By now, you may have noticed something unusual about Hindu calendars.
The New Year doesn't always begin on January 1. Festivals don't fall on the same date every year. And this year, we even talked about an extra month-Adhik Maas.
So how does it all work?
In this special episode pf That's So Hindu, HAF Education Research Assistant Devala Rees explores the many ways Hindu communities have tracked years and months, how festival dates are determined, and what all those terms and timings on a Hindu calendar actually mean.
Because understanding Hindu Dharmas isn't just about learning beliefs and practices, it's also about understanding the systems of knowledge that have helped communities mark time, celebrate seasons, and organize sacred life for generations.
Save this for the next time you're trying to figure out why a Hindu festival falls on a different date every year. Tune in now 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/lbycbhwbgc
Hindu American Foundation
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www.hinduamerican.org The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is an educational and advocacy organization established in 2003. Our Guiding Principles
Satya. Ahimsa.
HAF focuses on educating the public about Hindus and Hinduism and advocating for policies and practices that ensure the well-being of all people and the planet. We work directly with educators and journalists to ensure accurate understanding of Hindus and Hinduism. We also work with policymakers and key stakeholders to champion issues of concern to Hindu Americans, including defending civil and hu
What do you call it when the same person repeatedly targets Hindu Americans, Hindu organizations, and community leaders with guilt-by-association attacks?
Many in our community would call it bullying.
In this clip, Samir Kalra responds to yet another false claim about HAF, one of many attempts to delegitimize ordinary Hindu American civic engagement through insinuation rather than evidence.
Disagreement is part of public discourse. Repeatedly smearing people and organizations is something else entirely.
Watch the full episode of this week's HAF Reacts on Youtube 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/imsltgjvgd
05/30/2026
Ever wondered why Hindu holidays fall on different dates every year? Over the past 2 days, we have delved a little bit into how Hindu calendars work and the significance of Adhik Maas. don't forget to follow along.
Across regions and communities, Hindu festivals are guided by intricate lunar and solar cycles that align celebrations with changing seasons, celestial movements, and sacred observances throughout the year.
From Diwali and Holi to Navaratri and New Year celebrations, each holiday carries layers of seasonal, spiritual, and cultural meaning.
Our Hindu Holiday Calendar is designed to help you better understand and follow these observances throughout the year, while also exploring the deeper rhythms behind them. Printable, easy to use, and perfect for your home, office, or mandir.
Download yours today. 👉
Calendar Guide to Dharma Days and Hindu Holidays Here are some of the more widely celebrated Hindu holidays and days of significance to Dharma traditions for accommodation, observation, and celebration.
Why do certain stories gain traction while others don't?
This week on HAF Reacts, HAF's Raj Rao breaks down how narrative building works, how selective framing, repetition, and assumptions can shape public perception long before all the facts are known.
From Sikhs for Justice suing Jimmy Fallon, Diljit Dosanjh, and others over allegedly “hurting Sikh sentiments,” to Pieter Friedrich once again turning ordinary Hindu community organizing into an imaginary supremacist conspiracy… and yes, even the now-infamous Bangladeshi buffalo with the Trump haircut making an appearance.
At this point, we need to know: which story made you do the biggest double-take? 👀
Tune in now 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/wwhjgymlds
This week on HAF Reacts, Samir Kalra, Mat McDermott, and Raj Rao unpack another round of headlines that sound completely made up but somehow aren’t.
From Sikhs for Justice suing Jimmy Fallon, Diljit Dosanjh, and others over allegedly “hurting Sikh sentiments,” to Pieter Friedrich once again turning ordinary Hindu community organizing into an imaginary supremacist conspiracy… and yes, even the now-infamous Bangladeshi buffalo with the Trump haircut making an appearance.
At this point, we need to know: which story made you do the biggest double-take? 👀
Tune in now 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/kkiervgcop
Did you know the Hindu calendar works differently from the Gregorian calendar?
In fact, Hindu traditions have used more than 30 distinct calendars across regions and communities, many rooted in intricate lunar and solar cycles that align human life with the rhythms of nature.
For many Hindu communities, the new year begins in spring, around the lunar month of Chaitra, marking a season of renewal, color, gratitude, and transition. While celebrations may look different across traditions, they are all shaped by a deeper relationship with time, one that sees calendars not just as a way to track days, but as a way to live in harmony with the world around us.
And sometimes, that relationship with time creates something extraordinary.
Like this year’s Adhik Maas, an “extra month” added to realign the lunar and solar calendars.
We’ll dive into that tomorrow. STAY TUNED!
05/28/2026
Attention residents of New York 🚨
The NY State Legislature has introduced two bills to protect your right to display religious symbols, torans, diyas, Hindu deities, mezuzahs, on your own front door.
For many communities, these symbols are not decoration, but expressions of faith, identity, and belonging. This legislation helps ensure those rights are protected without discrimination.
Email your legislators and urge them to SUPPORT these bills. 👇
HAF Advocacy Center Take action on issues crucial to Hindu Americans
05/28/2026
“Smear by association” has become a disturbingly common tactic used against Hindu Americans.
Attend an event? Dangerous.
Work with elected officials? Suspicious.
Advocate for your community? Extremist.
No other minority community is expected to constantly apologize for participating in public life the way Hindus are.
The repeated attempt by Friedrich Pieter to portray Hindu Americans and Hindu organizations through his false narrative is why we feel compelled to speak up and challenge these portrayals.
HAF Board Member Dr. Kavita Pallod Sekhsaria responds to the repeated targeting of her family 👇
https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/pieter-fried rich-rakhi-israni-response
Pride is not supremacy: A response to Pieter Friedrich Friedrich treats all Hindu association itself — family ties, camp ties, religious ties, community ties — as presumptively sinister.
05/27/2026
Attention New Yorkers 🚨
Diwali is celebrated by more than 225,000 Hindus in New York, along with Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist communities across the state. Official recognition would help ensure that students and families can fully observe this important holiday together.
The New York legislative session ends on June 4, and this is our final opportunity to urge lawmakers to support A3507 and A828 to officially recognize Diwali as both a New York State Holiday and a statewide school holiday.
We encourage all New Yorkers to contact their state legislators and ask them to SUPPORT A3507 and A828.
Take action now 👇
HAF Advocacy Center Take action on issues crucial to Hindu Americans
05/25/2026
He was still at the beginning of his life.
There is a story of a young warrior named Abhimanyu. He enters a complex battlefield formation called the Chakravyuha with courage shaped by training, trust, and a deep sense of dharma (duty), a responsibility larger than himself.
He knows how to move into it. But not how to find his way back out.
And once inside, the battlefield shifts in ways no one fully prepares him for. The formation closes around him. The paths he knew disappear. The support he expected is no longer within reach.
He is left standing at the center of something vast and unfolding, where every direction looks the same, and every moment demands more than the last.
Still, he does not turn away from what he believes he must do. He stands his ground in a situation no one should have to face alone, carrying forward even as the space around him becomes smaller, heavier, and more uncertain.
What remains in this story is not the details of battle, but something quieter. The vulnerability of courage. The weight of dharma. The reality that even the bravest lives can be shaped by forces far beyond their control.
He does not return home. And that absence is what lingers.
On Memorial Day, we remember the countless U.S. service members who also stepped forward with courage, carrying the dharma (responsibilities) for their country. Many were young. Many had just begun imagining their futures. And all were part of lives that meant deeply to the people who loved them.
We remember not only their service, but the life within it. The hopes, the names, the families, and the silence that follows loss.
And we hold that memory with gratitude that words will never fully be enough to express.
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