Calendar
Festivals in Pondicherry
Pondicherry celebrates constantly: Tamil temple festivals, French commemorations, Auroville gatherings, and events that exist nowhere else on earth.
All Festivals
January
International Yoga Festival
January 4 to 7, annually
Since 1993, the Government of Puducherry has organized a four-day gathering of yoga…
January
Pongal
January 13 to 16 each year (Thai Pongal, the main day, is…
The most important Tamil festival of the year: four days in mid-January, rooted in the…
January
Republic Day
January 26 each year
India's Republic Day is marked in Pondicherry with a formal flag-hoisting ceremony on…
February
The Mother's Birth Anniversary
February 21 each year
The Sri Aurobindo Ashram marks the birthday of Mirra Alfassa, known as The Mother, with…
February
Masi Magam
Tamil month of Masi, during the Makam (Magha) nakshatra.…
On Masi Magam, the deities of dozens of temples across Pondicherry are carried in long…
February
Auroville Day
February 28 each year
Auroville marks its founding anniversary with a silent dawn gathering at the Matrimandir…
March
Pondicherry Heritage Festival
Late February through early April each year. Duration and…
A month-long series of heritage walks, kayaking trips, architectural sketch meets,…
March
Eid-ul-Fitr (Ramzan)
End of Ramadan, 1 Shawwal in the Islamic calendar. The date…
Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan with community prayers at Pondicherry's mosques,…
April
Easter
First Sunday after the full moon following the spring…
Easter in Pondicherry is the most French-inflected Christian festival in India: midnight…
April
Tamil New Year (Puthandu)
April 13 or April 14 each year
The Tamil New Year begins not with fireworks but with a tray of mangoes, bananas,…
May
Villianur Temple Car Festival
Full moon of the Tamil month of Vaikasi, typically late May…
Ten kilometres from Pondicherry town, on the full moon of the Tamil month of Vaikasi,…
June
Fête de la Musique
June 21 each year (Summer Solstice)
On the longest day of the year, Pondicherry transforms into a giant stage. Free concerts,…
July
Bastille Day
July 14 each year
France's national day is celebrated in Pondicherry with wreath-laying at the French War…
August
Manifest Dance-Film Festival
Early August, typically August 1 to 3. Confirm the current…
South Asia's leading international dance-film festival, held at the Auroville bioregion…
August
Veerampattinam Car Festival
Fifth Friday of the Tamil month of Aadi. In 2026, this falls…
Seven kilometres from Pondicherry, the fishing village of Veerampattinam celebrates a…
August
Fête de Pondichéry
August 15, 16, and 17 each year
Three days of music, illuminated buildings, street food, and dancing mark Pondicherry's…
August
Sri Aurobindo's Birthday
August 15 each year (one of the four annual Darshan Days at…
Sri Aurobindo was born on August 15, 1872. His birthday coincides with Indian Independence…
August
Vinayaka Chaturthi (Ganesha Festival)
Fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada in the…
Pondicherry's Ganesha festival centres on the ancient Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple, where…
September
Midnight Tribe Festival
Early September, two days. Confirm current year's dates with…
Two days of live bands, EDM, and techno on the sand at Sandunes Paradise Beach, with…
October
Ayudha Puja and Saraswathi Puja
Ninth day of Navaratri, in Ashwin (September or October). In…
On Ayudha Puja, Pondicherry gives thanks for the tools, machines, and instruments that…
October
Deepavali
New moon of Kartik in the Hindu lunisolar calendar. In 2026,…
Deepavali in Pondicherry follows Tamil custom: families rise at 4 AM, bathe, put on new…
November
Liberation Day
November 1 each year
On November 1, 1954, the French tricolour was lowered over Pondicherry and the Indian flag…
November
Karthigai Deepam
Full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai, when the moon…
On the night of Karthigai Deepam, homes across Pondicherry are lined with rows of agal…
December
Christmas
December 25, with the Mission Street market running through…
Christmas in Pondicherry is unlike anywhere else in India: French pastry culture, Tamil…
December
New Year
December 31 into January 1
Pondicherry's New Year is, by Indian city standards, unusually calm: beachfront crowds…