To take a break form the boredom of daily life, people look forward to holidays. There are many places to visit in Kerala ranging from beaches, national parks, lake houses, waterfalls, temples and many more. Once it is known about the upcoming holidays, it becomes convenient for people to plan them. With this in mind, below presented is the Kerala Holidays 2023 list which consists of all major holidays along with the dates and days on which they are going to fall.
List of Government Holidays in Kerala 2023
Below here the table presents the list of holidays as decided by the Government on which all public offices under the Government of Kerala will remain close. These are called as Government holidays and there are a total of around 25 such holidays in Kerala. Other than this, most of these holidays will be observed by banks, schools and private offices as well. The list here is updated for now, but in case any changes are announced by the Government, the list will be modified accordingly.
Check whether tomorrow is holiday in Kerala 2023:
Festival | Date | Day |
Mannam Jayanti | 2 January 2023 | Monday |
Republic Day | 26 January 2023 | Thursday |
Maha Shivaratri | 18 February 2023 | Saturday |
Vishu | 15 April 2023 | Saturday |
Dr B R Ambedkar Jayanti | 14 April 2023 | Friday |
Maundy Thursday | 6 April 2023 | Thursday |
Good Friday | 7 April 2023 | Friday |
Easter | 9 April 2023 | Sunday |
May Day | 1 May 2023 | Monday |
Eid-al-Fitr | 22 April 2023 | Saturday |
Bakrid/ Eid-al-Adha | 29th June to 30th June 2023 | Thursday to Friday |
Independence Day | 15 August 2023 | Tuesday |
Ayyankali Jayanthi | 28 August 2023 | Monday |
First Onam | 29 August 2023 | Tuesday |
Thiruvonam | 20 August 2023 | Sunday |
Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti | 29 September 2023 | Friday |
Sree Narayana Guru Samadhi Day | 21 September 2023 | Thursday |
Gandhi Jayanti | 2 October 2023 | Monday |
Maha Navami | 23 October 2023 | Monday |
Vijaya Dashami | 24 October 2023 | Tuesday |
Eid-e-Milad | 28 September 2023 | Thursday |
Diwali | 12 November 2023 | Sunday |
Christmas | 25 December 2023 | Monday |
Kerala Bank Holidays 2023 List
Almost all Government holidays are observed by the banks of Kerala state, with a few exceptions. Other than this, holidays are also observed on Sundays and second & fourth Saturdays of every month. On the day of holidays, banks do remain close but their services like online payment service (NEFT/ IMPS/ RTGS) and ATM service remain functional. A list of all the second & fourth Saturdays falling in the year 2023 on which banks will remain close is provided below.
January 2023
- 14th January : Second Saturday
- 28th January : Fourth Saturday
February 2023
- 11th February : Second Saturday
- 25th February : Fourth Saturday
March 2023
- 11th March : Second Saturday
- 25th March : Fourth Saturday
April 2023
- 8th April : Second Saturday
- 22nd April : Fourth Saturday
May 2023
- 13th May : Second Saturday
- 27th May : Fourth Saturday
June 2023
- 10th June : Second Saturday
- 24th June : Fourth Saturday
July 2023
- 8th July : Second Saturday
- 22nd July : Fourth Saturday
August 2023
- 12th August : Second Saturday
- 26th August : Fourth Saturday
September 2023
- 9th September : Second Saturday
- 23rd September : Fourth Saturday
October 2023
- 14th October : Second Saturday
- 28th October : Fourth Saturday
November 2023
- 11th November : Second Saturday
- 25th November : Fourth Saturday
December 2023
- 9th December : Second Saturday
- 23rd December : Fourth Saturday
Schools Holidays in Kerala in 2023
Like the banks, the Government holidays with few exceptions are observed in the schools of Kerala state as well. Apart from this Sundays are also off in the schools. Some schools provide off on Saturday while some other don’t. Days like annual function day, teacher’s day, children’s day, etc might also be provided as off in schools. Each school has it own rules and according to that an annual school calendar is prepared and published by every school. Details about the holidays can be found in the calendar and the calendar can be found in brochure or official website of the concerned school.
Some Major Festivals of Kerala
Festivals in Kerala are celebrated with full excitement and every tradition is followed culturally. Let us know a little bit about some major festivals celebrated in the state of Kerala.
- Onam– Onam is a Hindu festival celebrated only in the state of Kerala and generally falls in the month of August or September. Some celebratory traditions of Onam are boat races, tiger dances, flower rangoli, women’s dance, mask dance, martial arts, etc. This festival commemorates King Mahabali and it is believed that on the day of Onam his soul visits Kerala.
- Vishu– Vishu marks the beginning of new year in the state of Kerala and is celebrated in some other states too but with different names. On the day of Vishu, people wear new clothes (tradition called as Vishukodi) and elders give money to younger family members (tradition called as Vishukkaineetam. Lord Krishna is worshiped on the occasion of Vishu who is believed to be the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
- Thiruvathira– Thiruvathira or Thiruvathirai (celebrated as Arudhra Darisanam in Tamil Nadu) is a major Hindu festival. It is believed that on this day Goddess Parvathi met Lord Shiva after her long penance and Lord Shiva took her as his equal partner. People normally observe a fast on this day and abstain from rice-based food. Those who do not observe a fast also abstain from rice-based food.