January 2026 runs from Dhanu (Pausha) 17 to Makara (Magha) 18 in the Odia calendar. Its big days are Pusha Punei (3 January), Makar Sankranti (14 January), Basanta Panchami (23 January) and Magha Saptami (25 January). Below is every important date of the month, with its rituals.
- Odia months
- Pausha and Magha
- Sankranti
- Makar Sankranti, 14 January
- Purnima
- 3 January
- Amavasya
- 18 January
January 2026Pausha 17 – Magha 18
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pausha 17Festival: English New Year | 2Pausha 18 | 3Pausha 19Festival, Purnima: Pusha Punei (Pausha Purnima) | ||||
| 4Pausha 20 | 5Pausha 21Festival: Pushyabhisheka of Lord Jagannath | 6Pausha 22Festival: Sankata Chaturthi | 7Pausha 23 | 8Pausha 24 | 9Pausha 25 | 10Pausha 26 |
| 11Pausha 27 | 12Pausha 28Festival: Swami Vivekananda Jayanti | 13Pausha 29 | 14Magha 1Festival, Ekadashi, Sankranti: Makar Sankranti; Shattila Ekadashi | 15Magha 2 | 16Magha 3 | 17Magha 4 |
| 18Magha 5Festival, Amavasya: Mauni Amavasya; Maa Biraja's birth festival | 19Magha 6 | 20Magha 7 | 21Magha 8Festival: Padma Besha of Lord Jagannath | 22Magha 9Festival: Barada Chaturthi | 23Magha 10Festival: Basanta Panchami (Saraswati Puja); Netaji and Veer Surendra Sai Jayanti | 24Magha 11 |
| 25Magha 12Festival: Magha Saptami | 26Magha 13Festival: Republic Day; Bhishma Ashtami | 27Magha 14 | 28Magha 15 | 29Magha 16Ekadashi: Bhaimi Ekadashi | 30Magha 17 | 31Magha 18Festival: Nityananda Jayanti; Joranda Mela |
Important dates in January 2026
| Date | Festival or observance |
|---|---|
| 1 JanuaryThursday | English New Year |
| 3 JanuarySaturday | Pusha Punei (Pausha Purnima) |
| 5 JanuaryMonday | Pushyabhisheka of Lord Jagannath |
| 6 JanuaryTuesday | Sankata Chaturthi |
| 12 JanuaryMonday | Swami Vivekananda Jayanti |
| 14 JanuaryWednesday | Makar Sankranti; Shattila Ekadashi |
| 18 JanuarySunday | Mauni Amavasya; Maa Biraja's birth festival |
| 21 JanuaryWednesday | Padma Besha of Lord Jagannath |
| 22 JanuaryThursday | Barada Chaturthi |
| 23 JanuaryFriday | Basanta Panchami (Saraswati Puja); Netaji and Veer Surendra Sai Jayanti |
| 25 JanuarySunday | Magha Saptami |
| 26 JanuaryMonday | Republic Day; Bhishma Ashtami |
| 29 JanuaryThursday | Bhaimi Ekadashi |
| 31 JanuarySaturday | Nityananda Jayanti; Joranda Mela |
Rituals, date by date
1 January: English New Year
Families visit temples in the morning and head out for picnics; New Year's Day opens Odisha's winter picnic season.
3 January: Pusha Punei (Pausha Purnima)
The full moon of Pausha closes the paddy harvest. In villages across western and southern Odisha, children go from house to house asking for rice and paddy, and families make pitha from the new rice. The month-long Magha brata, a daily dawn bath and prayer, begins.
Why it matters: The thanksgiving for the year's main harvest, with the granaries full.
5 January: Pushyabhisheka of Lord Jagannath
At Puri, Jagannath is anointed and dressed as a king (Rajabhisheka) under the Pushya star.
6 January: Sankata Chaturthi
Devotees fast for Ganesh through the day and break the fast after seeing the moon, praying to be spared trouble (sankata).
12 January: Swami Vivekananda Jayanti
National Youth Day: schools and colleges hold talks, rallies and sports in his memory.
14 January: Makar Sankranti; Shattila Ekadashi
Families soak freshly harvested rice with jaggery, banana, coconut, chhena and milk to make makara chaula, offer it to the Sun and share it, after a holy dip at dawn. It is also Shattila Ekadashi: sesame goes into the bath, the food and the gifts.
Why it matters: The Sun enters Makara and begins its northward journey (Uttarayan). Fixed by the Sun, it falls on 14 January almost every year.
18 January: Mauni Amavasya; Maa Biraja's birth festival
Devotees take a holy dip at dawn and keep silence (mauna) for the day, with gifts to the poor. At Jajpur, the Biraja temple celebrates the goddess's birthday. A day for offerings of water and sesame to the ancestors (tarpana); many families avoid starting new work.
21 January: Padma Besha of Lord Jagannath
At Puri, the deities are dressed in lotus flowers and ornaments made from them, for one day in Magha.
22 January: Barada Chaturthi
Ganesh is worshipped and families fast, asking for his blessing (barada, the giver of boons) before Basanta Panchami.
23 January: Basanta Panchami (Saraswati Puja); Netaji and Veer Surendra Sai Jayanti
Students place their books and pens before Goddess Saraswati, and small children write their first letters with chalk (Khadi Chhuan); schools and colleges hold pujas. Odisha also remembers Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, born in Cuttack, and the freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai of Sambalpur.
Why it matters: The day of learning, and the first day of spring.
25 January: Magha Saptami
Pilgrims bathe at Chandrabhaga, near the Konark Sun Temple, before dawn and pray to the rising Sun.
Why it matters: The Sun God's own day, and Konark's biggest festival.
26 January: Republic Day; Bhishma Ashtami
Flags are raised at schools and offices, with parades and programmes. It is also Bhishma Ashtami, when water offerings (tarpana) are made in memory of Bhishma.
29 January: Bhaimi Ekadashi
Odisha's name for the Ekadashi of Magha, kept in Bhima's name. Families fast from rice and other grains, worship Vishnu, and break the fast after sunrise the next day.
31 January: Nityananda Jayanti; Joranda Mela
Vaishnava temples celebrate the birth of Nityananda, Sri Chaitanya's companion. At Joranda, in Dhenkanal, followers of Mahima Dharma gather and pour ghee into the sacred fire.
Koraput in January
January brings Koraput's coldest nights, down to 3 °C, so bring warm clothes for everyone. It is the best month for clear views from Deomali, and the Onukadelli market runs every Thursday.
February 2026 · How the Odia calendar works, and every month
Dates from the Kohinoor Press Sankhyepa Panjika 2026, Cuttack.
