Updated List of Indian Holidays in 2021

India is a culturally fervent country with a highly diverse society that celebrates innumerable festivals and holidays. These have made India famous around the world and attracts a lot of visitors from the western nations. Sometimes chaotic and sometimes intense, these holidays festivals are colorful, joyous and enjoyable.

India is a secular country. 80% of the Indians are Hindus, 13% are Muslims, 2% are Christians, 1% Buddhists and 0.5% are Jains. Very few Indians follow Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Here is an expansive list of all Indian holidays. Read on to find out the public holidays, government holidays, bank holidays, and festivals, etc.

List of National Holidays in 2021

Indians get three national holidays on the 26th of January, 15th of August and 2nd of October.

India celebrates Republic Day on 26th January to commemorate the date on which the Indian Constitution was inaugurated. The British colonizers left India on 15th August 1947 and thus the country celebrates its Independence Day on 15th August every year. 2nd October is the birthday of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

Government Holidays in 2021

The state and central governments announce the list of government holidays every year. Government holidays are generally of two types - gazetted holidays and restricted holidays. In addition to these, local holidays are declared at the state or the district level.

List of Central Government Holidays in 2021

The Ministry of Personnel declares a list of holidays on behalf of the Government of India. These holidays are applicable to central government offices.

The following holidays have been declared for central government offices during the year 2021. The holidays may vary, depending upon the location of the concerned office.

 

Date	Day	Name	Type
1 Jan	Friday	New Year's Day	Restricted Holiday
13 Jan	Wednesday	Lohri	Restricted Holiday
14 Jan	Thursday	Pongal	Restricted Holiday
14 Jan	Thursday	Makar Sankranti	Restricted Holiday
20 Jan	Wednesday	Guru Govind Singh Jayanti	Restricted Holiday
26 Jan	Tuesday	Republic Day	Gazetted Holiday
12 Feb	Friday	Chinese New Year	Observance
14 Feb	Sunday	Valentine's Day	Observance
16 Feb	Tuesday	Vasant Panchami	Restricted Holiday
19 Feb	Friday	Shivaji Jayanti	Restricted Holiday
26 Feb	Friday	Hazarat Ali's Birthday	Restricted Holiday
27 Feb	Saturday	Guru Ravidas Jayanti	Restricted Holiday
8 Mar	Monday	Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti	Restricted Holiday
11 Mar	Thursday	Maha Shivaratri/Shivaratri	Gazetted Holiday
20 Mar	Saturday	March Equinox	Season
28 Mar	Sunday	First day of Passover	Observance
28 Mar	Sunday	Holika Dahana	Restricted Holiday
29 Mar	Monday	Holi	Gazetted Holiday
1 Apr	Thursday	Maundy Thursday	Observance, Christian
2 Apr	Friday	Good Friday	Gazetted Holiday
4 Apr	Sunday	Easter Day	Restricted Holiday
13 Apr	Tuesday	Chaitra Sukhladi	Restricted Holiday
14 Apr	Wednesday	Vaisakhi	Restricted Holiday
14 Apr	Wednesday	Mesadi	Restricted Holiday
14 Apr	Wednesday	Ambedkar Jayanti	Observance
15 Apr	Thursday	Bahag Bihu/Vaisakhadi	Restricted Holiday
21 Apr	Wednesday	Rama Navami	Gazetted Holiday
25 Apr	Sunday	Mahavir Jayanti	Gazetted Holiday
1 May	Saturday	May Day	Observance
7 May	Friday	Jamat Ul-Vida	Restricted Holiday
9 May	Sunday	Mother's Day	Observance
9 May	Sunday	Birthday of Ravindranath	Restricted Holiday
14 May	Friday	Ramzan Id/Eid-ul-Fitar	Gazetted Holiday
14 May	Friday	Ramzan Id/Eid-ul-Fitar	Muslim, Common local holiday
26 May	Wednesday	Buddha Purnima/Vesak	Gazetted Holiday
20 Jun	Sunday	Father's Day	Observance
21 Jun	Monday	June Solstice	Season
12 Jul	Monday	Rath Yatra	Restricted Holiday
21 Jul	Wednesday	Bakr Id/Eid ul-Adha (Tentative Date)	Gazetted Holiday
24 Jul	Saturday	Guru Purnima	Observance
1 Aug	Sunday	Friendship Day	Observance
15 Aug	Sunday	Independence Day	Gazetted Holiday
16 Aug	Monday	Parsi New Year	Restricted Holiday
19 Aug	Thursday	Muharram/Ashura (Tentative Date)	Gazetted Holiday
21 Aug	Saturday	Onam	Restricted Holiday
22 Aug	Sunday	Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi)	Restricted Holiday
30 Aug	Monday	Janmashtami	Gazetted Holiday
30 Aug	Monday	Janmashtami (Smarta)	Restricted Holiday
10 Sep	Friday	Ganesh Chaturthi/Vinayaka Chaturthi	Restricted Holiday
23 Sep	Thursday	September Equinox	Season
2 Oct	Saturday	Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti	Gazetted Holiday
12 Oct	Tuesday	Maha Saptami	Restricted Holiday
13 Oct	Wednesday	Maha Ashtami	Restricted Holiday
14 Oct	Thursday	Maha Navami	Restricted Holiday
15 Oct	Friday	Dussehra	Gazetted Holiday
19 Oct	Tuesday	Milad un-Nabi/Id-e-Milad (Tentative Date)	Gazetted Holiday
20 Oct	Wednesday	Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti	Restricted Holiday
24 Oct	Sunday	Karaka Chaturthi (Karva Chauth)	Restricted Holiday
31 Oct	Sunday	Halloween	Observance
4 Nov	Thursday	Naraka Chaturdasi	Restricted Holiday
4 Nov	Thursday	Diwali/Deepavali	Gazetted Holiday
5 Nov	Friday	Govardhan Puja	Restricted Holiday
6 Nov	Saturday	Bhai Duj	Restricted Holiday
10 Nov	Wednesday	Chhat Puja (Pratihar Sashthi/Surya Sashthi)	Restricted Holiday
19 Nov	Friday	Guru Nanak Jayanti	Gazetted Holiday
24 Nov	Wednesday	Guru Tegh Bahadur's Martyrdom Day	Restricted Holiday
29 Nov	Monday	First Day of Hanukkah	Observance
6 Dec	Monday	Last day of Hanukkah	Observance
21 Dec	Tuesday	December Solstice	Season
24 Dec	Friday	Christmas Eve	Restricted Holiday
25 Dec	Saturday	Christmas	Gazetted Holiday
31 Dec	Friday	New Year's Eve	Observance

Note: Banks have holidays on second and fourth Saturdays too.

Popular Festivals of India

India is the 2nd most populous country in the world and celebrates many festivals and customs of many religions. Many festivals across the country are common among various communities. Here are the popular Indian festivals that are unique to this country.

1. Diwali is the Festival of Lights, which is celebrated in October or November. This Hindu festival celebrates the victory of good over evil. The festival honors the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. People celebrate Diwali by lighting up clay lamps and bursting firecrackers.

2. Holi is the Festival of Colors, usually celebrated in the month of March. People celebrate Holi by applying colored water and dry colors on each other.

3. Maha Shivratri is the Puja of Lord Shiva. The devotees of Shiva all over the country flock to Shiva temples and offer water to Lord Shiva. People stay awake all night and indulge in various festivities, including extensive dancing and singing.

4. Ramadan is a month-long Islamic festival. Islamic community refrains from eating during the daytime throughout this whole month. The festival intends to teach the essence of humility, patience, and spirituality to the community.

5. Raksha Bandhan celebrates the love and affection between brothers and sisters. It is usually celebrated in August on which sisters tie 'Rakhi' on the wrists of their brothers.

6. Navaratri is a nine-day long celebration. In this festival, Hindus worship Goddess Lakshmi - the Goddess of Wealth, Goddess Saraswati - the Goddess of Knowledge and Goddess Durga - the Goddess of Valor for three days each.

7. Dussehra celebrates the triumph of Lord Rama over Ravana in North India as well as the triumph of Goddess Durga over Mahishasur in the east. A huge effigy of Ravana is burnt on this day.

8. Ganesh Chaturthi marks the birthday of Lord Ganesha or Ganapati. It is highly popular in Maharashtra. It is also celebrated in most states of India.