Uttar Pradesh will soon follow the ‘One Date, One Festival’ rule, ensuring uniformity in the observance of religious festivals and public holidays. The decision, based on the almanac published in Varanasi, has been finalised under the directives of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Kashi Vidwat Parishad has prepared the framework, and after gaining consensus from all almanac experts across the state, the implementation process has commenced.
Following the standardisation of Varanasi’s almanacs, preparations are underway to unify festival dates across the entire state. “By 2026, Uttar Pradesh will introduce a single official almanac ensuring uniform festival dates,” a government spokesman said here on Monday.
This initiative will be publicly launched on the occasion of the Hindu New Year. The move aims to eliminate discrepancies in the observance of religious events and fasting days. The Kashi Vidwat Parishad has prepared the groundwork, which will be formally presented to the Chief Minister on April 7.
Prof Ramnarayan Dwivedi, General Secretary of the Kashi Vidwat Parishad, stated that a specialised team, comprising scholars from Kashi and leading almanac experts from across the state, has been formed to create a uniform calendar. The new calendar will be meticulously crafted based on precise astronomical calculations for the upcoming year.
“This initiative will follow the principles of ‘One Date, One Festival, One Almanac,” Prof Dwivedi said.
During a recent astrology conference at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), almanac experts unanimously agreed to implement this standardisation. The first unified almanac will be published in 2026, coinciding with the Hindu New Year (Nav Samvatsar). The Annapurna Math Temple will oversee its publication. This will mark a historic milestone in eliminating discrepancies in festival dates across Uttar Pradesh. The calendar will be applicable for Samvat 2083 (2026-27).
The standardisation process for almanacs in Varanasi has already been completed with the collaboration of BHU, Kashi Vidwat Parishad and local almanac publishers. The effort, initiated on Chaitra Pratipada, has brought uniformity to almanacs such as Vishwapanchang (BHU), Rishikesh, Mahavir, Ganesh Aapa, Aditya and Thakur Prasad Panchang. This unification has been achieved after three years of meticulous work.
With the implementation of the unified calendar, inconsistencies in festival observances will be resolved. Key festivals such as Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, Navratri, Ram Navami, Akshaya Tritiya, Ganga Dussehra, Raksha Bandhan, Shravan, Janmashtami, Pitru Paksha, Mahalaya, Vijayadashami, Deepavali, Annakut, Narak Chaturdashi, Bhai Dooj, Dhanteras, Kartik Ekadashi, Dev Deepavali, Sharad Purnima, Surya Sashti, Khichdi and Holi will now be observed on the same date across the state.
Prof Vinay Pandey from BHU’s Department of Astrology emphasised that this uniformity will eliminate confusion among devotees regarding festival dates.
“The determination of religious observances is based on various astronomical factors beyond just the sunrise date. For instance, the observance of Ram Navami is determined by the midday phase, Deepavali by the Pradosh period, and Shivratri and Janmashtami by the midnight phase. The new standardised system will ensure accuracy and consistency in festival observances across Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Rukmani Sharma, a 72-year-old resident of Lucknow, welcomed the decision, saying, “Of late, there are two dates for many festivals, which makes it difficult for us to decide on which date to celebrate. With ‘One Date, One Festival,’ this confusion will finally end.”
