Sacred Seasons

2026 Festival essays

Choose one of the dated essays below. The Sacred Seasons menu above also lists each article as a subpage, so you can open a title directly from the dropdown.

Hindu festivals and observances

• July 10–29 · Ratha Yatra, Devshayani Ekadashi & Guru Purnima
  Yogini Ekadashi, Karka Sankranti, the chariot festival, Chaturmas, and the teacher’s day.

• August 8–30 · Monsoon Devotion & Family Bonds
  Kamika Ekadashi, Hariyali and Kajari Teej, Nag Panchami, Varalakshmi Vrat, Onam, Raksha Bandhan, Gayatri Jayanti, and more.

• September 3–26 · Divine Births & Ancestral Memory
  Janmashtami, Aja Ekadashi, Hartalika Teej, Ganesh Chaturthi, Rishi Panchami, Vishwakarma Puja, Radha Ashtami, Anant Chaturdashi, and Pitru Paksha.

• October 6–November 1 · Nine Nights & Autumn’s Threshold
  Indira Ekadashi, the close of Pitru Paksha, Navaratri, Durga Puja, Vijayadashami, Sharad Purnima, Karwa Chauth, and Ahoi Ashtami.

Modern Pagan seasonal observances

• August 1 · Lughnasadh / Lammas: First Harvest, Two Histories
  Gaelic seasonal gatherings and the English loaf blessing, with notes on their distinct histories.

• September 22–23 · Mabon: The Equinox and a Modern Pagan Name
  The 2026 equinox, local seasons, and the modern history of the festival name.

• October 31–November 1 · Samhain: Ancestors, Memory & the Threshold into Winter
  Gaelic seasonal history, modern Pagan remembrance, and distinctions from Halloween and Día de Muertos.

Calendar scope: major named Hindu observances listed in New York 2026 calendars and the widely used Northern Hemisphere Wheel of the Year dates. Hindu panchangs, local rites, Pagan paths, and hemispheres differ; dates and coverage are not exhaustive of every community worldwide.