Around 21st September 2026 – Dates vary
Christian (Western, Anglican and Free Churches)
Special services are held around this time of year to give thanks for the goodness of God’s gifts in providing a harvest of crops along with all the other fruits of society. Displays of produce are often made, usually distributed afterwards to those in need. Increasingly the emphasis is on a wider interpretation than just the harvests of the fields and seas.
4th September 2026
Hindu
The birthday of Krishna is widely celebrated throughout the Hindu world. He is the very popular eighth avatar/incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and many Hindus fast in his honour for 24 hours until midnight, the time of Krishna’s birth. For them, Vishnu and Krishna are essentially one and the same. Those unable to fast will take a little fruit and milk. Krishna is welcomed in temples with singing, dancing and the distribution of sweets. At many homes and temples an image in blue of the new-born Krishna is put in a cradle and again special sweets (e.g. panjiri, the powder given traditionally to women after childbirth) are offered and distributed.
The celebration mainly consists of spending the whole night in the worship of Krishna, reciting hymns of praise and stories of his pastimes, repeating prayers from the Bhagavata Purana, offering respect to Krishna, and finally the ceremonial breaking of the fast. Temples are decorated for the occasion, kirtans are sung, bells are rung, the conch is blown, and Sanskrit hymns are recited in praise of Lord Krishna. At Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna, special spiritual gatherings are organised, and pilgrims from all over India attend these festive gatherings. The next day is celebrated as Krishna Jayanti, Krishna’s birthday.
Krishna is thought to be ideal in all his human relationships – a darling son to his parents, an endearing and humble friend and comrade, playing the flute and mingling easily with cowherd boys and girls, a loving husband and a trusted brother.
At Krishna Jayanti, Hindu women in South India decorate their houses beautifully, ready to welcome their Lord. From the doorway to the inner meditation room of the house the door is marked with a child’s footprints, using rice-flour mixed with water. This creates the feeling in them that their God’s own feet have made these marks. For him they prepare various sweetmeats and offer them to him. These normally include butter, since as a child, Krishna was said to be fond of homemade delicacies and was known to steal fresh butter from neighbourhood homes and distribute it among his friends with great compassion.
The Bhagavad Gita, in which Krishna reflects on the nature of Truth and Duty, has formed the basis and inspiration for much of Hindu belief, describing the various paths to God in a profound and yet concise manner. The setting of the Gita in Kurukshetra represents the eternal battlefield in the human soul. Here Krishna himself often affirms his role in life while he explains to Arjuna the intricacies of the highest spiritual philosophy, explaining the meaning and purpose of life. He shows how he was engaged incessantly in ‘worldly’ actions – but only for the welfare and sustenance of other people and the society in which he lived.
Krishna had indeed uttered falsehoods many times, had broken his pledges, had several wives and even ‘married’ 16,000 women, but still none of these actions violated the truth of his dedication, claiming that he did all these actions in a spirit of supreme detachment, motivated only with the highest goal of safeguarding Dharma.
15th September 2026
Jain
This is the last day of the eight day festival of Paryushana, which many regard as the most important festival of Jainism. It is the holiest day of the Jain calendar and many Jains observe it as a complete fast. The entire day is spent in prayer and contemplation, and it climaxes in the evening when people ask for forgiveness from others – and from all living creatures – for any hurt they have knowingly or unknowingly caused during the previous year.
The role of a festival such as Samvatsari involving fasting, whether partial or total, along with a request for forgiveness, is a widespread feature of religious practice (cf for example Pavarana Day, Yom Kippur, Ramadan and Lent), and is a natural and universal element of annual observance in all Jain traditions.
Leviticus 16:4-34, 23:27-32.
23rd September 2025
Japanese
This celebration marks the autumn equinox for Japanese people. As at the spring equinox, harmony and balance are the themes; sutras are recited and the graves of relatives are visited. September 23 is the equinox, the 24-hour period when day and night are the same length, the beginning of Autumn. On this day the sun shines at the equator for 12 hours. On the next day, days begin to become shorter than nights in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the past, the autumnal equinox in Japan was called shuki–koureisai (the autumn festival of the Emperor’s spirits). On this day, the emperor worshipped his ancestors by himself. Nowadays it is called Shuubun-no-hi and is a national holiday. It is the middle day of higan, a seven day period when the people of Japan commemorate their ancestors. Memorial services often take place at Buddhist temples, and many people visit their family’s graves with offerings of rice cakes, flowers, incense sticks, and offer prayers to comfort the spirits of their ancestors. Although Buddhism is common in India and China, these countries have no similar custom.
Higan has Buddhist origins. It literally means the “other side of the river of death”. The two sides of the river represent the worlds of life and death. During these days, Japanese families honour and pray for the repose of their deceased ancestors. This is different from Obon where the spirits of the dead are said to visit the houses of their relatives. At this time of year, living relatives are the ones who visit graves. They clean the tombs and offer prayers and flowers. They also burn incense sticks and offer sweet rice balls called Ohagi.
Higan, for Buddhists, is a good time to focus on the 6 Perfections: Dana (generosity), Sila (virtue), Ksanti (patience), Virya (effort), Dhyana (meditation, also ‘zen’), and Prajna (wisdom). Just as the worlds of death and life are separated by a river, so the Buddhists believe the 6 Perfections will be the bridge to cross from this life to Nirvana.
More Information:
Tokyo 5: Shubun no hi
Shubun no hi – cleaning the ancestral tombs
The Solemnity of Japanese Autumnal Equinox Day