When is the Hindu New Year? Or when is the New Year in Hindu Religion? There is no single answer to this question. The numerous cultures that are part of Hinduism follow independent calendars and the New Year Day in these calendars are based on seasons and the agrarian economy of the region. Some calendars are lunar calendars and the New Year dates changes yearly. Majority of the Hindu New Year date falls in the months of March and April. Here is a list of the New Year dates observed by Hindus which falls during various periods in a year.
January 1st – The day is celebrated by Hindus as part of the grand celebrations being held on the occasion around the world.
Pongal – The Government of Tamil Nadu had made Pongal day as the Tamil New Year in 2008. But majority of the calendars of the various Tamil communities continue to mark Tamil New Year on Chithira 1 (Mid-April).
Saka New Year – This New Year is based on the calendar followed by the Government of India. The New Year day in Saka calendar falls on March 21 or March 22.
Nyepi – Nyepi is the New Year in
Ugadi – Yugadi or Ugadhi is the New Year in Telugu and Kannada culture. The New Year day is observed on the first day of the month of Chaitra (March – April). This is a major event in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Ugadi is based on lunar calendar and therefore the date changes yearly.
Gudhi Padwa – Gudi Padva is the Marathi New Year and is observed on the first day of the Chaitra month (March – April). It is a major celebration in Maharashtra and is also known as Shalivahan Shaka New Year. Gudhi Padwa is based on lunar calendar and therefore the date changes yearly.Nav Varsh Samvat or Hindi New Year – This New Year is observed in major states in North India and it is also known as Chaitra Shukladi. It is celebrated on Chaitra Shukala Pratipada (March – April) – the first day after the No Moon (Amavasi) in Chaitra Month. The Hindi New Year is based on lunar calendar and therefore the date changes yearly.
Cheti Chand – The New Year day of Sindhis is known as Cheti Chand. The New Year day is observed on the first day of the month of Chait (March – April). It is based on lunar calendar and the date changes yearly.
Varsha Pirappu or Puthandu – This is the Tamil New Year and it falls on the first day of the Chitirai month (April – May). The Tamil calendar is a solar calendar and the New Year date falls during Mid April mostly on April 13 or 14
Vishu – Vishu is the Zodiac New Year observed in Kerala by Malayalis. It falls on the first day of Malayalam month Medam (April - May). The calendar followed in Kerala is a solar calendar and the New Year date is constant mostly – April 14.
Naba Barsha or Poila Baisakh – This is the New Year in Eastern parts of
Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu – It is the New Year in
Chingam 1 – This is the New Year according to Malayalam Calendar. Chingam (August – September) is the first month in the Malayalam Calendar. But Malayalis popularly celebrate Vishu as the New Year.
Annakut or Hindu Vikram New Year – This is the New Year observed in
These are some of the most popular New Year observed by Hindus. The list is not full there are several other Hindu New Years observed by Hindu communities. We will add them to the list as we come across them.
(If you feel we have missed some Hindu New Year day, please write to us or give your valuable suggestion in the comments.)
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4 comments:
excellent..yep there are surely more of such celebrations among Hindu communities
Very impressive! You may enjoy my page http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/calendar/indian.html
However, could I make a suggestion? The list is long because of linguistic and regional differences. But I believe that a few of them actually fall on the same date, or differ by at most one day.
It would be very nice to see a table sorted by dates.
Thanks!
Helmer Aslaksen
Helmer
Hi,
I was reading your blog and kind of got confused, is kartik first month of Vikram samvat? I used to think its chaitra.
With Regards
What you state is true. But it is also important to emphasize that Yugadi, Ugadi, Nav Varsh Samvat, Hindi New Year, Navreh, Gudi Padwa, Cheti Chand, Sajibu Cheiraoba, and Nyepi (most years) are all the same thing occurring on the same day -- that is Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the Lunar New Year (more appropriately lunisolar).
Similarly, Puthandu, Vishu (in Kerala), Nabo Barsho, Poila Baisakh, Cheiraoba, Rongali/Bohag Bihu, Bishuba Sankranti, Meshadi, Baisakhi, Nepali New Year, Avaruddha, etc. are all celebrated around April 14/15 when the Sun enters sidereal Aries, which is the Solar New Year.
So Hindus of all regions have a larger tradition of celebrating one of the two new years -- lunar (Chaitra Shukla Pratipada) or solar (Mesha Sankranti). Lesser regional traditions prevail in Mithila, Kollam, Kutch, etc. The major exception is Gujarat, which celebrates lunar new year after Diwali on Kartika Shukla Pratipada.
The Indian governmental calendar (official Saka calendar invented in 1957) is an arithmetic calendar and has nothing to do with Hinduism, nor is used for any practical purpose.
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