There are numerous days throughout the year celebrated as New Year's Day in the different regions of the
Indian Republic. The observance is determined by whether the
lunar,
solar or
lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of mont ...
is being followed. For those regions which follow the solar calendar, the new year falls as Chet in Punjab,
Bohag Bihu in
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu,
Vishu in Kerala,
Maha Bishuba Sankranti or Odia Nababarsa in Odisha and
Poila Boishakh in Bengal in the month of the calendar, i.e.,
Vaishakha. Generally, this day falls during 14th or 15th of the month of
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days.
April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the ...
. Those following the lunar calendar consider the month of
Chaitra
Chaitra () is a month of the Hindu calendar.
In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Choitro. Chaitra or Cha ...
(corresponding to
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
-April) as the first month of the year, so the new year is celebrated on the first day of this month like
Ugadi
() or (), also known as Samvatsarādi (), is the first day of the year on the Hindu calendar that is traditionally celebrated by the Telugu people and the Kannadigas in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Na ...
in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
and
Gudi Padwa
Gudhi Padwa is a spring festival marking the start of the lunisolar new year for Marathi people, Marathi and Konkani people, Konkani Hindus. It is celebrated in and around Maharashtra, Goa and Daman district, India, Daman at the start of ...
in Maharashtra. Similarly, few regions in India consider the period between consecutive
Sankarantis as one month and few others take the period between consecutive
Purnimas as a month. In Gujarat the new year is celebrated as the day after
Diwali
Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
. As per the Hindu Calendar, it falls on Shukla Paksha Pratipada in the Hindu month of Kartik. As per the Indian Calendar based on the lunar cycle, Kartik is the first month of the year and the New Year in Gujarat falls on the first bright day of Kartik (Ekam). In other parts of India, New Year celebrations begin in the spring.
Details
* Hindu religious festivals are based on
Vikram Samvat. Not withstanding the Purnimanta scheme of months that is in use in North India, the New year in Vikram Samvat starts from the first day of Chaitra
Shukla Paksha
Paksha () refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar.
Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the '' purnima'' ( full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, ...
.
* In
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, the fourth day of
Diwali
Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
is celebrated as the first day of the Vikram Samvat calendar month of
Kartik.
* Other festivals which are celebrated as new year in India are
Baha parab (among
Ho,
Santal people
The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...
and
Munda) and
Sarhul (in Jharkhand).
Calendar view
See also
*
Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar is based on a geocentric model of the Solar System.Burgess 1935, p. 285 (XII. 32) A geocentric model describes the Solar System as seen by an observer on the surface of the Earth.
The Hindu calendar defines nine measures of ...
*
Diwali in Gujarat
*
Hindu units of time
Hindu units of time are described in Hindu texts ranging from microseconds to trillions of years, including cycles of cosmic time that repeat general events in Hindu cosmology. Time ( ) is described as eternal. Various fragments of time are desc ...
*
Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar, also called Panchangam, Panchanga (), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes ...
*
Indian national calendar
*
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...
*
Nyepi
Nyepi, also known as Day of Silence, is a Balinese people, Balinese holiday held every ''Isakawarsa'' ("new year") according to the Balinese saka calendar, Balinese calendar, and it can be traced as far back as 78 A.D.[Balinese Hinduism
Balinese Hinduism (; , ''Hindusmé Bali''), also known in Indonesia as ''Agama Hindu Dharma'', ''Agama Tirtha'', ''Agama Air Suci'' or ''Agama Hindu Bali'', is the form of Hinduism practised by the majority of the population of Bali.McDaniel, J ...]
*
South and Southeast Asian solar New Year
Notes
References
External links
Bihu FestivalCheiraoba
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian New Year's Days
New Year