Festivals & occasions 2028
India has 9 festivals, observances and special days in 2028 on Kehdoo’s calendar, including 7 religious, regional and cultural festivals. Dates marked “may vary” follow lunar calendars or moon sighting, so confirm them locally.
February 2028 2 occasions
March 2028 1 occasions
May 2028 1 occasions
June 2028 1 occasions
July 2028 2 occasions
August 2028 1 occasions
December 2028 1 occasions
How these dates are worked out
Most of the dates above move from year to year, and they move for different reasons depending on which calendar the day belongs to. It is worth knowing which kind you are looking at before you book anything.
Lunisolar festivals, which move the most
The majority of Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist festivals are fixed to a tithi, a lunar day, rather than to a date. A lunar month runs about 29.5 days, so the Gregorian date drifts backwards roughly eleven days a year until an extra month, the adhika maas, pulls it forward again. That is why Diwali and Holi can swing by two or three weeks between years.
A tithi also does not start at midnight. It begins and ends at a particular moment, and which calendar day it counts as depends on whether it is running at sunrise, at sunset, or during a specific window. This is why panchangs occasionally disagree, and why an occasional year loses a day when two tithis fall inside one sunrise-to-sunrise span.
Solar festivals, which barely move at all
A smaller group follows the sun's entry into a zodiac sign instead. Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Vishu, Vaisakhi and the Bihus sit in the same few days every year, in mid-January and mid-April, shifting by at most a day.
Moon sighting, and why some dates say “may vary”
Islamic observances including Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Ramadan depend on the crescent being sighted, so the date is only confirmed a day or two ahead and can differ between cities and countries. Where this calendar marks a date as uncertain, that is what it means: treat it as a planning estimate and confirm locally.
Holidays are a separate question
A festival being in this calendar does not make it a day off. India has three national holidays: Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. Everything else is decided by state governments or sits on the central list of gazetted and restricted holidays, which is why a colleague in Kerala and one in Punjab get different days off in the same week.
If you are wishing someone abroad
Send it on their day, not India's. Because tithis are measured against local sunrise and sunset, a family in the Gulf, Europe or North America can observe the same festival a day earlier or later. A panchang set to their own city is the one that decides.
Frequently asked questions
Why do Indian festival dates change every year?
Most Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist festivals are set by a lunisolar calendar, where the day is fixed to a tithi rather than to a Gregorian date. Because a lunar month is about 29.5 days, the same tithi lands on a different date each year, which is why Diwali or Holi can move by two to three weeks.
Which Indian festivals fall on the same date every year?
The solar ones. Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Vishu, Baisakhi and the Bihus follow the sun's entry into a zodiac sign rather than a moon phase, so they stay within a day or two: mid-January and mid-April. Civic days such as Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti are fixed Gregorian dates.
Why does the same festival fall on different days in different states?
Two reasons. North Indian calendars end the month at the full moon and southern ones at the new moon, so the same festival can sit in differently named months. And a tithi is measured against local sunrise or sunset, so a day can shift by one between cities, and further still for families abroad.
Why are Muslim festival dates marked as uncertain?
Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Muharram and the start of Ramadan depend on the sighting of the new crescent, which is confirmed only a day or two ahead and can differ between regions. Any date published in advance is an estimate until the moon is sighted locally.
How many public holidays does India have?
Only three are national holidays: Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. Everything else is set by state governments or appears on the central list of gazetted and restricted holidays, which is why colleagues in different states get different days off for the same festival.
Dates for 2028 are checked against panchangs and government holiday lists, and each occasion page lists the sources used and the date it was last verified.