Parv-tyohaar 2026
Bihar Festivals 2026
All 69 festivals, vrats and observances of 2026 — from Tila Sakraat to Sama-Chakeva — with the regional ones of Mithila, Bhojpur and Magadh included.
January 2026
- 1JanThu
New Year's Day नव वर्ष
Start of the Gregorian year; banks and offices follow their own notice.
Festival - 14JanWed
Makar Sankranti (Tila Sakraat) मकर संक्रांति · तिला सकरात
Dahi-chura, tilkut and gur in the morning, khichdi at night. Rajgir hosts the Makar Mela at its hot springs.
Holiday - 23JanFri
Basant Panchami (Saraswati Puja) बसंत पंचमी · सरस्वती पूजा
Every school, coaching centre and mohalla sets up a Saraswati pandal; idols are immersed the next day.
Holiday - 24JanSat
Karpoori Thakur Jayanti कर्पूरी ठाकुर जयंती
Birth anniversary of Jannayak Karpoori Thakur, former Chief Minister and Bharat Ratna (2024).
Holiday - 26JanMon
Republic Day गणतंत्र दिवस
National holiday. State parade at Gandhi Maidan, Patna.
Holiday
February 2026
- 1FebSun
Sant Ravidas Jayanti संत रविदास जयंती
Magh Purnima birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas.
Holiday - 4FebWed
Shab-e-Barat शब-ए-बारात
Night of prayer. Date depends on moon sighting.
Holiday - 15FebSun
Maha Shivratri महाशिवरात्रि
Night-long worship; big crowds at Baba Garib Nath (Muzaffarpur) and Ajgaibinath (Sultanganj).
Holiday
March 2026
- 2MarMon
Holika Dahan होलिका दहन
Bonfire on Phagun Purnima evening; in villages it is called Sammat jalana.
Holiday - 3MarTue
Holi (Phagua) होली · फगुआ
Phagua songs, dhol-jhaal, malpua and dahi-bada. Bihar observes Holi the day after Holika Dahan.
Holiday - 21MarSat
Id-ul-Fitr ईद-उल-फितर
End of Ramzan. Date depends on moon sighting.
Holiday - 22MarSun
Bihar Diwas बिहार दिवस
Bihar was carved out of the Bengal Presidency on 22 March 1912. Gandhi Maidan hosts a three-day utsav.
Holiday - 22MarSun
Chaiti Chhath – Nahay Khay चैती छठ · नहाय खाय
Day 1 of the spring Chhath: holy bath and a meal of kaddu-bhaat and chana dal.
Festival - 24MarTue
Chaiti Chhath – Sandhya Arghya चैती छठ · संध्या अर्घ्य
Evening offering to the setting sun on Chaitra Shukla Shashthi.
Holiday - 26MarThu
Samrat Ashok Ashtami सम्राट अशोक अष्टमी
Chaitra Shukla Ashtami, remembered as the birth anniversary of Emperor Ashoka of Magadh.
Holiday - 27MarFri
Ram Navami राम नवमी
Mahavir Mandir, Patna, sees one of India's largest Ram Navami gatherings; shobha yatras in every town.
Holiday - 31MarTue
Mahavir Jayanti महावीर जयंती
Lord Mahavira was born at Kundagram near Vaishali; Pawapuri and Vaishali hold special puja.
Holiday
April 2026
- 3AprFri
Good Friday गुड फ्राइडे
Christian observance of the crucifixion.
Holiday - 14AprTue
Ambedkar Jayanti अंबेडकर जयंती
Birth anniversary of Dr B. R. Ambedkar.
Holiday - 14AprTue
Satuani · Mesh Sankranti सतुआनी · मेष संक्रांति
Sattu, gur and raw mango are offered and eaten; Mithila calls it Jur Sital eve and its New Year.
Festival - 15AprWed
Jur Sital जुड़ शीतल
Maithili New Year: elders pour cool water on the heads of the young as a blessing; no stove is lit.
Festival - 20AprMon
Akshaya Tritiya अक्षय तृतीया
Auspicious day for gold, new ventures and weddings.
Festival - 23AprThu
Veer Kunwar Singh Jayanti वीर कुंवर सिंह जयंती
Remembering the 80-year-old hero of Jagdishpur who fought the British in 1857.
Holiday - 25AprSat
Janaki Navami (Sita Navami) जानकी नवमी
Birth of Mata Sita; Sitamarhi's Punaura Dham is the heart of the celebration.
Holiday
May 2026
- 1MayFri
Buddha Purnima बुद्ध पूर्णिमा
Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi Temple glows with lamps; monks from across Asia arrive.
Holiday - 1MayFri
May Day मजदूर दिवस
International Workers' Day.
Holiday - 16MaySat
Vat Savitri Vrat वट सावित्री व्रत
Married women tie raw thread around the banyan on Jyeshtha Amavasya — the Mithila and Bhojpur tradition.
Festival - 28MayThu
Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) ईद-उल-जुहा
Festival of sacrifice. Date depends on moon sighting.
Holiday
June 2026
- 18JunThu
Anugrah Narayan Sinha Jayanti अनुग्रह नारायण सिन्हा जयंती
Bihar Vibhuti, first Deputy CM and Finance Minister of Bihar.
Holiday - 26JunFri
Muharram मुहर्रम
Ashura. Date depends on moon sighting.
Holiday - 29JunMon
Kabir Jayanti कबीर जयंती
Jyeshtha Purnima birth anniversary of Sant Kabir.
Holiday
July 2026
- 16JulThu
Rath Yatra रथ यात्रा
Chariot festival of Lord Jagannath.
Festival - 29JulWed
Guru Purnima गुरु पूर्णिमा
Disciples honour their teachers; Shravani Mela season begins the next day.
Festival - 30JulThu
Shravani Mela begins श्रावणी मेला आरंभ
Kanwariyas fill Ganga water at Ajgaibinath, Sultanganj and walk 105 km to Baba Baidyanath, Deoghar.
Festival
August 2026
- 3AugMon
Madhushravani begins मधुश्रावणी आरंभ
Newly married Maithil brides worship Naag-Gauri for 13–15 days, singing katha with women of the village.
Festival - 4AugTue
Chehlum चेहलुम
40th day after Ashura. Date depends on moon sighting.
Holiday - 15AugSat
Independence Day स्वतंत्रता दिवस
National holiday.
Holiday - 17AugMon
Nag Panchami नाग पंचमी
Milk and lava offered to serpent deities.
Festival - 26AugWed
Hazrat Mohammad Sahab Birthday मिलाद-उन-नबी
Barawafat. Date depends on moon sighting.
Holiday - 28AugFri
Raksha Bandhan रक्षा बंधन
Rakhi on Shravana Purnima; also the last day of Madhushravani in many homes.
Holiday
September 2026
- 4SepFri
Krishna Janmashtami कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी
Midnight birth of Krishna; jhankis and dahi-handi in towns.
Holiday - 14SepMon
Hartalika Teej हरितालिका तीज
Nirjala fast by married women for Shiva-Parvati; new clothes, mehendi and night-long katha.
Holiday - 14SepMon
Chauth Chandra (Chaurchan) चौरचन
Mithila's moon worship on Bhado Shukla Chauth: curd, fruit and pakwan raised to the moon in the courtyard.
Festival - 25SepFri
Anant Chaturdashi अनंत चतुर्दशी
Anant sutra with 14 knots is tied on the arm.
Festival
October 2026
- 2OctFri
Gandhi Jayanti गांधी जयंती
National holiday. Champaran (1917) was Gandhi's first satyagraha in India.
Holiday - 4OctSun
Jitiya (Jivitputrika Vrat) जितिया · जीवित्पुत्रिका व्रत
Mothers keep a nirjala fast for their children's long life; marua roti and noni saag before the fast.
Holiday - 10OctSat
Mahalaya महालया
End of Pitru Paksha; Devi Paksha begins.
Festival - 11OctSun
Navratri · Kalash Sthapana नवरात्रि · कलश स्थापना
Durga Puja begins; pandals rise across Patna, Gaya and Bhagalpur.
Festival - 11OctSun
Jayaprakash Narayan Jayanti जयप्रकाश नारायण जयंती
Lok Nayak JP, born at Sitab Diara, led the 1974 Sampoorna Kranti.
Festival - 17OctSat
Durga Puja (Saptami) दुर्गा पूजा · सप्तमी
Pandal doors open; Patna's Dak Bungalow chowk becomes a sea of people.
Holiday - 19OctMon
Durga Puja (Maha Ashtami) महाअष्टमी
Sandhi puja and kanya pujan.
Holiday - 20OctTue
Durga Puja (Maha Navami) महानवमी
Havan and the final day of Navratri.
Holiday - 21OctWed
Vijayadashami (Dussehra) विजयादशमी
Ravan Vadh at Gandhi Maidan; immersion processions.
Holiday - 21OctWed
Shri Krishna Singh Jayanti श्रीकृष्ण सिंह जयंती
Birth anniversary of Bihar Kesari, Bihar's first Chief Minister.
Festival - 25OctSun
Kojagara Puja कोजागरा
Sharad Purnima in Mithila: newly-weds receive makhana, paan and sweets from the bride's family.
Festival
November 2026
- 6NovFri
Dhanteras धनतेरस
Utensils and gold bought for prosperity.
Festival - 8NovSun
Deepawali · Kali Puja दीपावली · काली पूजा
Diyas, Lakshmi-Ganesh puja and Kali Puja the same night; hukka-paati is swung in Mithila.
Holiday - 10NovTue
Chitragupta Puja · Bhai Dooj चित्रगुप्त पूजा · भैया दूज
Kayasth families worship pen and ledger; sisters pray for brothers (Godhan in Bhojpur).
Holiday - 10NovTue
Govardhan Puja गोवर्धन पूजा
Annakut and cattle worship.
Festival - 13NovFri
Chhath – Nahay Khay छठ · नहाय खाय
Day 1 of Mahaparv Chhath: bath, cleaning, and kaddu-bhaat cooked on a clay chulha.
Holiday - 14NovSat
Chhath – Kharna छठ · खरना
Day 2: the vrati fasts till evening, then eats gur-kheer and roti; the 36-hour nirjala fast begins.
Holiday - 15NovSun
Chhath – Sandhya Arghya छठ · संध्या अर्घ्य
Day 3: arghya to the setting sun at the ghat, with soop, daura and thekua.
Holiday - 16NovMon
Chhath – Usha Arghya छठ · उषा अर्घ्य
Day 4: arghya to the rising sun; the vrati breaks the fast with prasad.
Holiday - 16NovMon
Sama-Chakeva begins सामा-चकेवा आरंभ
Mithila's brother-sister festival with clay birds; ends on Kartik Purnima.
Festival - 21NovSat
Devuthan Ekadashi देवउठनी एकादशी
Vishnu wakes; wedding season opens.
Festival - 24NovTue
Kartik Purnima · Guru Nanak Jayanti कार्तिक पूर्णिमा · गुरु नानक जयंती
Ganga snan at Simaria and Sonepur; Sonepur Mela formally begins; Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak.
Holiday
December 2026
- 3DecThu
Dr Rajendra Prasad Jayanti डॉ. राजेंद्र प्रसाद जयंती
Birth anniversary of India's first President, born at Ziradei, Siwan.
Festival - 14DecMon
Vivah Panchami विवाह पंचमी
Ram-Sita wedding anniversary, celebrated grandly at Sitamarhi and Janakpur.
Festival - 25DecFri
Christmas क्रिसमस
Christian festival; Patna's Padri ki Haveli church is over 250 years old.
Holiday