The spice calendar
128 harvests, festivals, feasts and fasts of the year, with the spices each one calls for. Dates are worked out afresh every day; those marked "about" follow the moon or local calendars and can shift by a day.
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October 2026
about 8 Oct 2026MehreganThe autumn festival of friendship and harvest, with saffron rice, barberry and pomegranate.
11 to 19 Oct 2026Navratri fasting foodNine nights of fasting, when rock salt, cumin, green chilli and black pepper replace the usual spice box.November 2026
6 Nov 2026DhanterasThe day for buying new vessels, when coriander seed and jaggery are offered to Lakshmi in many homes.
6 to 10 Nov 2026Tihar in NepalNepal's five days of lights, with sel roti and a meal of lentils flavoured with jimbu and timur.
23 Nov 2026Karthigai DeepamThe festival of lamps in Tamil Nadu, with sweet appam, pori and adai flavoured with cardamom and dried ginger.
about 24 Nov 2026Loy KrathongThe November full moon, when floating baskets are set on the water and street stalls sell hot, sweet and sour snacks.
26 Nov 2026ThanksgivingThe American harvest feast, with turkey stuffing seasoned with sage and thyme, pumpkin pie and cranberries.December 2026
13 Dec 2026St Lucia DayThe Swedish festival of light, with lussekatter, golden saffron buns, and gingerbread and mulled wine.
about 21 Dec 2026Yalda NightThe longest night, kept with pomegranate, watermelon, nuts and Hafez, with spiced fruit and saffron sweets on the table.January 2027
14 to 17 Jan 2027PongalThe Tamil harvest festival, with rice boiled over in a new pot and flavoured with cardamom, pepper and cashews.
14 to 15 Jan 2027Bhogali BihuThe Assamese feast of the winter harvest, held in field huts around fires with sesame sweets and spiced meat.
about 15 Jan 2027Laba and laba congeeThe eighth day of the twelfth month, with a congee of grains, beans and dates and Laba garlic pickled green in vinegar.February 2027
3 Feb 2027SetsubunThe bean-throwing day marking the start of spring, with sardine and holly sprigs and a lucky sushi roll.
about 7 to 13 Feb 2027Tet Nguyen DanVietnam's lunar new year, with banh chung, braised pork with eggs and a sweet pickled shallot, spiced with star anise and cinnamon.
about 7 to 9 Feb 2027SeollalKorean New Year, with tteokguk, rice cake soup, and japchae with sesame oil, black pepper and soy.
7 Feb 2027Grenada Independence DayThe Spice Isle's national day, with the nutmeg on the flag and oil down, a one-pot dish of breadfruit, coconut milk and turmeric.March 2027
April 2027
2 Apr 2027Sizdah BedarThe thirteenth day of Nowruz, spent outdoors with picnic dishes: ash reshteh, kebabs and sour tamarind-flavoured treats.
about 5 Apr 2027QingmingThe tomb-sweeping day, with green rice dumplings and cold dishes kept plain and lightly seasoned.
7 Apr 2027Ugadi pachadiTelugu and Kannada new year, begun with a relish of neem flower, jaggery, raw mango, tamarind and green chilli.
7 Apr 2027Gudi PadwaThe Marathi New Year, with shrikhand scented with saffron and cardamom and a neem and jaggery mouthful.
13 to 14 Apr 2027Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Avurudu)Kiribath, kavum and kokis, with the first meal cooked at an auspicious hour and the sweetness of cinnamon and cardamom.
13 to 16 Apr 2027ThingyanThe Burmese water festival, with thingyan rice served in cold, scented water and eaten with fried fish and salads.
13 to 15 Apr 2027SongkranThailand's water festival, with khao chae, rice in jasmine-scented iced water, served with sweet fried sides.
14 Apr 2027Puthandu and mango pachadiThe Tamil New Year, when six tastes are blended in a pachadi of neem flower, jaggery, tamarind, chilli and salt.
14 Apr 2027Baisakhi and VaisakhiThe wheat harvest and the founding of the Khalsa, with langar of dal and kadah prashad scented with cardamom.
14 to 20 Apr 2027Bohag BihuAssam's new year, with pitha, laru and a dish of herbs and greens, including bhut jolokia cooks use sparingly.
14 Apr 2027Poila BoishakhThe Bengali New Year, when shops open new account books and homes cook with panch phoron and mustard.
14 to 16 Apr 2027Khmer New YearCambodia's new year, with amok in banana leaf and kroeung, the fresh spice paste of lemongrass, galangal and turmeric.
15 Apr 2027VishuThe Malayalam New Year, begun by viewing the kani and eaten with a bitter, sweet and sour dish of neem flower, jaggery and raw mango.
22 to 29 Apr 2027Passover sederThe festival of freedom, with a seder plate of bitter herbs and charoset, a paste of fruit, nuts, cinnamon and wine.
13 to 16 Apr 2027ThingyanThe Burmese water festival, with thingyan rice served in cold, scented water and eaten with fried fish and salads.
14 Apr 2027Baisakhi and VaisakhiThe wheat harvest and the founding of the Khalsa, with langar of dal and kadah prashad scented with cardamom.May 2027
about 1 May to 29 Jul 2027Madagascar vanilla harvestIn the SAVA region, orchids are pollinated by hand and the pods picked after nine months, then cured for weeks.
9 May 2027Akshaya TritiyaAn auspicious day for new beginnings, when kitchens prepare sweets and raw mango dishes with fresh spices.June 2027
about 9 Jun 2027Dragon Boat Festival and zongziZongzi wrapped in bamboo leaf, with fillings seasoned with soy, five-spice and white pepper, and realgar wine for health.
about 15 Jun 2027Ashura and noah's puddingThe tenth of Muharram: in Turkey, aşure, a pudding of grains, beans and dried fruit scented with cinnamon and clove.July 2027
August 2027
September 2027
about 12 to 21 Sept 2027Onam sadyaKerala's harvest feast of a dozen or more dishes on a banana leaf, built on black pepper, coconut oil and ginger.October 2027
4 Oct 2027Cinnamon Bun DaySweden's Kanelbullens dag on 4 October, when bakeries sell kanelbullar scented with cinnamon and cardamom.Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Clove: Bayu Nugroho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cinnamon: Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mustard: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vanilla: Malcolm Manners, CC BY 2.0, source
- Espelette pepper: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black pepper: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saffron: Hubertl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Diwali Sweets: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dhanteras: The original uploader was F16 at Hebrew Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Holi Thandai: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navratri Vrat Food: Mukerjee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dussehra Jalebi: DiplomatTesterMan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ganesh Chaturthi Modak: Original uploader was MatthieuMoy at fr.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, source
- Janmashtami Panjiri: Nvvchar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Raksha Bandhan Sweets: Suyash.dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Akshaya Tritiya: Fgndgndgnr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vasant Panchami Kesari: Nitin Das, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Onam Sadya: Jiteshgt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vishu Kani: Vishnu Kunnathully, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Karthigai Deepam: SriniG, Public domain, source
- Puthandu Mango Pachadi: Amila Tennakoon, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ugadi Pachadi: Kalyan Kanuri, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Gudi Padwa: Abhijit Tembhekar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pongal Harvest: Saral Shots, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Makar Sankranti Til: Saloni Desai, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lohri: Karen Sandhu, CC BY 2.0, source
- Baisakhi Vaisakhi: Michael Clark, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bohag Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhogali Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Poila Boishakh Bengal: Abidhasan00, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chhath Puja: Steffen Gauger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Durga Puja Bhog: Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aadi Perukku: Peenumx, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Guru Nanak Gurpurab: Giridhar Appaji Nag Y, CC BY 2.0, source
- Christmas Kerala Goa: Warren Noronha, CC BY 2.0, source
- Eid Hyderabad: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thaipusam: hams Nocete, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tihar Nepal: Sreekumar K. S., CC BY 2.0, source
- Dashain Nepal: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Vesak Sri Lanka: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thingyan Myanmar: Pagan era painter(s), Public domain, source
- Khmer New Year: Sam Sith, CC BY 2.0, source
- Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Loy Krathong: John Shedrick, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tet Nguyen Dan: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Lunar New Year: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lantern Festival: -Zest, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dragon Boat Zongzi: After Wen Jia, Public domain, source
- Mid Autumn Festival: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Dongzhi Winter Solstice: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Seollal: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kimjang: USAG- Humphreys, CC BY 2.0, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oshogatsu Osechi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Nanakusa No Sekku: Blue Lotus, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nauryz Kazakhstan: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Yalda Night: M.Sadegh Nikgostar/Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mehregan: PersianDutchNetwork, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ramadan Iftar: Gabby Canonizado, CC BY 2.0, source
- Laylat Al Qadr: M sh شراونة محمد, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eid Al Adha: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mawlid An Nabi: Firdaus Latif, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ashura Pudding: Abbas Shariati, CC BY 4.0, source
- Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Yom Kippur Break Fast: Maurycy Gottlieb, Public domain, source
- Sukkot: Zachi Evenor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mwaka Kogwa: Marwa elchazly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanukkah: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- Tu Bishvat: כוכבה לוי, CC BY 2.5, source
- Purim: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source
- Passover Seder: User:RadRafe~commonswiki, Public domain, source
- Shavuot: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Meskel: DanielGirmaTsige, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Enkutatash: Nati Tad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
- Fasika Orthodox Easter: Piero della Francesca, Public domain, source
- Taliouine Saffron Festival: Hydroxy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Heritage Day South Africa: CoralBrowne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caribbean Christmas: Kent Wang, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Day Of The Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mexican Independence Chiles En Nogada: Ahleli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Festa Junina: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0, source
- Carnival Rio: Alan Betensley ( Abetens at en.wikipedia ), Public domain, source
- Mardi Gras: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shrove Tuesday: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, source
- Good Friday Hot Cross Buns: Cjorsch, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mothering Sunday Simnel: No machine-readable author provided. Edward assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain, source
- Epiphany Three Kings: Gentile da Fabriano, Public domain, source
- Vasilopita New Year: Μυρμηγκάκι, Public domain, source
- St Nicholas Speculaas: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- St Lucia Saffron Buns: Fredrik Magnusson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Christmas Eve Wigilia: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source
- Christmas Day: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Advent Christmas Markets: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hogmanay: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
- Burns Night: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thanksgiving: Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, Public domain, source
- Oktoberfest: Heribert Pohl, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kanelbullens Dag: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hatch Chile Festival: AllenS, Public domain, source
- Terlingua Chili Cookoff: Carstor, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Vasco Da Gama Calicut: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Voc Founded: McKarri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Treaty Of Breda: Romeyn de Hooghe, Public domain, source
- Independence Day Indonesia: Frans Mendur (also Frans Mendoer) (1913 – 1971), Public domain, source
- Australian Christmas Spice: Peripitus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source