10th November 2026
Hindu
Bestu Varas, also known as the Gujarati New Year, is a significant Hindu celebration that marks the beginning of the Vikram Samvat year. It is celebrated on the day after Diwali, and signifies the start of a new financial year for businesses.
25th October 2026
Hindu
Lakshmi Puja is a Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth, prosperity, and fortune. It is celebrated annually on the Amavasya (new moon day) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight), traditionally considered the third day of Diwali in most parts of India and Nepal.
14th April 2026
Hindu
Tamil New Year also known as Puthandu is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar that is traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamils in Sri Lanka – the festival date is set with the solar cycle of the solar Hindi calendar as the first day of the month of Chittirai.
9th November 2026
Hindu
Govardhan Puja, also known as Annakut or Annakoot, is a Hindu festival celebrated on the first lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartika, on the fourth day of Diwali. Devotees worship Govardhan Hill and prepare and offer a large variety of vegetarian food to Krishna as a mark of gratitude.
19th October 2026
Hindu
Durgashtami, also known as Durga Ashtami or Maha Ashtami, is the eighth day of the Navratri festival celebrated by Hindus in honor of Goddess Durga. It holds significant religious and cultural importance, particularly in Eastern India, where it is a crucial part of the five-day Durga Puja festival
14th January 2026
Hindu
Sankranti (Sangrand in Punjabi) is the start of a new zodiac sign i.e. the date is based on the solar rather than the lunar calendar. Tamils celebrate Pongal and eat a rice dish which gives the festival its name. For many Hindus it is a day for almsgiving and patching up quarrels and disagreements. Punjabis (including some Sikhs) celebrate the day as Lohri. Fires are lit outside and peanuts and sesame sweets are eaten round them. The traditional Punjabi meal consists of cornmeal chapatis and a mustard leaf dish. If a baby boy has been born during the previous year he is carried around the fire.
23rd January February 2026
Hindu
BASANT Sikh (Punjabi)
This festival marks the beginning of Spring, and is widely celebrated in north India. In eastern India, and notably in Bengal, Hindus worship especially Saraswati, the goddess of learning and the arts. Yellow is particularly associated with the festival and so murtis of Saraswati are dressed in yellow. Another (secular) tradition is kite-flying, associated especially with the city of Lahore.
15th February 2026
Hindu
Every night of the new moon is dedicated to Shiva, but this moonless night i is particularly important since it is the night on which Shiva is said to perform the cosmic dance, the Tandava Nritya, the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. Many Hindus and all devotees of Shiva fast throughout the festival. All-night prayers focus on Shiva and his shrines and statues, where milk, water and honey are regularly poured on his symbol, the lingam, which is decorated with flowers and garlands. The festival is observed for one day and one night only.
Pujas conducted in Shaivite temples during the previous day also have significance. This is because the rituals are conducted strictly in accordance with the method prescribed in the Shiva Purana, a Hindu epic. According to this Purana, pujas should be conducted once in every three hours on Mahashivaratri. According to Hindu mythology Lord Shiva declared that the rituals performed by his devotees on the 14th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Phalgun please him the most. Therefore, year by year, the day is observed as Mahashivratri, and devotees observe the fast, sing songs and bhajans and offer prayers to the Almighty to seek his blessings.
To this end jujube fruits, stalks of Bilwa leaves, coconuts, flowers and garlands are offered to the Shiva lingam by the devotees at the shrine. At home, they may perform the Mahashivratri Puja by taking a holy bath (in warm water) early in the morning, wearing new clothes and then smearing bhasm (holy ash) on their forehead.
Mahashivaratri is especially important for women, both married and unmarried, who perform Shiva puja and observe the fast with great devotion and sincerity. This is predominantly done to appease Shiva along with his consort, the goddess Parvati, who is often called Ma Gauri. It is believed that Ma Gauri bestows marital bliss on women yet to be married and blesses the married with a healthy and blissful married life. Young girls observe the fast and worship Shiva so that he may bless them with good husbands. They sing devotional songs in praise of the lord, and holy texts are chanted throughout the night. The festival also celebrates the wedding of Shiva and Sati, the divine mother.
It is believed that devotion to Shiva on Mahashivaratri will free devotees from their past sins and those who pledge themselves to him on this occasion will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death and so attain moksha or salvation. The devotees of Shiva therefore flock to the temples on this day to offer their prayers.
2nd April 2026
Hindu
Hanuman Jayanti is a Hindu festival which recalls the birth of Lord Rama’s supreme devotee, the monkey-headed Hanuman, whose feats figure in the Ramayana epic. Hanuman’s birth is celebrated at sunrise on the full-moon day of the lunar month of Chaitra.
Hindus believe in ten avatars of Lord Vishnu among a multitude of other gods and goddesses. One of Vishnu’s avatars is Rama, whom he became to destroy Ravana, the evil ruler of Lanka. In order to aid Rama in this undertaking, Brahma commanded some gods and goddesses to take on the avatar of ‘Vanaras‘ or monkeys. Pavana, the god of the wind, was reborn as Hanuman, the wisest, swiftest and strongest of all apes.
Hanuman, the mighty fighter who aided Lord Rama in his expedition against evil forces, has become one of the most popular deities in the Hindu pantheon. Believed to be the eleventh avatar of Lord Shiva, he is worshipped as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance, and devotion. His story in the epic Ramayana – where he is assigned the responsibility of locating Rama’s wife Sita, who had been abducted by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka – is known for its ability to equip those who read it with all the ingredients they need to face ordeals and conquer obstructions in this world.
The character of Hanuman teaches us of the unlimited power that lies unused within each of us. Hanuman directed all his energies towards the worship of Lord Rama, and his undying devotion made him such that he became free from physical fatigue. Hanuman’s only desire was to go on serving Rama. He perfectly exemplifies ‘Dasyabhava devotion’ – one of the nine types of devotion – that bonds the master and the servant. His greatness lies in his complete dedication to his Lord, which also formed the basis of his genial qualities.
Hanuman accordingly has become a model of devotion, strength, knowledge, divine power, bravery, intelligence, and the spirit of selfless service. He devoted his life to his Lord, Rama, and to Mata Sita and never displayed his bravery and intelligence without a specific purpose. He is worshipped in different ways by his many devotees: some meditate by repeating his name many times; others read the ‘Hanuman Chalisa‘.
People worship Hanuman as a symbol of devotion, magical powers, strength and energy. Those who read the ‘Hanuman Chalisa‘ do so since it gives the ability to conquer evil spirits and provide peace to the mind. Devotees visit Hanuman temples after a holy bath in the early morning, apply a red tilak (vermillion) to the forehead of the Hanuman image, offer prasad, perform aarti by chanting mantras and songs, circulate around the temple and perform many other rituals. As Lord Hanuman was born to the Vanara community, he had a reddish/orange coloured body, and in Hanuman temples his image is also reddish/orange in colour. After puja, people apply red sindur to their own foreheads as a form of prasad and distribute laddoo prasad among others to receive a blessing from Hanuman.
3rd – 4th March 2026
Hindu
A spring festival lasting one to five days. Bonfires are lit and revellers throw coloured powders and dyes over each other. Various stories and customs are associated with the festival: the throwing of coloured dyes is linked with Krishna and his antics with Radha and the gopis (milkmaids); another story associated with Holi is that of Prahlada and Holika: Prahlada worshipped Vishnu in defiance of his father, King Hiranyakashipu’s wishes. Prahlada survived when his aunt, Holika, who was supposedly immune to fire, held him while, as instructed by the king, she sat on a bonfire intended to kill him.
During Holi, practices, which at other times could be offensive, are allowed. Squirting coloured water on passers-by, dunking friends in mud pool amidst teasing and laughter, getting intoxicated on bhaang and revelling with companions is perfectly acceptable. In fact, on the days of Holi, you can get away with almost anything by saying, “Don’t mind, it’s Holi!”
Women, especially, enjoy the freedom of relaxed rules and sometimes join in the merriment rather aggressively. There is also much vulgar behaviour, often connected with phallic themes. It is a time when pollution is not important, a time for license and obscenity in place of the usual societal and caste restrictions.
It is said the spirit of Holi encourages the feeling of brotherhood in society and even enemies turn friends on this day. People of all communities and even differing religions participate in this joyous and colourful festival and in doing so strengthen the secular fabric of the nation.
Mythology of this nature, when re-enacted by the crowds of excited Hindus today, is essentially an act of praise and devotion, and particularly so for those who seek to honour Vishnu, seen as the Lord and Preserver of all life.