September has a lot of cultural events coming into the limelight. September has shorter, more frequent holidays, and is ideally timed with festivals that illuminate all corners of the nation.
- To the students, this translates to a reduced number of lessons and an increased amount of life lessons. They are busy with making flower carpets during Onam, making surprise shows during Teacher’s Day, fasting and praying on Id-e-Milad, or dancing during the nights of Navratri.
- September happens to be at a rather good place during the school year. It is normally during the first term of school and exams are coming closer. These breaks help young minds to rest and enjoy family traditions that can never be entirely imparted in the classroom.
- Every holiday will be more than a break, it will be a memory that will influence their years in school. We shall travel into the school holiday weeks of September 2025 and see how the school holidays bring both joy and meaning to the lives of students. September holidays are sweeter and shorter than the summer or winter vacation. They come with bright stories, rituals and community celebrations that make children rich in culture.
Quick Look on List of September 2025 School Holidays
| Date | Holiday / Festival | States / Regions |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 4–5 | Onam | Kerala |
| Sep 5 | Teacher’s Day | India-wide (celebrations/half-day) |
| Sep 5–6 | Id-e-Milad | Multiple states |
| Sep 7 | Anant Chaturdashi | Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka |
| Sep 17 | Vishwakarma Puja | Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Assam |
| Sep 21 | Samvatsari | Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra |
| Sep 23 | Maharaja Hari Singh Jayanti | Jammu & Kashmir |
| Sep 27 | Mahalaya Amavasya | Bengal, Assam, Odisha |
| Sep 27 | Bathukamma begins | Telangana |
| Sep 29–30 | Navratri & Durga Puja | Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bengal, Assam, Bihar, UP, Odisha |
Festivals and School Holidays in September 2025
Here are some more details about the great festivals and school holidays that students in India will be able to enjoy in September.
Onam: September 4–5, 2025
September is Onam in Kerala. Schools have holidays and children accompany their families in making the pookalams (flower carpets), watching exciting boat races, and enjoying the famous Onam sadya, a meal of more than 20 different dishes on a banana leaf.
Onam celebration starts a week earlier among schoolchildren. A cultural competition is held at many schools where students dress up as King Mahabali, dance the Thiruvathirakali or even participate in a boat race. Kids have already gotten into the holiday mood by the time they hit the holidays. Onam is not a festival, it is an education about the past, oneness, and thankfulness.
Id-e-Milad September 5–6, 2025
Id-e-Milad (or Milad-un-Nabi) is celebrated on the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Muhammad which happens to fall around the same time as Onam. In other states, such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala, schools shut down so that families can meet and pray, hold ceremonies, and have community feasts.
The mosques and streets are also lit, there are processions and children may even accompany their parents in distributing sweets to their neighbors and friends. To some, it is also an opportunity to get to know more about compassion, kindness, and humility; all the values that are during this festival.
Teacher’s Day September 5, 2025
Teacher’s Day is celebrated by all schools and even colleges. It is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is usually celebrated by programmes or festive meetings.
The seniors pretend to be a teacher, conducting classes to the juniors (in most cases this ends up being humorous). Small gifts, hand made cards, skits fill the classes with laughter. This might be another school day, but to students, who value the half-day freedom that usually accompanies the celebrations.
It’s not just about fun, though. This is the moment most children get to thank their teachers with all sincerity in their heart and make sure the memories they make are not forgotten even after school.
Anant Chaturdashi September 7, 2025
It is the great farewell of lord Ganesha and the end of Ganesh Chaturthi through this festival. Chants of Ganpati Bappa Morya reverberate along the streets and idols are dipped in rivers and seas. In Maharashtra, Goa and in some regions of Karnataka. children have an opportunity to participate in the colourful processions.
Anant Chaturdashi is happy and sad at the same time to the students. It is on this day they bade farewell to their beloved Ganesh, usually after 10 days of festivities. The colorful marches, beat-filled drums, and glittering decorations make the impression that no child will ever forget.
Vishwakarma Puja September 17, 2025
Vishwakarma Puja is also observed with great enthusiasm in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Bihar. Lord Vishwakarma is the divine architect and on this day he is worshiped with decorated tools, machines and even kites flying in the skies.
This day is frequently spent out-of-doors, either in flying kites, or in attending decorated workshops, or in family rituals. The festival is both enjoyable and informative as students in most schools (particularly technical schools) decorate classrooms with miniature tools and crafts.
Samvatsari September 21, 2025
Samvatsari is the most major festival in the Jain calendar also known as the Kshamavani Divas. Only after prayer and forgiveness ceremonies, families have a reunion, and they say, Micchami Dukkadam, which means, I ask forgiveness of my faults.
Students in Jain families frequently fast on this day (or at least, partially), and pray with relatives. The schools are still closed and this allows children to take part fully. Not just a vacation but an empathy, humility, and peaceful living lesson.
Maharaja Hari Singh Jayanti September 23, 2025
In Jammu and Kashmir, schools observe a holiday on September 23 to celebrate the birthday of the late Maharaja Hari Singh, the last king of this state. Cultural events and local celebrations are regularly held and most of the families narrate the history to their children making the holiday a lesson without the use of textbooks.
Mahalaya Amavasya September 27, 2025
In West Bengal, Durga Puja celebrations start with Mahalaya. Schools are most often shut and homes are listening to the iconic radio broadcast of Mahishasura Mardini. Children enter families with early planning of pandals, purchasing of festival attire and practice of cultural performances.
Bathukamma September 27, 2025
Telangana also observes Bathukamma, a flower festival on the same day, in honour of Goddess Gauri. Girls come together dressed in colorful clothes, piling flowers in high piles, singing old folk songs. Schools give students permission to participate in the celebrations, particularly girls. Bathukamma educates the children on the unity of communities, nature, and their culture. Creativity is another thing that the bright flower arrangements evoke in young learners.
Navratri & Durga Puja September 29–30, 2025
Towards the end of September India bursts into one of the most spectacular festivals, namely Navratri and Durga Puja. In Gujarat and Maharashtra, schools nearby allow families and children to attend garba and dandiya nights. Students tend to spend the days rehearsing and the night dancing.
Maha Saptami and Maha Ashtami are school holidays in Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Bihar, and allow children to indulge in pandal-hopping, cultural shows, and feasting on the festival food booths. Navratri is also a season of Ramlila plays in North India, although these plays often involve a large number of schoolchildren in acting roles within a community setting.
To the students, these end of year holidays are not just religious holidays; they are colored holidays, energy-filled holidays, music-filled holidays, and childhood memories.
Conclusion
September 2025 might not come with a long holiday, but it will leave students with a collection of cultural celebrations that will feed their brains and their hearts. It is woven together with floral carpets at Onam and rich pandals at Durga Puja; it is woven together with acts of forgiveness in Jain families and colorful welcome of Ganesh.
These holidays do not mean a day off to students. They are book chapters of family, community, laughter, and belonging. And when they reflect back on the school years, September will remain the month that taught them as much outside as inside the classroom.
