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The new year 2026 is going to be very special in terms of holidays and festivals for working employees, bank employees, school-college students and people who are fond of travelling. According to the holiday tables released by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and various state governments, the year 2026 includes a total of 17 mandatory gazetted holidays and more than 30 restricted / optional holidays. With this, if the weekly holidays of Saturday and Sunday and long weekends are added, then people are going to get a great opportunity of break and vacation from work for more than 50 days in a year.
The calendar of major national and religious holidays which are compulsorily observed in government offices, banks and educational institutions is as follows:
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Republic Day: 26 January 2026 (Monday)
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Holi (Holi / Dhulivandan): 3-4 March 2026 (Tuesday/Wednesday)
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Eid-ul-Fitr: 21 March 2026 (Saturday)
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Ram Navami: 26 March 2026 (Thursday)
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Mahavir Jayanti: 31 March 2026 (Tuesday)
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Good Friday: 3 April 2026 (Friday)
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Buddha Purnima: 1 May 2026 (Friday)
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Bakrid / Eid-ul-Zuha: 27-28 May 2026 (Wednesday/Thursday)
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Muharram: 26 June 2026 (Friday)
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Independence Day: 15 August 2026 (Saturday)
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Eid-e-Milad (Milad-un-Nabi): 26 August 2026 (Wednesday)
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Shri Krishna Janmashtami: 4 September 2026 (Friday)
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Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti: 2 October 2026 (Friday)
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Dussehra / Vijayadashami (Dussehra): 20-21 October 2026 (Tuesday/Wednesday)
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Diwali / Deepawali: 8-10 November 2026 (Sunday to Tuesday)
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Guru Nanak Jayanti: 24 November 2026 (Tuesday)
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Christmas: 25 December 2026 (Friday)
In the year 2026, many such national and religious festivals are falling on Friday or Monday, due to which 3 to 4 days continuous holiday (Long Weekend) including Saturday and Sunday is automatically given:
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January Long Weekend: 24 January (Saturday), 25 January (Sunday) and 26 January (Monday – Republic Day).
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April Long Weekend: April 3 (Friday – Good Friday), April 4 (Saturday) and April 5 (Sunday – Easter).
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May Day Weekend: 1 May (Friday – Buddha Purnima/Labor Day), 2 May (Saturday) and 3 May (Sunday).
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June weekend: 26 June (Friday – Muharram), 27 June (Saturday) and 28 June (Sunday).
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September Janmashtami Weekend: 4th September (Friday – Janmashtami), 5th September (Saturday) and 6th September (Sunday).
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October Gandhi Jayanti Weekend: 2 October (Friday – Gandhi Jayanti), 3 October (Saturday) and 4 October (Sunday).
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December Christmas Weekend: 25 December (Friday – Christmas), 26 December (Saturday) and 27 December (Sunday).
Employees have the right to choose 2 to 3 Optional Holidays (RH) throughout the year as per their choice:
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New Year’s Day: 1 January 2026 (Thursday)
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Makar Sankranti / Pongal: 14-15 January 2026
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Basant Panchami: 23 January 2026 (Friday)
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Maha Shivratri: 15 February 2026 (Sunday)
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Holika Dahan: 2-3 March 2026
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Gudi Padwa / Ugadi: 19 March 2026 (Thursday)
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Raksha Bandhan: 28 August 2026 (Friday)
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Ganesh Chaturthi: 14 September 2026 (Monday)
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Karwa Chauth: 29 October 2026 (Thursday)
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Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj: 9-11 November 2026
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Chhath Puja: 15 November 2026 (Sunday)
If you are thinking of going on a long trip, religious pilgrimage or vacation with your family in the New Year, then you can book train and flight tickets and hotels keeping these dates in mind from now on. You can easily enjoy a long leave of 4 to 5 days by taking Casual Leave (CL) on one of the intervening working days (e.g. around Thursday or Tuesday).