Sacred times of the year: festivals around the world, 2026–2027

People everywhere honor the same turning points of the year: the solstices and equinoxes, the new year (by sun or moon), the harvest, and festivals of light in the darkest weeks. Below are 33 of the most widely celebrated, in date order for the next 12 months, with why each falls when it does.

Festival calendar: the next 12 months

Date	Festival	Tradition	Why this time of year
Oct 31 – Nov 1, 2026	Samhain / Halloween	Gaelic, now worldwide	Start of the 'dark half' of the year, when the veil to the spirit world was thought thinnest
Nov 1–2, 2026	Día de los Muertos	Mexico	Families welcome back the spirits of loved ones with altars, marigolds and food
Nov 8, 2026	Diwali	Hindu, Sikh, Jain	Festival of lights on the new moon of autumn: light over darkness
Dec 4–12, 2026	Hanukkah	Jewish	Eight nights of candles in the darkest weeks of the year
Dec 13, 2026	St. Lucia's Day	Sweden, Norway	Candle-crowned processions; under the old calendar it fell on the longest night
Dec 21, 2026	Winter solstice, Yule and Shab-e Yalda	Pagan, Germanic, Persian	The longest night: the sun is 'reborn' and days start to lengthen
Dec 22, 2026	Dongzhi	China, East Asia	The 'arrival of winter' solstice festival, with family meals of tangyuan
Dec 25, 2026	Christmas	Christian	The birth of Jesus, set in late December near the old midwinter feasts
Jan 1, 2027	New Year's Day	Gregorian calendar, worldwide	The start of the civil year
Jan 7, 2027	Orthodox Christmas	Orthodox Christian	Christmas on the old Julian calendar, now 13 days behind
Feb 1–2, 2027	Imbolc / Candlemas	Gaelic, Christian	Halfway from the winter solstice to the spring equinox: first stirrings of spring
Feb 6, 2027	Lunar New Year	China, Korea, Vietnam, East Asia	The second new moon after the winter solstice opens the lunar year (Year of the Goat)
about Feb 8 – Mar 8, 2027	Ramadan	Muslim	The month the Quran was first revealed: fasting from dawn to sunset. It moves 10–11 days earlier each year
about Mar 9–10, 2027	Eid al-Fitr	Muslim	Celebration ending the Ramadan fast, set by the new crescent moon
Mar 20, 2027	Spring equinox and Ostara	Worldwide, Pagan	Day and night are nearly equal: balance, rebirth and planting
Mar 21, 2027	Nowruz	Iran, Central Asia, Kurdish	Persian New Year begins at the spring equinox
Mar 22, 2027	Holi	Hindu	Festival of colors at the spring full moon: the end of winter and good over evil
Mar 28, 2027	Easter	Christian	Resurrection of Jesus, on the first Sunday after the spring full moon
Apr 13–15, 2027	Songkran	Thailand, Laos, Myanmar	Water festival for the traditional solar new year
Apr 22–29, 2027	Passover	Jewish	The Exodus from Egypt, at the spring full moon (begins the evening of Apr 21)
May 1, 2027	Beltane / May Day	Gaelic, European	Start of summer with bonfires and maypoles
May 2, 2027	Orthodox Easter (Pascha)	Orthodox Christian	Easter calculated on the Julian calendar
about May 16–17, 2027	Eid al-Adha	Muslim	Feast of sacrifice during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca
about May 20, 2027	Vesak (Buddha Day)	Buddhist	Birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha, on the full moon of May (dates vary by country)
Jun 21, 2027	Summer solstice and Midsummer	Northern Europe, worldwide	The longest day: the sun at its peak power
Jun 24, 2027	Inti Raymi	Andes, Peru	Inca festival of the sun at the southern winter solstice
Aug 1, 2027	Lughnasadh / Lammas	Gaelic, English	The first grain harvest
Aug 13–16, 2027	Obon	Japan	Ancestors' spirits return home; lanterns guide them back
Sep 15, 2027	Mid-Autumn Festival / Chuseok	China, Vietnam, Korea	Harvest moon festival on the year's brightest full moon
Sep 23, 2027	Autumn equinox and Mabon	Worldwide, Pagan	Equal day and night: completing the harvest and giving thanks
Oct 2–3, 2027	Rosh Hashanah	Jewish	Jewish New Year and the start of ten days of reflection (begins the evening of Oct 1)
Oct 11, 2027	Yom Kippur	Jewish	Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish year
Oct 29, 2027	Diwali	Hindu, Sikh, Jain	Festival of lights

Islamic dates depend on sighting the new moon and may shift by a day. Jewish holidays begin at sunset the evening before. Vesak and some Hindu festivals vary by country.

The four turning points of the sun

Winter solstice (Dec 21–22 in the north): the return of light. Yule, Shab-e Yalda, Dongzhi, St. Lucia's Day, and in the Southern Hemisphere in June, Inti Raymi.
Spring equinox (around Mar 20): balance and rebirth. Nowruz, Ostara, and the moon-dated Easter and Passover that follow it.
Summer solstice (around Jun 21): the sun at full strength. Midsummer bonfires across Scandinavia and the Baltics.
Autumn equinox (around Sep 22–23): harvest and thanks. Mabon, and the Mid-Autumn Festival on the nearby harvest moon.

Festivals of light in the dark

Diwali, Hanukkah, St. Lucia's Day, Christmas, Yule and Shab-e Yalda all fall between late October and late December, when nights are longest in the Northern Hemisphere. Each lights lamps, candles or fires against the dark.

New years by sun and moon

Not everyone starts the year on January 1. Lunar New Year follows the second new moon after the winter solstice, Nowruz begins at the spring equinox, Songkran in mid-April, Rosh Hashanah in early autumn, and the Islamic new year moves through the seasons. Read how calendars differ in Gregorian vs Julian calendar.

Questions people ask

What are the most sacred times of the year around the world?

The four solar turning points (the winter and summer solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes) are the oldest. Around them sit festivals of light in the dark of winter (Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Yule, Shab-e Yalda), new year festivals (Lunar New Year, Nowruz, Rosh Hashanah) and harvest festivals (Mid-Autumn, Lammas, Thanksgiving).

Why are so many festivals near the winter solstice?

For farming societies the solstice was the turning point when the sun stopped retreating and days began to lengthen again. Festivals of light, fire and feasting marked the return of the sun in the hardest part of the year.

Why do Ramadan, Diwali and Lunar New Year change dates every year?

They follow the moon. The Islamic calendar is purely lunar, about 354 days, so Ramadan moves about 11 days earlier each year. Hindu, Chinese and Jewish calendars are lunisolar: they add an extra month every few years so festivals stay in roughly the same season.

What are the cross-quarter days?

The four days roughly halfway between the solstices and equinoxes: Imbolc (Feb 1), Beltane (May 1), Lughnasadh (Aug 1) and Samhain (Oct 31). They were the main seasonal festivals of the Gaelic year, and Samhain lives on as Halloween.

Are the seasons the same everywhere?

No. They're reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, so the December solstice is midsummer in Australia and South America, and the Inca festival of Inti Raymi in June marks the southern winter solstice.

Sources

Count down to any of them on the countdown, or see them on the 2027 calendar.

Last updated October 18, 2026.