| New Year Days in India All are celebrated in the month of March-April | |
| Nau Roz (Kashmir) | The Kashmiri New Year’s Day, falls in the month of March/April. It is a day of general festivity and rejoicing throughout the state. |
| Goru Bihu (Assam) | The Goru Bihu or the cattle festival is celebrated on the Hindu New Year’s Day. Farm animals are washed and decorated. They are smeared with turmeric and are fed with gur (jaggery) and brinjals |
| Baisakhi (Punjab) | Baisakhi or Vaisakhi is the first day of the month of Vaisakha – the beginning of the Hindu year, in some parts of the country. A holy bath in a river, tank or well is an essential aspect of the day’s ceremony. For the Sikhs in Punjab, this day has a particular significance, as Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699, founded the Khalsa on this day. |
| Naba Barsha (Bengal) | The Bengali New Year’s Day begins with prabhat pheries (early morning processions), songs and dance to welcome the New Year. A dip in a river is an important feature of the day’s ritual. With powdered rice, beautiful designs called alpana are made on the floor. |
| Gudi Padva (Bengal) | New Year’s Day for the people of Maharashtra, a day of grand celebration and elation. |
| Ugadi (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Maharashtra) | Telugu New Year’s Day marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon’s orbit. It is a day when mantras are chanted and predictions made for the New Year. The panchangasravanam or listening to the yearly calendar is done at the temples |
| Puthandu (Tamil Nadu) | On the Tamil New Year’s Day, a big Car Festival is held at Tiruvadamarudur near Kumbakonam. Festivals are also held atTiruchirapalli, Kanchipuram and many other places. |
| Vishu (Kerala) | Keralites celebrate Vishu, the new year of the Malayalam calendar. It is characterized in Malayali homes, by the ‘first sight’ (Vishukkani) of auspicious articles ceremoniously placed before a lamp in the morning. Elders give cash presents to relatives younger to them. This is called Kayneettam (extending the hand). |