January is a short month on the Bihar Sarkar (Bihar State Government) holiday calendar, but it carries real weight. It opens the year with one of Bihar’s most-loved harvest festivals, moves through a restricted holiday tied to the goddess of learning, and closes with the Republic Day flag hoisting that every office, bank, and school in the state observes. This Bihar Calendar January 2026 guide lists every gazetted, restricted, bank, and school holiday for the month, explains what each one actually means for your leave planning, and sets the record straight on Vasant Panchami’s date — a lunar festival that’s easy for outdated or auto-generated calendars to get wrong.
Whether you landed here searching for the Bihar Sarkar Calendar January 2026, you’re a government employee mapping out your restricted holidays, a bank customer planning a branch visit, a parent checking your child’s school calendar, or someone trying to time a trip home for Makar Sankranti, everything below has been cross-checked against Bihar’s Education Department holiday circular and standard RBI banking rules — not copied from last year’s list.
Bihar Calendar January 2026 at a Glance
| Date | Day | Occasion | Holiday Type | Who Gets It Off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Thursday | New Year’s Day | Not an official holiday | No one — normal working day |
| January 14, 2026 | Wednesday | Makar Sankranti | School holiday | Education Department schools |
| January 23, 2026 | Friday | Vasant Panchami (Saraswati Puja) | Restricted / optional holiday | Employees who opt in; most schools |
| January 26, 2026 | Monday | Republic Day | Gazetted public holiday | Everyone — offices, banks, schools |
Download the Bihar Calendar January 2026 PDF
Save it to your phone or print it for your desk — the PDF lays out every date on this page in a clean, single-page format. If any government notification changes, we’ll update both this page and the PDF to match.
Bihar’s Weather in January 2026
January sits at the coldest point of Bihar’s winter. Mornings and nights typically hover between 8–14°C, with dense fog common before sunrise, especially close to the Ganga in Patna, Bhagalpur, and Munger — it’s not unusual for early trains and flights to run late during this stretch. Afternoons are much more pleasant, generally climbing to 20–24°C, which makes midday the best window for sightseeing, outdoor errands, or festival travel. By the time Republic Day arrives on the 26th, the sharpest cold has usually eased slightly, though it’s still worth carrying a jacket for early morning flag-hoisting events and building extra buffer time into any fog-prone travel around Makar Sankranti.
Republic Day 2026 in Bihar — January 26 (Monday)
Republic Day marks the day the Constitution of India came into force in 1950, and it’s a full gazetted holiday across the country, Bihar included. Government offices, banks, schools, colleges, and most businesses stay closed on January 26, 2026.
Patna hosts the state’s main flag-hoisting ceremony and parade, with similar functions at every district headquarters, block office, and school across Bihar — expect flag hoisting, cultural programmes, and prize distributions at the local level throughout the state.
Makar Sankranti 2026 in Bihar — January 14 (Wednesday)
Makar Sankranti is arguably the most anticipated date on this month’s calendar for most Bihari households, even though it isn’t part of the state’s general gazetted or restricted holiday list. It marks the sun’s transit into Capricorn and the start of the harvest season, and in Bihar it’s celebrated with Dahi-Chura (flattened rice with curd and jaggery), Tilkut sweets sold at markets that spring up for weeks beforehand, and kite flying that fills the winter sky over Patna, Gaya, and towns across the state. Many families also take a holy dip in the Ganga at ghats such as Patna’s Gandhi Ghat or Simariya. The same solar transition is celebrated elsewhere in India as Pongal, Uttarayan, or Lohri — Bihar’s version keeps its own distinct flavour.
Vasant Panchami 2026 in Bihar — January 23 (Friday)
Vasant Panchami, also called Saraswati Puja, falls on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Magha in the Hindu lunar calendar. For 2026, that date is Friday, January 23, with the Panchami Tithi running from 2:28 AM on the 23rd to 1:46 AM on the 24th. Schools, colleges, and homes set up idols of Goddess Saraswati, students traditionally begin new lessons or place books before the goddess for blessings, and yellow — for the mustard fields in bloom and the season’s energy — is the colour of the day.
Bihar’s Restricted Holiday System, Explained
Bihar splits its annual holiday list into two tiers:
- Gazetted holidays — mandatory closures for all government offices, banks, and educational institutions. Republic Day is the only one that falls in January.
- Restricted (optional) holidays — a longer list of roughly 15–17 festival and observance dates spread across the year, from which employees pick a handful (commonly capped around three) based on personal preference and departmental approval. Vasant Panchami is January’s entry on this list.
If you’re a Bihar government employee wanting to use a restricted holiday, check with your department’s establishment section — the exact cap and approval process can vary slightly office to office.
Bihar Bank Holidays — January 2026
Bank holidays in India run on a separate framework from the general government calendar: the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, plus the RBI’s standing rule that every bank closes on the second and fourth Saturday of each month, in addition to all Sundays. Here’s how that lands in Bihar for January 2026:
| Date | Day | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| January 4, 2026 | Sunday | Weekly holiday |
| January 10, 2026 | Saturday | Second Saturday |
| January 11, 2026 | Sunday | Weekly holiday |
| January 18, 2026 | Sunday | Weekly holiday |
| January 24, 2026 | Saturday | Fourth Saturday |
| January 25, 2026 | Sunday | Weekly holiday |
| January 26, 2026 | Monday | Republic Day |
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Sundays | 4 |
| Second & fourth Saturdays | 2 |
| Gazetted holiday (Republic Day) | 1 |
| Total non-working days | 7 |
Note the back-to-back run from the 24th through the 26th — a rare three-day closure. Branches stay shut on all these dates, though ATMs, UPI, mobile banking, and net banking continue to work as usual; cheque clearing is typically what slows down. For a specific branch, a quick call before you head out is always worth it, since local notifications can occasionally add a closure the general list doesn’t capture.
Bihar School Holidays — January 2026
Bihar’s winter break usually runs through the last week of December, so most government and government-aided schools reopen in the first days of January. From there, the Education Department’s 2026 holiday calendar marks three occasions in the month:
| Date | Day | Occasion |
|---|---|---|
| January 14, 2026 | Wednesday | Makar Sankranti |
| January 23, 2026 | Friday | Vasant Panchami |
| January 26, 2026 | Monday | Republic Day |
Private and CBSE-affiliated schools in Bihar often follow a similar pattern but set their own exact calendars, so it’s worth checking your specific school’s notice board or app for confirmation — especially around exam and assessment schedules that can turn a “holiday” into a working day.
Gazetted vs. Restricted vs. Bank Holidays: What’s the Difference?
It’s a common point of confusion, so here’s a side-by-side view:
| Aspect | Gazetted Holiday | Restricted (Optional) Holiday | Bank Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | Government notification | State list; employee opts in | RBI, under the Negotiable Instruments Act |
| Applies to | All offices, banks, schools | Only employees who choose it | Banks only |
| Do you need to apply | No — automatic | Yes — select and get approval | No — automatic |
| January 2026 example | Republic Day (Jan 26) | Vasant Panchami (Jan 23) | Republic Day + all Sundays + Jan 10 & 24 |
Knowing which column a date falls into is the difference between assuming you have the day off and getting caught out at a closed — or open — office.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Is January 26, 2026 a public holiday in Bihar? Yes. January 26, 2026 (Monday) is Republic Day, a gazetted national holiday. Government offices, banks, schools, and most businesses in Bihar remain closed.
Q2: What is the correct date of Vasant Panchami in 2026? Vasant Panchami (Saraswati Puja) 2026 falls on Friday, January 23 — not January 30, as some outdated calendars show.
Q3:Is Makar Sankranti a government holiday in Bihar in 2026? It falls on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, and is a holiday under the Bihar Education Department’s school calendar. It isn’t on the general state government gazetted or restricted holiday list, so office closures vary by department.
Q4:How many bank holidays are there in Bihar in January 2026? Seven: four Sundays (4, 11, 18, 25), the second and fourth Saturdays (10 and 24), and Republic Day (26).
Conclusion
January carries just one mandatory day off on the Bihar Sarkar calendar, but between Makar Sankranti’s festivities, Vasant Panchami’s restricted holiday, and Republic Day’s nationwide closure, it’s still a month worth planning around. Bookmark this Bihar Calendar January 2026 page, and check back if the government issues any updated notification — we’ll reflect changes here as soon as they’re announced. For the full year-long list, see our complete Bihar Calendar 2026 guide.