mar* Mahashivratri.
  • 26 Feb Milad-Un-Nabi (Birth of the Prophet).
  • 2 Apr Good Friday.
  • 5 Apr Easter Monday.
  • Apr* Mahavir Jayanthi.
  • 28 Apr Buddha Purnima.
  • 15 Aug** Independence Day.
  • Aug* Janmashtami.
  • 10-11 Sep Id ul Fitr (End of Ramadan).
  • 2 Oct** Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday.
  • Sep/Oct* Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami).
  • 2 Nov Guru Nanak's Birthday.
  • 5 Nov Deepavali or Diwali (Festival of Lights).
  • 16-17 Nov Idu'l Zuha/Bakrid (Feast of the Sacrifice).
  • 7 Dec Muharram (Islamic New Year).
  • 25 Dec Christmas Day.
  • 26 Dec Boxing Day.
  • Dates to be confirmed.

Note

(a) ** Only the secular holidays of Republic Day, Independence Day and Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday are universally observed. Public holidays in India tend to be observed on a strictly regional basis. The above dates are Government of India holidays, when government offices will be closed nationwide. In addition, there are numerous festivals and fairs which are also observed in some states as holidays, the dates of which change from year to year. For more details, contact Incredible India (see Contact Addresses). (b) Muslim festivals are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations. During the lunar month of Ramadan that precedes Eid al-Fitr, Muslims fast during the day and feast at night and normal business patterns may be interrupted. Many restaurants are closed during the day and there may be restrictions on smoking and drinking. (c) Although not government official holidays, Christmas Day (25 Dec) and New Year's Day (1 Jan) are widely observed nationally.

Buddhism

Islamic

Christian

Jainism

Zoroastrianism

Below is a list of festivals and public holidays celebrated by the Parsis and Iranis in India. The Parsis in India use a Shahenshahi calendar, unlike the Iranians who use a Kadmi calendar. The North Americans and European Parsis have adapted their own version of the Fasli calendar. This is however looked down upon by a lot of the Parsis in North America, who continue to use the Shahenshai calendar. These differences cause changes in the dates of the public holidays. For example, the Zoroastrian New Year falls in the spring for the Iranians but in the summer for the Parsis

Tribal Festivals of India

  • Dree Festival - Celeberated form 4th to 6th July every year by the Apatanis of Lower Subansiri District of Arunachal Pradesh.
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