Festivals
Fagu Purnima — colour in the hills one day, in the Tarai the next.
Holi, or Fagu Purnima, falls on the full moon of Falgun. Nepal keeps it on two different days: the hills and Kathmandu on the purnima itself, the Tarai-Madhesh the day after. Both dates are public holidays, each in its own region, and both are in the table below.
| Events | BS Date | AD Date | Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provincial Government's Official Language Day (Bagmati Province Holiday) / Kirat Samaj Sudhar Diwas | 24 Baisakh 2083 | 7 May 2026 | Thursday |
| Prophet Muhammad Jayanti (Holiday for Muslim Community only)Holiday | 10 Bhadra 2083 | 26 Aug 2026 | Wednesday |
| Fulpati / Dashain Holiday / International Day for the Eradication of PovertyHoliday | 31 Ashwin 2083 | 17 Oct 2026 | Saturday |
| Dashain HolidayHoliday | 2 Kartik 2083 | 19 Oct 2026 | Monday |
| Dashain Holiday / Pradosh VrataHoliday | 6 Kartik 2083 | 23 Oct 2026 | Friday |
| Tihar Holiday / World Freedom Day / Gai PujaHoliday | 23 Kartik 2083 | 9 Nov 2026 | Monday |
| Tihar Holiday / World Pneumonia DayHoliday | 26 Kartik 2083 | 12 Nov 2026 | Thursday |
| Fagu Poornima / Holi / World Poetry DayHoliday | 7 Chaitra 2083 | 21 Mar 2027 | Sunday |
| Fagu Poornima (Terai) / World Water DayHoliday | 8 Chaitra 2083 | 22 Mar 2027 | Monday |
Dates on this page are read from the Bikram Sambat calendar tables published for each year, and the public-holiday flag follows the list the Government of Nepal gazettes. Where a family's own tradition differs from the general practice described here, the family's tradition is the one that applies.
HolidaysDays in each BS monthFestivals
A week before the purnima, a bamboo pole hung with strips of cloth — the chir — is raised at Basantapur in Kathmandu, and that is the formal start of the season. Water balloons start flying around the same time, whether or not anyone has agreed to them. On the purnima the chir is taken down and burnt, which is the Holika Dahan, and the colour play runs through the day around Basantapur, Thamel and every neighbourhood with a sound system.
The hill districts and Kathmandu play on Fagu Purnima. The Tarai-Madhesh plays the following day, which is how it is kept across the border as well. Both are gazetted: the holiday applies in the hills on the first date and in the Tarai on the second, so an office with staff from both will often see two thin days rather than one empty one.
Balloon throwing at people who have not agreed is an offence and the police make arrests every year, mostly of young men on motorbikes. Colours sold cheaply are often industrial dye rather than food-grade; oiling your hair and skin first is what everyone's grandmother says and it does help. Shops shut, and taxi fares rise. If you keep a vehicle on the street, cover it.
Fagu Purnima is the full moon of Falgun, so it moves against the BS calendar and lands in late Falgun or early Chaitra. Because the purnima can begin or end partway through a day, the almanac occasionally puts the burning on one date and the colour on the next even in the hills.
Booking a flight out on the morning of Holi — the road to the airport is the most enthusiastic stretch in the city. Assuming the Tarai plays on the same day as Kathmandu. And wearing anything you intend to wear again.
The hills and Kathmandu keep it on Fagu Purnima; the Tarai-Madhesh keeps it the next day. Both are official holidays in their own regions.
A week before the purnima, at Basantapur, and it is burnt on the night of the purnima as Holika Dahan.
Throwing them at people who have not consented is, and the police act on it every year.
