Onam 2026’s main day — Thiruvonam — is Wednesday, 26 August. The ten-day season began with Atham on Sunday, 16 August 2026. The Kerala government has notified public holidays for First Onam on 25 August, Thiruvonam on 26 August, Third Onam on 27 August, and Fourth Onam on 28 August. That four-day window is what offices, schools, and most families actually plan around — not a single “Onam date” on a national calendar.
This is an English explainer of the 2026 dates, why they split across two weeks, and which days are holidays for government offices versus banks. We checked the Kerala General Administration Department holiday gazette (31 October 2025) and Kerala Tourism’s Onam pages on 16 August 2026. For a ritual clock in your city, use a local panchangam; this page does not invent muhurat minutes.
Key facts (as of 16 August 2026)
Festival: Onam, Malayalam month Chingam
Traditional start: Atham — Sunday, 16 August 2026
Main day: Thiruvonam — Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Kerala public-office holidays: 25, 26, 27 and 28 August 2026
Gazette: G.O. (P) No. 14/2025/GAD, Thiruvananthapuram, 31 October 2025
Primary source: Kerala GAD public-holiday PDF
When is Onam 2026?
If you need one date for a greeting, a school note, or a flight, use Wednesday, 26 August 2026. That is Thiruvonam, the day Kerala Tourism treats as the climax of the season and the day the state gazette names “Thiruvonam.”
If you need the holiday block, use Tuesday 25 August through Friday 28 August 2026. The gazette lists:
Tuesday, 25 August 2026 — First Onam (printed on the same line as Milad-i-Sherif, the Prophet’s birthday, which the gazette marks as moon-dependent).
Wednesday, 26 August 2026 — Thiruvonam. Malayalam Era 10-1-1202; Saka 4-6-1948.
Thursday, 27 August 2026 — Third Onam.
Friday, 28 August 2026 — Fourth Onam, printed together with Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi and Ayyankali Jayanthi.
Atham on 16 August is not a statewide public holiday. It is the traditional start: first pookkalam at home, and Athachamayam at Thripunithura, Ernakulam — the procession Kerala Tourism calls the season’s takeoff.
Why is Thiruvonam 26 August, not 16 August?
Onam follows the Thiruvonam (Shravana) nakshatra in Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam calendar. Kerala Tourism treats it as both Mahabali’s homecoming and a harvest festival — Chingam is when the monsoon crop is in. It is not “the Sunday after Independence Day.”
The ten named days — Atham, Chithira, Chodhi (Chothi), Vishakam, Anizham, Thriketa, Moolam, Pooradam, Uthradam, Thiruvonam — are asterisms, not ten identical 24-hour blocks. In 2026 Atham is 16 August and Thiruvonam is 26 August: eleven English dates for ten named days, because one nakshatra straddles two midnights. Lifestyle sites therefore disagree by a day on Pooradam or Vishakam. That does not move Thiruvonam. If a forward says “Onam is 16 August,” it is naming Atham, not the main day.
Use 16 August for the start of pookkalam and Athachamayam. Use 26 August for Thiruvonam. Use 25–28 August for leave, banks, and travel. Do not collapse those into one date.
Onam 2026 day-by-day calendar
Usual Chingam order, locked to the gazette at both ends. For middle days, treat the name as stable; the English date can shift ±1 if your panchangam splits a nakshatra differently.
16 August, Sunday — Atham. First pookkalam; Athachamayam at Thripunithura. Not a gazette holiday.
17 August, Monday — Chithira. Homes cleaned; another ring of the floral carpet.
18 August, Tuesday — Chodhi / Chothi. Onakkodi (new clothes) shopping typically peaks.
19 August, Wednesday — Vishakam. Sadhya planning. In 2026 this asterism is the one most likely to span two calendar dates.
20 August, Thursday — Anizham. Vallam kali (snake-boat) stretch; big races also sit after Thiruvonam.
21 August, Friday — Thriketa. Temple visits; thicker pookkalam.
22 August, Saturday — Moolam. Early community sadyas; Pulikali and Kaikottikali in some towns.
23–24 August — Pooradam. Onathappan / Mahabali–Vamana figures at the pookkalam centre. Panchangams disagree most here; 25–26 August are gazette-locked.
25 August, Tuesday — Uthradam / First Onam. Eve. Public offices closed. Gazette prints Milad-i-Sherif on the same line (moon-dependent); First Onam as Uthradam does not ride the moon.
26 August, Wednesday — Thiruvonam. Main day: pookkalam, Onasadya, Onakkodi. Offices and banks closed.
27 August, Thursday — Third Onam / Avittam. Offices closed; many homes take the Onathappan down. Banks stay open on the Negotiable Instruments Act list.
28 August, Friday — Fourth Onam / Chathayam. Offices closed. Gazette bundles this Friday with Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi and Ayyankali Jayanthi — that combined holiday is why banks close, not the name “Fourth Onam.” Restricted holiday: Avani Avittom, for eligible Brahmin-community government staff.
Pulikali in Thrissur and the Aranmula boat race often fall in the days after Thiruvonam. They are part of the season, not extra gazette Onam holidays. Do not treat 29 or 30 August as statewide Onam leave unless your employer says so.
Kerala holidays: offices vs banks
Two notifications were published on 31 October 2025. Mixing them is how people show up to a closed collectorate or a working bank branch.
Government public offices (G.O. (P) No. 14/2025/GAD) get four Onam-linked days: 25, 26, 27 and 28 August. Sundays and second Saturdays are already closed holidays in that list.
Banks and other institutions under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (G.O. (P) No. 15/2025/GAD) get First Onam on 25 August, Thiruvonam on 26 August, and the 28 August combined holiday (Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi / Ayyankali Jayanthi). Third Onam on 27 August is not on that bank list. Shops and factories follow the Kerala Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays) Act, 1958 — a different statute. Private offices in Bengaluru or Delhi are not bound by the Kerala GAD list at all.
Outside Kerala, 26 August is an ordinary Wednesday unless your school, NRK association, or employer has declared Onam leave. The festival is national in culture and regional in the holiday calendar.
What the days are for
Kerala Tourism’s public description is pookkalam, Onasadya, vallam kali, Onakkodi, and the Mahabali story. Short version: Mahabali is remembered as a just asura king; Vishnu as Vamana covers the worlds in two steps; Mahabali offers his head for the third and is allowed to visit once a year. That visit is Thiruvonam. Onam is celebrated across communities in Kerala; it is not a temple-only rite.
Start the pookkalam on Atham, not on the 26th. The sadya is the household event on Thiruvonam — there is no gazette rule of “26 dishes.” Book travel for 25–28 August, not only the 26th. “Happy Onam” works from Atham; “Happy Thiruvonam” is the precise wish on 26 August.
This page is in the Culture cluster, after Independence Day 2026. Raksha Bandhan 2026 falls on the same Friday as Fourth Onam — 28 August.
What to do next
Kerala leave: 25–28 August for public offices; 25, 26 and 28 August for banks; 27 August may still be a bank working day.
School or all-India mailer: put Thiruvonam, Wednesday 26 August 2026 in the subject, and 25–28 August in the body for Kerala staff.
Visiting: use Kerala Tourism for events; confirm boat races and Pulikali locally — they are not in the GAD PDF.
Download the gazette, do not trust a forwarded image: public holidays 2026 (PDF).
FAQ
When is Onam in 2026?
Thiruvonam is Wednesday, 26 August 2026. The traditional ten-day season started with Atham on 16 August. Kerala public holidays for Onam run 25–28 August.
Is Onam 10 days or 4 days?
Both, for different purposes. Households and cultural programmes treat Atham to Thiruvonam as about ten named days. The state holiday cluster is four days (25–28 August). Do not expect a gazette holiday on Atham (16 August).
What is the difference between First Onam and Thiruvonam?
First Onam is Uthradam, the eve — 25 August 2026. Thiruvonam is the main day — 26 August. Third Onam (27 August) and Fourth Onam (28 August) are the two days after, when some rituals wind down and the remaining gazette holidays fall.
Are banks in Kerala closed on all four Onam days?
No. Under the 2026 Negotiable Instruments Act holiday list, banks close on 25 August (First Onam), 26 August (Thiruvonam), and 28 August (the combined Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi / Ayyankali Jayanthi holiday). 27 August (Third Onam) is a public-office holiday, not a bank holiday in that list.
Is 28 August Onam or Raksha Bandhan?
In 2026 it is both, on the same Friday: Fourth Onam in Kerala, and Raksha Bandhan (Shravan Purnima) in much of the rest of India. They are different festivals that happen to share a Gregorian date this year.
Does First Onam move if Milad-i-Sherif moves with the moon?
The gazette prints them on one line for 25 August and stars Milad as moon-dependent. First Onam as Uthradam is a Chingam nakshatra day, not a lunar-sighting day. If Milad is notified separately later, watch a fresh GAD circular; do not assume Thiruvonam on 26 August moves with the moon.
Sources
Government of Kerala, General Administration (Co-ordination) Department, G.O. (P) No. 14/2025/GAD dated 31 October 2025 — public-office holidays: First Onam 25 Aug, Thiruvonam 26 Aug, Third Onam 27 Aug, Fourth Onam 28 Aug; restricted holiday Avani Avittom 28 Aug.
Same PDF packet, G.O. (P) No. 15/2025/GAD — Negotiable Instruments Act holidays: First Onam 25 Aug, Thiruvonam 26 Aug, Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi / Ayyankali Jayanthi 28 Aug (no Third Onam).
Kerala Tourism: Onam — national festival of Kerala; Atham-to-Thiruvonam season; Mahabali; harvest; Athachamayam, pookkalam, sadya, vallam kali.
Kerala Tourism: Thiruvonam — ten named days and what households typically do on each.
Last checked: 16 August 2026 (Atham). If GAD issues a corrigendum on Milad-i-Sherif or a restricted holiday, that notification wins — we will update this page.