Festivals (त्योहार)
The dates, the windows, and the pujas families book for each.
| Festival | Date | Window | Pujas families book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diwaliदीपावली | Fri 29 Oct 2027 | Pradosh Kaal 6:12 – 8:04 PM | Lakshmi Puja · Ganesh Puja · Satyanarayan Katha |
| Sharad Navratriशरद नवरात्रि | Sat 9 Oct – Sun 17 Oct 2027 | Kalash sthapana 6:24 – 8:10 AM | Durga Saptashati Path · Havan · Ganesh Puja |
| Ganesh Chaturthiगणेश चतुर्थी | Sat 4 Sep 2027 | Madhyahna 11:12 AM – 1:41 PM | Ganesh Puja · Havan · Satyanarayan Katha |
| Pitru Pakshaपितृ पक्ष | Thu 16 Sep – Fri 1 Oct 2027 | Aparahna, daily | Shraddh · Tarpan · Pind Daan |
| Chhathछठ | Tue 2 Nov – Fri 5 Nov 2027 | Sandhya arghya 5:08 PM | Havan · Satyanarayan Katha |
| Mahashivratriमहाशिवरात्रि | Fri 12 Mar 2027 | Nishita 12:08 – 12:56 AM | Rudrabhishek · Havan · Navagraha Shanti |
| Makar Sankrantiमकर संक्रांति | Thu 14 Jan 2027 | Punya Kaal 6:42 – 11:20 AM | Havan · Satyanarayan Katha · Tarpan |
| Holiहोली | Mon 22 Mar 2027 | Holika Dahan 6:41 – 8:57 PM | Havan · Ganesh Puja |
Why the dates move
Almost every date here moves. The Hindu calendar is lunisolar — months follow the moon and are corrected against the solar year — so a festival fixed to a tithi falls on a different Gregorian date each year, and the ones fixed to a nakshatra or a solar transit move differently again. Makar Sankranti is the exception on this list: it follows the sun's entry into Capricorn and lands within a day of the same date every year.
That is why each festival's page carries a year with its dates. A date without a year on it would read as perennial, which is the one thing a panchang date is not, and the muhurat window under it belongs to that year's calculation rather than to the festival in general.
The eight here are the ones families most often call a pandit for, and they are not the same kind of occasion as each other. Diwali and Holi are household festivals kept over days; Navratri and Mahashivratri are observances with fasts and vigils attached; Chhath is kept without a priest in most families; and Pitru Paksha is not a festival at all but a fortnight of obligation, kept in a quiet register on this site as it is at home.
