National holidays
There are four national holidays in India, applicable in all states:
It is imperative for all government institutions to observe these as holidays.
In addition, there are several religious and cultural holidays.
Hindu festivals
It is to be noted that as the Hindu calendar is lunar (or luni-solar), Hindu festivals don't fall on a fixed day of the Gregorian calendar. Since Hinduism is polytheistic, there is a large number of festivals. The more important ones are listed below. There is no uniformity as to which of these are holidays.
Islamic festivals
The Islamic calendar is also lunar and so festival dates are variable. Moreover, they are not known in advance and are determined by the sighting of the moon. The major ones are:
Christian festivals
Christmas Day and Good Friday are usually holidays.
Other religions
Miscellaneous
- New Year's Day, January 1
- New Year's Days in various regional Indian calendars
- Holi
- Raksha bandhan
