Legal Regulations
The United States federal government establishes official public holidays under Title 5 of the United States Code. Federal employees are generally granted paid leave on these days. Private sector observance is not mandated by federal law but is common practice. State and local governments may recognize additional holidays.
Holidays in India are designated by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Gazetted Holidays (G) are mandatory public holidays for central government offices. Restricted Holidays (R) are optional; central government employees may avail a limited number of these per year based on personal or religious preferences. State governments and private sector entities may have their own variations.
Insights
It is common for employees to take 'bridge days' off between a holiday and a weekend to create an extended break. A typical full-time work schedule is 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday. The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is not a federal holiday but is a paid day off for many employees and marks the start of the holiday shopping season.
India's holiday system reflects its diverse population, with observances for multiple religions. The calendar is designed to spread holidays throughout the year. Employees often strategically plan leave around holidays to create extended breaks, similar to practices noted in other countries like the US.
2026 Working days summary for West Bengal, India
West Bengal, India has 227 working days in 2026. This is calculated from 365 total calendar days, minus 95 weekend days (Saturday-Sunday), and minus 43 holidays. The standard work week runs Monday through Friday.
227
Working Days
95
Weekend Days
43
Holidays
Monthly Breakdown
| Month | Working | Weekend | Holidays | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17 | 9 | 5 | 31 |
| February | 19 | 7 | 2 | 28 |
| March | 16 | 8 | 7 | 31 |
| April | 19 | 8 | 3 | 30 |
| May | 18 | 9 | 4 | 31 |
| June | 21 | 8 | 1 | 30 |
| July | 22 | 8 | 1 | 31 |
| August | 20 | 8 | 3 | 31 |
| September | 20 | 8 | 2 | 30 |
| October | 18 | 6 | 7 | 31 |
| November | 15 | 8 | 7 | 30 |
| December | 22 | 8 | 1 | 31 |
| Total | 227 | 95 | 43 | 365 |
2026 Calendar for West Bengal, India
January 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 New Year's Day New Year's Day | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 Swami Vivekananda Jayanti Swami Vivekananda Jayanti | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 Day before Saraswati Puja Day before Saraswati Puja | 23 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti / Vasant Panchami Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti / Vasant Panchami | 24 | 25 |
26 Republic Day Republic Day | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
17 working days, 9 weekend days, and 5 holidays in January 2026.
February 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 Shab-e-Barat Shab-e-Barat | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 Birthday of Thakur Panchanan Barma Birthday of Thakur Panchanan Barma | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
19 working days, 7 weekend days, and 2 holidays in February 2026.
March 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 Doljatra Doljatra | 4 Holi (day after Doljatra) Holi (day after Doljatra) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 Birth of Shri Shri Harichand Thakur Birth of Shri Shri Harichand Thakur | 18 | 19 | 20 Day before Eid-Ul-Fitr Day before Eid-Ul-Fitr | 21 Eid-Ul-Fitr Eid-Ul-Fitr | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 Ram Navami Ram Navami | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 | 31 Mahavir Jayanti Mahavir Jayanti |
16 working days, 8 weekend days, and 7 holidays in March 2026.
April 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Bank Annual Closing Bank Annual Closing | 2 | 3 Good Friday Good Friday | 4 Easter Saturday Easter Saturday | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti | 15 Bengali New Year (Poila Baisakh) Bengali New Year (Poila Baisakh) | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
19 working days, 8 weekend days, and 3 holidays in April 2026.
May 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 May Day / Buddha Purnima May Day / Buddha Purnima | 2 | 3 | ||||
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 Rabindranath Tagore's Birthday Rabindranath Tagore's Birthday | 10 |
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
25 | 26 Day before Id-Ud-Zoha Day before Id-Ud-Zoha | 27 Id-Ud-Zoha (Bakrid) Id-Ud-Zoha (Bakrid) | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
18 working days, 9 weekend days, and 4 holidays in May 2026.
June 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 Muharram Muharram | 27 | 28 |
29 | 30 Hul Diwas Hul Diwas |
21 working days, 8 weekend days, and 1 holiday in June 2026.
July 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 Rathayatra Rathayatra | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
22 working days, 8 weekend days, and 1 holiday in July 2026.
August 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |||||
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 Independence Day Independence Day | 16 |
17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
24 | 25 | 26 Fateha-Dwaz-Daham Fateha-Dwaz-Daham | 27 | 28 | 29 Rakhi Bandhan Rakhi Bandhan | 30 |
31 |
20 working days, 8 weekend days, and 3 holidays in August 2026.
September 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Janmashtami Janmashtami | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 Vishwakarma Puja Vishwakarma Puja | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 |
20 working days, 8 weekend days, and 2 holidays in September 2026.
October 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 Gandhi Jayanti Gandhi Jayanti | 3 | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 Mahalaya Mahalaya | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Maha Saptami Maha Saptami |
19 Maha Ashtami Maha Ashtami | 20 Maha Navami Maha Navami | 21 Vijaya Dashami Vijaya Dashami | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 Lakshmi Puja Lakshmi Puja |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
18 working days, 6 weekend days, and 7 holidays in October 2026.
November 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 Diwali Diwali |
9 Kali Puja (additional day) Kali Puja (additional day) | 10 Kali Puja (additional day) Kali Puja (additional day) | 11 Bhratridwitiya Bhratridwitiya | 12 Day after Bhratridwitiya Day after Bhratridwitiya | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 Chhat Puja (additional day) Chhat Puja (additional day) | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 Guru Nanak's Birthday Guru Nanak's Birthday | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 |
15 working days, 8 weekend days, and 7 holidays in November 2026.
December 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 Christmas Day Christmas Day | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
22 working days, 8 weekend days, and 1 holiday in December 2026.
Changelog
| 2026-05-17 22:25:08 | The holiday set for West Bengal in 2026 has been updated to reflect a slight increase in the number of holidays, with some adjustments to existing dates and the addition of new observances. |
| 2026-05-05 10:50:13 | The holiday set for West Bengal in 2026 has been expanded with the addition of several new observances and a few adjustments to existing dates. |