If you are looking for the Jharkhand Calendar 2026, you probably want one of four things: the list of state government holidays, the bank holiday dates, the dates of the tribal festivals that make Jharkhand’s calendar different from other states, or a quick way to plan long weekends. This guide covers all four in one place. It also explains why different websites show slightly different Jharkhand holiday lists, which is the most common source of confusion for employees, students and business owners.
What Is the Jharkhand Calendar?
The Jharkhand Calendar is the annual list of public holidays and notable dates published for the state. Government offices, schools, banks, courts and private employers use it to plan the year. It mixes three kinds of days:
- National holidays that apply across India, such as Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti.
- Regional and festival holidays, such as Holi, Janmashtami, Diwali and Christmas.
- Jharkhand-specific holidays, rooted in the state’s tribal and cultural heritage, such as Sohrai, Sarhul, Karma Puja and Hul Diwas.
That third category is what makes the Jharkhand Calendar distinct. Few other states give the same weight to nature-based tribal festivals alongside the major Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh holidays.
Jharkhand Government Holiday List 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Thursday | New Year’s Day | Regional |
| 12 January | Monday | Sohrai (General) | Tribal festival |
| 13 January | Tuesday | Sohrai (Khuntaw) | Tribal festival |
| 14 January | Wednesday | Makar Sankranti | Regional |
| 23 January | Friday | Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti | Regional |
| 26 January | Monday | Republic Day | National |
| 3 March | Tuesday | Holika Dahan | Regional |
| 4 March | Wednesday | Holi | Festival |
| 21 March | Saturday | Sarhul | Tribal festival |
| 21 March | Saturday | Eid-ul-Fitr* | Regional |
| 27 March | Friday | Ram Navami | Regional |
| 31 March | Tuesday | Mahavir Jayanti | Regional |
| 3 April | Friday | Good Friday | Regional |
| 14 April | Tuesday | Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti | Regional |
| 1 May | Friday | May Day / Buddha Purnima | National |
| 27 May | Wednesday | Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid)* | Regional |
| 26 June | Friday | Muharram* | Regional |
| 30 June | Tuesday | Hul Diwas | State holiday |
| 15 August | Saturday | Independence Day | National |
| 4 September | Friday | Janmashtami | Regional |
| 22 September | Tuesday | Karma Puja | Tribal festival |
| 2 October | Friday | Gandhi Jayanti | National |
| 20 October | Tuesday | Maha Navami | Regional |
| 21 October | Wednesday | Vijaya Dashami | Festival |
| 8 November | Sunday | Deepawali | Festival |
| 15 November | Sunday | Chhath Puja (Sandhya Arghya) | Regional |
| 16 November | Monday | Chhath Puja (Morning Arghya) | Regional |
| 24 November | Tuesday | Guru Nanak Jayanti | Regional |
| 25 December | Friday | Christmas | Regional |
Dates marked with an asterisk depend on moon sighting and can shift by a day. Separately, 1 April is a bank-only holiday for the annual closing of accounts.
Of the 28 distinct dates, 24 fall on a weekday and four fall on a weekend: 21 March and 15 August (Saturdays), and 8 November and 15 November (Sundays).
Month-Wise Holiday Count for Jharkhand 2026
| Month | Holidays | Key Occasions |
|---|---|---|
| January | 6 | New Year, Sohrai (two days), Makar Sankranti, Bose Jayanti, Republic Day |
| February | 0 | No gazetted holiday |
| March | 6 | Holika Dahan, Holi, Sarhul, Eid-ul-Fitr, Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanti |
| April | 2 | Good Friday, Ambedkar Jayanti (plus the 1 April bank closing) |
| May | 2 | May Day / Buddha Purnima, Bakrid |
| June | 2 | Muharram, Hul Diwas |
| July | 0 | No gazetted holiday |
| August | 1 | Independence Day |
| September | 2 | Janmashtami, Karma Puja |
| October | 3 | Gandhi Jayanti, Maha Navami, Vijaya Dashami |
| November | 4 | Diwali, Chhath Puja (two days), Guru Nanak Jayanti |
| December | 1 | Christmas |
January and March are the busiest months, with six holidays each. February and July have none, which is worth knowing if you are planning leave or deadlines.
Remaining Jharkhand Holidays in 2026
As of 21 October 2026, these are the holidays left in the year:
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 21 October | Wednesday | Vijaya Dashami |
| 8 November | Sunday | Diwali |
| 15 November | Sunday | Chhath Puja (Sandhya Arghya) |
| 16 November | Monday | Chhath Puja (Morning Arghya) |
| 24 November | Tuesday | Guru Nanak Jayanti |
| 25 December | Friday | Christmas |
Jharkhand’s Tribal Festivals and State Observances in 2026
These are the occasions that give the Jharkhand Calendar its character.
| Date | Occasion | What It Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 12 to 13 January | Sohrai | A harvest and cattle-honouring festival celebrated by Santhal, Oraon, Munda and other communities |
| 14 January | Tusu Parab / Makar Sankranti | A harvest festival, especially in the southern districts |
| 21 March | Sarhul | A spring festival honouring the Sal tree and nature, widely seen as the tribal new year |
| 30 June | Hul Diwas | Remembers the Santhal Hul of 1855, led by Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand and Bhairav |
| 22 September | Karma Puja | A festival of the Karam tree, celebrated with dance and song |
| 15 November | Jharkhand Foundation Day | The state was formed on 15 November 2000 |
| 15 November | Birsa Munda Jayanti | Birth anniversary of Dharti Aaba Birsa Munda |
Sarhul is the best known. It falls on the third day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, which is why it landed on 21 March this year. Villagers gather around the sacred sal grove, offer flowers and worship nature before the new agricultural year begins.
Karma Puja is observed by cutting a branch of the Karam tree and worshipping it, with community singing and dancing. Some lists also show 23 September (Karma Puja Phulkhansi), but the state notification lists 22 September.
Hul Diwas is a state holiday on 30 June, and it is a reminder that Jharkhand’s calendar carries its history as well as its festivals.
Chhath Puja is a major festival in Jharkhand and Bihar. The two holidays this year are Sandhya Arghya on 15 November (the offering to the setting sun) and Morning Arghya on 16 November. The earlier rituals, Nahay-Khay and Kharna, normally fall on the two days before.
15 November is a double occasion this year: Jharkhand Foundation Day and Birsa Munda Jayanti both fall on that date, which also coincides with Chhath Puja and a Sunday.
Jharkhand Bank Holidays in 2026
Bank holidays follow the Reserve Bank of India’s list under the Negotiable Instruments Act, together with the state’s holidays and the usual weekend rules. In Ranchi and across Jharkhand, banks are closed on all Sundays and on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
| Date | Day | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 24 October | Saturday | Fourth Saturday |
| 8 November | Sunday | Diwali (also a Sunday) |
| 14 November | Saturday | Second Saturday |
| 15 November | Sunday | Chhath Puja |
| 28 November | Saturday | Fourth Saturday |
| 12 December | Saturday | Second Saturday |
| 25 December | Friday | Christmas |
| 26 December | Saturday | Fourth Saturday |
Earlier in the year, bank-specific closures for Jharkhand included Sarhul (21 March), the annual closing of accounts (1 April), Hul Diwas (30 June), Karma Puja (22 September), and the Durga Puja days of Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Vijaya Dashami (19 to 21 October). Because bank lists can differ from the state government list, for example on 16 November, check with your own branch before planning a large transaction. Online banking, UPI and ATMs continue to work on bank holidays.
Jharkhand School Holidays in 2026
School holidays follow the state academic calendar, which overlaps with the government list but is not identical. This year the Puja break covered Maha Ashtami on 19 October and the Dussehra holidays on 20 and 21 October, according to the academic council’s calendar. The next school holidays are Chhath Puja on 15 November and Guru Nanak Jayanti on 24 November. Winter vacation dates are normally announced by the education department closer to December, so check your school’s circular for the exact break.
Long Weekends in 2026
Because many holidays fall on a Friday or Monday, 2026 has several natural long weekends for anyone who has Saturday and Sunday off.
| Dates | Holidays Involved | Days Off |
|---|---|---|
| 23 to 26 January | Bose Jayanti (Fri) and Republic Day (Mon) | 4 |
| 27 to 29 March | Ram Navami (Fri) | 3 |
| 3 to 5 April | Good Friday | 3 |
| 1 to 3 May | May Day / Buddha Purnima | 3 |
| 26 to 28 June | Muharram | 3 |
| 4 to 6 September | Janmashtami | 3 |
| 2 to 4 October | Gandhi Jayanti | 3 |
| 14 to 16 November | Chhath Puja (Sat to Mon) | 3 |
| 25 to 27 December | Christmas | 3 |
The two still ahead are the Chhath weekend (14 to 16 November) and Christmas (25 to 27 December).
Why Different Jharkhand Holiday Lists
If you have compared two Jharkhand holiday lists and found different dates, you are not imagining it. There are four common reasons:
- Different lists for different purposes. State government offices, banks, schools and private companies each follow their own list. A day can be a bank holiday without being a state government holiday, and the reverse.
- Festival dates that vary by region. Jharkhand’s list shows Maha Navami on 20 October and Vijaya Dashami on 21 October, while many national calendars place Dussehra on 20 October. Likewise, some third-party lists show Ram Navami on 26 March, but the state notification lists 27 March.
- Moon-sighting festivals. Eid-ul-Fitr, Bakrid and Muharram depend on when the moon is seen and can shift by a day.
- Extra festival days on third-party sites. Some websites add dates such as Rath Yatra, Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Vishwakarma Puja, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj, and count them as holidays. These are festival dates, and they are not in the gazetted list of public holidays. A count of 34 holidays that you may see elsewhere usually comes from mixing these together.
The notification also appears to contain no restricted or optional holiday list, so there is no separate “optional holiday” set to choose from.
Jharkhand Calendar 2026 PDF
The authoritative version of the calendar is the state government’s official notification, issued by the Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha Department. This page is an independent guide and is not that document, so there is no official PDF to download from here. To get the official copy, look for the 2026 public holiday notification on the Government of Jharkhand’s official website, which ends in gov.in. To keep this page for offline use, bookmark it or use your browser’s Print and then Save as PDF. Be cautious about unfamiliar sites offering a “free calendar PDF” download that asks you to install anything or allow notifications, since a genuine holiday list needs neither.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many public holidays are there in Jharkhand in 2026? The state notification lists 29 holidays across 28 dates. Other websites show different totals because they include festival dates that are not gazetted holidays.
When is Sarhul in 2026? Saturday, 21 March 2026. It coincides with Eid-ul-Fitr this year, which also appears on the list for the same date.
When is Karma Puja in 2026? Tuesday, 22 September 2026, according to the state list. Some calendars also show 23 September for Karma Puja Phulkhansi.
Is Jharkhand Foundation Day a public holiday? Jharkhand Foundation Day is observed on 15 November, with state functions. In 2026 it falls on a Sunday and coincides with Chhath Puja, which is a gazetted holiday on that date.
What is the next holiday in Jharkhand? As of 21 October 2026, the next holiday after Vijaya Dashami is Diwali on Sunday, 8 November, followed by Chhath Puja on 15 and 16 November.
Is Hul Diwas a holiday? Yes. Hul Diwas on 30 June 2026 is listed as a state holiday.
Are banks closed on Chhath Puja? Banks in Jharkhand are closed on 15 November, which is a Sunday. The state list also shows 16 November as a Chhath holiday, so confirm with your branch whether it applies to your bank.
Does Jharkhand have a 2026 restricted holiday list? The notification doesn’t appear to include one, so the public holiday list above is the full list.
When will the Jharkhand Calendar 2027 come out? The 2026 list was notified in mid-December 2025, so the 2027 list is likely to follow in December 2026. Watch the state government website.
Why does my calendar app show different holidays? Calendar apps often combine national, religious and regional observances, and they may not follow Jharkhand’s gazette. Use the official notification for work and payroll questions.