The Hindu festival year
The festivals that mark the Hindu year — their significance, the legends behind them, the rituals, the deities, and how each one’s date is set by the Moon’s tithi. Open any to read the full story.
Every festival
The calendar
Hindu festivals follow the lunisolar panchang, not the Gregorian calendar. Each is tied to a fixed tithi — a lunar day — within a named month, so the rule never changes, but the Gregorian date it lands on shifts a little every year. A handful, like Makar Sankranti, are solar and stay close to the same date.
A lunar day — 30 to a month, across the waxing and waning fortnights.
Festivals name a month (Kartik, Phalguna) and a fortnight.
Within the day, an auspicious window is chosen from the panchang.
An intention spoken before the rite makes the observance your own.
Questions
Most Hindu festivals follow the lunisolar Hindu calendar (panchang), set by the Moon's tithi within a named month — for example Diwali on the Kartik new moon, or Holi on the Phalguna full moon. A few, like Makar Sankranti and Pongal, are solar, fixed to the Sun's entry into a sign.
Because the lunar (tithi) calendar does not line up exactly with the Gregorian solar calendar. The tithi rule stays the same every year, but the Gregorian date it falls on shifts by a few weeks, which is why the same festival lands on a different date each year.
A tithi is a lunar day — the time the Moon takes to move 12° from the Sun. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month, 15 in the waxing (Shukla) fortnight and 15 in the waning (Krishna) fortnight. Festivals are tied to specific tithis.
The exact date and auspicious timing are computed from the panchang for your location each year. Check the Healers World calendar, or cast your free kundli, for this year's dates and muhurat.
Book a pooja in your name for any festival, or check the calendar for this year’s dates and muhurat.
