About New Year’s Day
New Year's Day is the first day of the Gregorian calendar year, which India uses for government, business and school work, and in 2027 it falls on Friday, 1 January 2027. It is not a national holiday, though several states close banks and offices, and most regions of India keep their own new year on a different date.
Is 1 January the Indian new year?
It is one of them, and the one the country works to. The Gregorian calendar runs Indian offices, schools, courts and trains, so 1 January starts the year on paper. Almost every region also keeps an older new year of its own, in spring or after Diwali, and for many families that is the one with the rituals attached.
India has an official calendar too. On the recommendation of a Calendar Reform Committee set up in 1952 under the astrophysicist Meghnad Saha, the government adopted the Saka calendar for official use from 22 March 1957, which was 1 Chaitra 1879 of the Saka era. The Gazette of India and All India Radio still carry both dates, though almost nobody celebrates 1 Chaitra as a working new year.
Is New Year's Day a public holiday in India?
No, not nationally. India has only three holidays that apply everywhere: Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. 1 January is a state holiday in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, so banks close there and stay open in Delhi or Mumbai.
In practice most private offices give the day off or run on a skeleton staff, schools in north India are already in winter break, and shops, restaurants and trains are busy all week.
How is New Year celebrated in India?
The night of 31 December is the loud part; 1 January is usually quiet, spent at a temple, a church or at home with family.
| Place | What happens | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Kochi, Kerala | The Cochin Carnival runs through the last two weeks of December and ends with Pappanji, a 35-foot effigy of an old man, burnt at midnight on 31 December | The custom grew out of Portuguese new year celebrations; Pappanji stands for the year that is ending. The 1 January procession has caparisoned elephants and folk bands |
| Goa | Midnight mass or a watchnight service, then beach and shack parties from Baga to Palolem | Hotels and taxis are at their yearly peak, and the state runs heavy traffic and drink-driving checks |
| Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland | Watchnight services on 31 December that carry the congregation past midnight into prayer and singing | The new year begins in church rather than at a party, and 1 January is a state holiday |
| Tamil Nadu and Kerala | Temple visits at first light on 1 January, new clothes for children, and lamps lit at home | Many Tamil families still keep Puthandu in April as the real new year and treat 1 January as a pleasant extra |
| Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi | Marine Drive and Bandra, Brigade Road and MG Road, Connaught Place. Large crowds, with police bandobast and late metro services | Several cities cap party timings and set up checkposts; book cabs early because surge pricing after midnight is brutal |
| Koregaon Bhima, Pune district | Lakhs of people, mostly from Dalit and Ambedkarite families, gather at the Vijay Stambh pillar | The battle there was fought on 1 January 1818 and B. R. Ambedkar visited the memorial on 1 January 1927, which began the annual gathering |
What are India's other new year days?
Most Indian new years fall in spring, when the harvest is in and the lunar or solar year turns. A few fall in autumn.
| New year | When it falls | Who keeps it |
|---|---|---|
| Gudi Padwa and Ugadi | First day of Chaitra, March or April | Maharashtra and Konkan; Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh |
| Cheti Chand | The day after Ugadi | Sindhi families across India |
| Puthandu and Vishu | Mid-April, when the sun enters Mesha | Tamil Nadu and Kerala |
| Pohela Boishakh and Bohag Bihu | Mid-April | Bengal, and Assam |
| Navroz | 21 March for Jamshedi Navroz; Parsi Shahenshahi families also keep Navroz in August | Parsi and Irani communities |
| Gujarati New Year | Bestu Varas, the day after Diwali, in October or November | Gujarati and Marwari families |
| Islamic New Year | 1 Muharram, moving about eleven days earlier each year | Muslim communities; see Muharram |
What should you write in a New Year message?
The best new year lines are short and specific. Say what you saw the person get through this year and what you want for them next, and leave out the motivational quotes.
Happy New Year, Maa and Papa. Thank you for a year of phone calls at odd hours. My one plan for the coming year is to come home more often.
Happy New Year. You got through a rough twelve months and barely complained. Here's to an easier one, and to that trip we keep postponing.
Happy New Year. Thanks for covering for me more than once this year. Let's make the next one calmer.
Wishing you a good 2027 and a strong year for your team. Thank you for the trust you placed in us; we will keep earning it.
Happy New Year. This year was mostly waiting, and you handled it with more grace than I would have. I think the call comes in 2027.
Happy New Year from home. Different time zones, same wish: good health, good work and a flight back soon.
Thinking of you as the year turns. I know a new calendar does not fix anything. I am here, same as always.
Happy New Year, everyone. Whatever 2027 throws at us, we have handled worse together. Rest well and come back in one piece.
Do
- Name something real from the year gone by. One detail beats a page of good wishes.
- Wish elders first and in person or by call if you can. In many families a new year phone call to grandparents matters more than the party.
- For friends in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra or Gujarat, remember their own new year later in the calendar and wish them then too.
Avoid
- Don't send "new year, new you" lines to anyone who is grieving, ill or out of work.
- Don't promise resolutions on someone else's behalf, or joke about their weight, marriage or salary as a new year goal.
- Don't send work requests on 1 January with a "just a quick one" note attached.
For the rest of the year's dates, see the 2027 calendar. The week before this one belongs to Christmas, and the first big Indian festival after it is Makar Sankranti in mid-January.
How to wish someone on New Year’s Day
A New Year wish lands better when it is about the person, not the calendar. Name something from their last twelve months, a move, an exam, an illness they got through, and wish for something specific in the year ahead. For anyone who had a hard year, skip the fresh-start talk and say you will be around. Remember that many Indian families count their real new year at Gudi Padwa, Vishu or the day after Diwali, so a warm 1 January line need not claim to be their new year.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is New Year’s Day in 2026 and 2027?
New Year’s Day is on 1 Jan every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is New Year’s Day in 2027?
New Year’s Day 2027 falls on Friday, 1 January 2027.
Is 1 January a public holiday in India?
It is a state holiday rather than a national one. Banks and government offices close on 1 January in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, while most other states treat it as a working day. Many private offices still give staff the day off.
Why does India have so many new year days?
India uses several calendars at once. Lunisolar Hindu calendars start the year at the first day of Chaitra, which gives Gudi Padwa and Ugadi; solar calendars start when the sun enters Mesha in mid-April, which gives Puthandu, Vishu, Pohela Boishakh and Bohag Bihu; Gujarati families begin theirs the day after Diwali; and the Islamic year starts at 1 Muharram.
What is India's official calendar?
India uses the Gregorian calendar for daily business and the Saka calendar as its national calendar. The Saka calendar was adopted for official use from 22 March 1957, on the recommendation of a committee headed by the astrophysicist Meghnad Saha, and its year begins on 1 Chaitra, which normally falls on 22 March.
What is the Pappanji burnt in Kochi on New Year's Eve?
Pappanji is a 35-foot effigy of an old man, built for the Cochin Carnival at Fort Kochi and set alight at midnight on 31 December to mark the end of the year. The custom traces back to Portuguese new year celebrations in Kochi, and the word comes from a Portuguese term for grandfather.
Why do lakhs of people gather at Bhima Koregaon on 1 January?
On 1 January 1818 a small East India Company force that included Mahar soldiers held off a much larger Peshwa army at Koregaon Bhima, near Pune. B. R. Ambedkar visited the victory pillar there on 1 January 1927, and since then Dalit and Ambedkarite families have gathered at the site every New Year's Day to pay respects.
What should I write in a New Year message to a colleague?
Keep it short, name one thing they did well in the year, and wish them something they actually want, such as a calmer quarter or the leave they never took. Avoid resolutions, targets and anything that reads like a performance review.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .