Indian Festivals List for Kids: Major Festivals Through the Year and Why We Celebrate Them

India is often called a land of festivals, and with good reason. There is hardly a month without one, and many regions have their own celebrations alongside the great national ones. India’s many communities, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and others, each bring their own festivals, and many are celebrated by friends and neighbours of every background.

Here is a list of major Indian festivals for kids, arranged by season, with a simple explanation of why each is celebrated. It is not every festival, which would need a whole book, but it is a good map of the year.

Why festival dates keep moving

Children often notice that Diwali or Holi falls on a different date every year. That is because most Hindu festivals follow a lunar calendar, based on the phases of the moon, while school calendars follow the solar Gregorian calendar. A lunar month is a little shorter than a solar month, so the dates shift. A few festivals, like Makar Sankranti, follow the sun and stay on almost the same date. Islamic festivals follow a purely lunar calendar, so they move through all the seasons over the years. That is why the months below are approximate.

Winter: January and February

Makar Sankranti, Pongal and Lohri, usually mid-January: a harvest festival marking the sun’s entry into Makara, celebrated with kites in Gujarat, boiling pots of pongal in Tamil Nadu, bonfires for Lohri in Punjab, til-gul in Maharashtra and Magh Bihu in Assam.

Republic Day, 26 January: a national holiday celebrating the day the Constitution of India came into force in 1950, with the grand parade in New Delhi.

Vasant Panchami, late January or February: the arrival of spring and a day to worship Saraswati, the goddess of learning. Many children begin their first lessons on this day, and yellow is the colour of the festival.

Maha Shivratri, February or March: the great night of Shiva, with temple visits, chanting of Om Namah Shivaya and a night-long vigil.

Spring: March and April

Holi, March: the festival of colours, marking the end of winter. The bonfire the night before remembers Prahlad’s escape from Holika, and the colours remember Krishna’s play in Braj.

Ugadi and Gudi Padwa, March or April: the lunar New Year in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra. Families eat a mixture of six tastes, sweet, sour, bitter and more, reminding them that the new year will bring all kinds of experiences.

Ram Navami, March or April: the birthday of Lord Rama, celebrated at noon, the traditional hour of his birth.

Mahavir Jayanti, March or April: the birth of Lord Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of Jainism, celebrated with processions and acts of charity.

Vaisakhi, usually 13 or 14 April: the harvest festival of Punjab and a very important day for Sikhs, marking the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Around the same time, many regions celebrate their solar new year: Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vishu in Kerala, Bohag Bihu in Assam and Pohela Boishakh in Bengal.

Summer: May to July

Buddha Purnima, April or May: the full moon remembering the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha.

Rath Yatra, June or July: the great chariot festival of Puri in Odisha, when Lord Jagannath, with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, is pulled through the streets on enormous wooden chariots.

Guru Purnima, July: a day to honour teachers and gurus, traditionally associated with the sage Vyasa.

Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha: the two major festivals of Islam, which move through the seasons year by year. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha remembers the devotion of the Prophet Ibrahim. Both are celebrated with prayer, family gatherings, new clothes and sharing food with those in need.

Monsoon: August and September

Independence Day, 15 August: the day India became independent in 1947, celebrated with flag-hoisting across the country.

Raksha Bandhan, August: sisters tie a rakhi on their brothers’ wrists, celebrating the bond of protection.

Janmashtami, August or September: the birthday of Lord Krishna, celebrated at midnight, with dahi handi in Maharashtra, where teams form human pyramids to break a pot of curd.

Ganesh Chaturthi, August or September: the birthday of Lord Ganesha, celebrated with idols, modaks and joyful immersion processions.

Onam, August or September: Kerala’s harvest festival, welcoming home the good king Mahabali, with flower carpets, snake boat races and a grand feast.

Autumn: October and November

Navratri, Durga Puja and Dussehra, September or October: nine nights celebrating the goddess, with garba and dandiya in Gujarat, great Durga Puja pandals in Bengal, and the burning of Ravana on Dussehra, the day of victory.

Diwali, October or November: the festival of lights, celebrating Rama’s return to Ayodhya, the victory of light over darkness, and the blessings of Lakshmi, over five days from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj. Jains remember Mahavira’s attainment of nirvana on Diwali, and Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas.

Chhath Puja, October or November: a festival of thanks to the sun, especially in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, with offerings to the setting and rising sun from riverbanks.

Guru Nanak Jayanti, November: the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, celebrated with prayers, processions and langar, the free community kitchen.

Children’s Day, 14 November: the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister.

December

Christmas, 25 December: the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated by Christians across India with midnight services, carols, stars hung outside homes and plum cake, and enjoyed by people of all backgrounds, especially in Goa, Kerala and the North-East.

India does not have one festival calendar. It has hundreds, woven together. Learning them is learning how many ways there are to say thank you, welcome and celebrate.

Making a festival calendar at home

A wonderful family project is to make your own festival calendar each year. Look up the dates for the coming year, mark them on a large calendar, and let your child draw a small picture for each festival. Before each one arrives, read or tell its story together.

Our live Indian culture classes take children through the festivals of every region and community, with the stories, songs and meanings behind them. If you would like your child to learn with a mentor, enquire about our classes through the Book a Class page.