What date is it, really? The Hindu Calendar

When exactly does the new year begin? That depends on who is answering. For many North Indians, Diwali is New Year’s Day. But it falls on a different date each year. April 14th is Puthandu, Vishu, Baisakhi, and Bihu - the New Year’s Day for Tamils, Malayalees, Punjabis, and Assamese. But Ugadi and Gudi Padawa - the New Year’s Day for Telugus, Kannadigas and Marathis falls on a different date each year. How are these dates determined and why are calendars so different? This is the story of how ancient Indians and people across the world measured time.

#Storytrails #HinduCalendar #Calendar #Baisakhi #Bihu #Puthandu #Vishu #Ugadi #GudiPadawa #NewYear #FestivalsofIndia #History #IndianHistory #StoriesofIndia #IndianCulture #IndianHeritage #ThreeMinuteStorytrails #FiveMinuteStorytrails #IncredibleIndia

Editing credits: Studio A, Chennai
Illustrations: Vibha Surya


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A few clarifications:

2:28 - Strictly speaking, the Moon takes only 27.3 days to orbit the Earth. Because the Earth and the Moon are constantly moving, sunlight illuminates the Moon from a different angle every day. Therefore, to a person observing from Earth, a full Moon appears only 29.5 days after the previous full Moon. Our ancients knew this, but rounded it off to 30 days for operational convenience!

3:57 - Pope Gregory was merely fine-tuning the concept of leap year introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE. Caesar’s astronomers had "over-compensated" the leap year, because a solar year is actually 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds, not 365 days, 6 hours as approximated by them. Pope Gregory re-adjusted this overcompensation by declaring every 100th year a non-leap year, and every 400th year a leap year! Pope Gregory is therefore remembered as the “inventor” of the modern calendar!

[JR]

This video didn't mention that the lunisolar calendar has a leap month, which is most fascinating thing about lunisolar calendars.

[bobkelly]

Loved this! In an era when “what is Indian” and what is not, it is ever more important to acknowledge and celebrate the diversity even within Hindu systems, let alone the melting pot of cultures on the subcontinent.

[pumakidon]

I'm Thai from Thailand we celebrate songkran n Thai New year follow tamil calendar on April 14 following the sun.

[BALLIandFLUFFYandOZIE]

i just love how they easily say tamils, punjabis, bengalis and Assamese in the same line. it covers a great range of India as a country
they follow vastly different rituals and practices yet it sounds lovely when these names are together.

[iamyou]

I don't know why people don't subscribe this type channels . They are literally explains these indian things in a very good way . Also they explaining in English which help to get know about india by other abroad people. This channel deserve more subs

[campus]

Greetings. My daughter asked me today why Diwali is not in November this year and I was delighted to find your video upon a simple search. As an NRI, she is not growing around too many Indians and this really answered her question. Thank you and may your channel grow leaps and bounds.

[nandinick]

Very nice! Especially loved the fact that you guys are able to present information interestingly without mixing any unnecessary emotions and biases

[akashdhar]

Not only Maharashtra and Karnataka but Sindhi people also celebrate new year on Chaitra Shukla pratipada. The day is observed as cheti chand in honour of Baba Jhulelal who is believed to be the reincarnation of Varun Dev.

[prashanthreddy]

-> Punjabi, Nepali, Maithili, Assamese, Bengali, Odia, Tamil, Malayalam, Sinhalese new year day is around April 14th every time.
-> Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Sindhi, Kashmiri, Manipuri new year day falls on 1st day of Chaitra Month in its Shukla Paksham.
-> Gujarati and Marwadi New Year day is on the next day of Diwali.
-> I guess for Hindi speaking people the New Year Day might be on Holi (as it is the 1st day of Chaitra month as per Vikram Samvat)

[musemotif]

Very well informed, well articulated and well made video. Thank you!

[panjabipandit]

As a Punjabi Hindu, I always assumed that every Hindu regardless of ethnicity celebrated the new year in the month of Vaisakha or as we Punjabi's pronounce it, Baisakh and hence the term Baisakhi (Vaisakhi). This was a very informative video!

[yzpmvvw]

Great work from story trails!!!! And your presentation is so clear, pleasant, and engaging. Both to the eyes & ears. Would love to see many
more from you. Keep going.

[pravinghanesh]

Beautifully explained. Complex topic made easy for laypeople in simple language and graphics.

[MrJekyllDrHyde]

Great work, you managed to present the messy conglomeration of calendars in a nice, easy to understand way.

[k_n_goswami]

This was an incredibly well compiled presentation. Great work, guys!

[tatvafnu]

Well done. You should certainly included great Indian ancient texts such as Surya Siddhanta and others and not just limit to Aryabhatt.

[RishabhSharma]

6:00 For Gujaratis, the new year is on Diwali.
They follow a certain variation of Vikram Samvat Calendar, where the first month is Kārtika.

For us, Bhojpuriyas (people of western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh), new year is on Holi, where we follow the variation of Vikram Samvat Calendar where the first month is Chaitra.

[reachbinnie]

Great video. Cleared the mystery of shifting dates of seasons. We Punjabis celebrate new year on 14th March (first Punjabi month is Chet) and not 14th April which is the harvest festival of Vaisakhi (and also the start of the second month Vaisakh).

[shardavajjhala]

Very informative. I was just having this discussion with family at home, the other day.