Festival calendar
Festivals 2023 · Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Each festival is dated for this town from the Moon's phase (the tithi) at the time of day its tradition uses: sunrise for most, and midday, afternoon, evening or midnight for some. That is why a date can differ by a day from one town to another.
This year has an extra lunar month: Adhika Shravana (extra month). Most festivals of that month are kept in the regular month that follows it.
January 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 06 Jan 2023 Friday |
Pausha Purnima the Magha bathing month opens |
Pausha, shukla 15 |
| 14 Jan 2023 Saturday |
Makar Sankranti / Pongal / Uttarayan the Sun enters Makara; the only major festival fixed to the solar year, which is why it barely moves in the Gregorian calendar while the lunar ones swing by a month |
Fixed by the Sun, not the Moon |
| 26 Jan 2023 Thursday |
Vasant Panchami Saraswati, and the first of spring |
Magha, shukla 5 |
February 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Feb 2023 Saturday |
Maha Shivaratri kept through the night, so the date follows nishita and not sunrise - Phalguna Krishna 14 in the purnimanta reckoning |
Magha, krishna 14 |
March 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 06 Mar 2023 Monday |
Holika Dahan the bonfire is lit at pradosh, so the date follows the evening |
Phalguna, shukla 15 |
| 07 Mar 2023 Tuesday |
Holi / Dhulandi the colours - always the day after the bonfire, which is why it is dated from Holika Dahan rather than from its own tithi at sunrise. Chaitra Krishna 1 in the purnimanta reckoning |
Phalguna, shukla 15 |
| 15 Mar 2023 Wednesday |
Sheetala Ashtami (Basoda) worship of Sheetala Mata; food cooked the day before is eaten cold |
Phalguna, krishna 8 |
| 22 Mar 2023 Wednesday |
Ugadi / Gudi Padwa the lunar new year in the Deccan and Maharashtra |
Chaitra, shukla 1 |
| 22 Mar 2023 Wednesday |
Chaitra Navratri begins the first of the nine nights of the spring Navratri, with ghatasthapana in the morning |
Chaitra, shukla 1 |
| 24 Mar 2023 Friday |
Gangaur women's festival of Gauri and Shiva, the close of eighteen days of worship after Holi |
Chaitra, shukla 3 |
| 30 Mar 2023 Thursday |
Rama Navami Rama's birth |
Chaitra, shukla 9 |
April 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 04 Apr 2023 Tuesday |
Mahavir Jayanti the birth of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Jain Tirthankara |
Chaitra, shukla 13 |
| 06 Apr 2023 Thursday |
Hanuman Jayanti Hanuman's birth in most of north India |
Chaitra, shukla 15 |
| 14 Apr 2023 Friday |
Mesha Sankranti / Baisakhi / Puthandu / Pohela Boishakh the Sun enters Mesha; the solar new year in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Kerala and Assam |
Fixed by the Sun, not the Moon |
| 22 Apr 2023 Saturday |
Parashurama Jayanti the birth of Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, kept at dusk |
Vaisakha, shukla 3 |
| 23 Apr 2023 Sunday |
Akshaya Tritiya held to need no muhurta of its own - the day is the muhurta |
Vaisakha, shukla 3 |
| 29 Apr 2023 Saturday |
Sita Navami the birth of Sita, kept at midday |
Vaisakha, shukla 9 |
May 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 04 May 2023 Thursday |
Narasimha Jayanti Vishnu's appearance as Narasimha, which the story places at sunset |
Vaisakha, shukla 14 |
| 05 May 2023 Friday |
Buddha Purnima the Buddha's birth, waking and death |
Vaisakha, shukla 15 |
| 19 May 2023 Friday |
Shani Jayanti / Vat Savitri Vrat the birth of Shani; married women also fast and worship the banyan tree for their husbands |
Vaisakha, krishna 15 |
| 30 May 2023 Tuesday |
Ganga Dussehra the Ganga's descent |
Jyeshtha, shukla 10 |
June 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 04 Jun 2023 Sunday |
Vat Purnima Vrat the banyan-tree fast for a husband's long life, kept on the full moon in the west and south |
Jyeshtha, shukla 15 |
| 20 Jun 2023 Tuesday |
Rath Yatra Jagannath's chariot procession |
Ashadha, shukla 2 |
| 29 Jun 2023 Thursday |
Devshayani Ekadashi Vishnu is held to sleep from here to Kartika; no marriages in between |
Ashadha, shukla 11 |
July 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 03 Jul 2023 Monday |
Guru Purnima honouring the teacher |
Ashadha, shukla 15 |
August 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Aug 2023 Saturday |
Hariyali Teej the monsoon festival of Parvati's union with Shiva; swings, green clothes and fasting |
Shravana, shukla 3 |
| 21 Aug 2023 Monday |
Nag Panchami the serpents |
Shravana, shukla 5 |
| 31 Aug 2023 Thursday |
Raksha Bandhan the thread between siblings |
Shravana, shukla 15 |
September 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 02 Sep 2023 Saturday |
Kajari Teej a fast by married women for their husbands, with songs of the rains |
Shravana, krishna 3 |
| 07 Sep 2023 Thursday |
Krishna Janmashtami Krishna's birth - Bhadrapada Krishna 8 in the amanta reckoning. Dated here by the ashtami prevailing at sunrise, which is the Vaishnava rule and the one most published panchangs follow. Smarta practice dates it by nishita instead, and in some years the two fall on different days - 2023 was one |
Shravana, krishna 8 |
| 18 Sep 2023 Monday |
Hartalika Teej a strict fast by women in honour of Parvati's penance for Shiva |
Bhadrapada, shukla 3 |
| 19 Sep 2023 Tuesday |
Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesha's installation, kept in madhyahna - the middle of the day |
Bhadrapada, shukla 4 |
| 20 Sep 2023 Wednesday |
Rishi Panchami honour to the seven sages, kept at midday |
Bhadrapada, shukla 5 |
| 23 Sep 2023 Saturday |
Radha Ashtami the birth of Radha, fifteen days after Janmashtami, kept at midday |
Bhadrapada, shukla 8 |
| 28 Sep 2023 Thursday |
Anant Chaturdashi the immersion that closes Ganesh Chaturthi |
Bhadrapada, shukla 14 |
| 29 Sep 2023 Friday |
Pitru Paksha begins a fortnight for the ancestors, ending at the next new moon |
Bhadrapada, shukla 15 |
October 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Oct 2023 Saturday |
Mahalaya / Sarva Pitru Amavasya the last day of Pitru Paksha. Shraddha is an afternoon rite, so the date follows aparahna - Ashwina Krishna 15 in the purnimanta reckoning |
Bhadrapada, krishna 15 |
| 15 Oct 2023 Sunday |
Sharad Navaratri begins nine nights of the Goddess |
Ashwina, shukla 1 |
| 22 Oct 2023 Sunday |
Durga Ashtami the eighth night. Kept at sunrise, unlike the ninth and tenth, which are afternoon rites - so Ashtami and Navami land on the same day in some years and consecutive days in others |
Ashwina, shukla 8 |
| 23 Oct 2023 Monday |
Maha Navami the ninth night |
Ashwina, shukla 9 |
| 24 Oct 2023 Tuesday |
Vijayadashami / Dussehra the tenth day, kept in aparahna - dating it from sunrise puts it a day late whenever the dashami begins late in the morning |
Ashwina, shukla 10 |
| 28 Oct 2023 Saturday |
Sharad Purnima the harvest moon |
Ashwina, shukla 15 |
November 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Nov 2023 Wednesday |
Karva Chauth the fast breaks at moonrise, so the date follows the evening - Kartika Krishna 4 in the purnimanta reckoning |
Ashwina, krishna 4 |
| 05 Nov 2023 Sunday |
Ahoi Ashtami a mothers' fast for their children, broken on seeing the stars in the evening |
Ashwina, krishna 8 |
| 10 Nov 2023 Friday |
Dhanteras the first day of the Diwali sequence, kept at pradosh |
Ashwina, krishna 13 |
| 12 Nov 2023 Sunday |
Naraka Chaturdashi / Choti Diwali the pre-dawn oil bath |
Ashwina, krishna 14 |
| 12 Nov 2023 Sunday |
Diwali / Lakshmi Puja the puja is at pradosh, so the date follows the evening and not sunrise - Kartika Krishna 15 in the purnimanta reckoning |
Ashwina, krishna 15 |
| 14 Nov 2023 Tuesday |
Govardhan Puja / Bali Pratipada the day after Diwali |
Kartika, shukla 1 |
| 15 Nov 2023 Wednesday |
Bhai Dooj brothers and sisters |
Kartika, shukla 2 |
| 18 Nov 2023 Saturday |
Chhath Puja (Sandhya Arghya) the offering to the setting Sun, so the date follows sunset |
Kartika, shukla 6 |
| 19 Nov 2023 Sunday |
Chhath Puja (Usha Arghya) the offering to the rising Sun - always the morning after the evening arghya, so it is dated from that and not from its own tithi |
Kartika, shukla 6 |
| 23 Nov 2023 Thursday |
Devuthani Ekadashi Vishnu wakes; the marriage season reopens |
Kartika, shukla 11 |
| 24 Nov 2023 Friday |
Tulsi Vivah the ceremonial marriage of the tulsi plant to Vishnu, which opens the wedding season |
Kartika, shukla 12 |
| 27 Nov 2023 Monday |
Kartika Purnima / Dev Diwali the lamps on the ghats |
Kartika, shukla 15 |
December 2023
| Date | Festival | Lunar date |
|---|---|---|
| 04 Dec 2023 Monday |
Kalabhairav Jayanti the appearance of Kala Bhairava, Shiva's fierce form, kept at midnight |
Kartika, krishna 8 |
| 23 Dec 2023 Saturday |
Gita Jayanti the day the Bhagavad Gita was spoken, on Mokshada Ekadashi |
Margashirsha, shukla 11 |
| 23 Dec 2023 Saturday |
Vaikuntha Ekadashi the southern observance |
Margashirsha, shukla 11 |
| 26 Dec 2023 Tuesday |
Dattatreya Jayanti the birth of Dattatreya, kept in the evening of the full moon |
Margashirsha, shukla 15 |
Fasting days (vrats) this year
Each list gives the date, and when the tithi begins and ends, so you can also follow your own family's rule.
- Ekadashi 2023 · 25 days
- Purnima 2023 · 13 days
- Amavasya 2023 · 12 days
- Pradosh 2023 · 25 days
- Sankashti Chaturthi 2023 · 13 days
- Vinayaka Chaturthi 2023 · 12 days
- Masik Shivaratri 2023 · 12 days
- Sankranti 2023 · 12 days
Dates and times are for Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Another town can differ by a day when a tithi changes close to sunrise. You can change the place above.