The Hindu lunar New Year — Ugadi in Telugu and Kannada homes, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra — with the six-taste pachadi and the raised gudi. Exact New Year dates for Ottawa and Canada, computed for your timezone.
When: Chaitra Shukla Pratipada — the first day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra (March–April); exact Ottawa dates below
The name: Yuga + adi — 'the beginning of the age'; tradition holds Brahma began creation on this day
Who celebrates: Ugadi in Andhra, Telangana and Karnataka; Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Goa; Navreh in Kashmir; Cheti Chand for Sindhis
Signature traditions: Ugadi pachadi of six tastes; the gudi flag raised at the door; panchanga shravanam — hearing the new year's almanac
Same day: Chaitra Navratri begins; Rama Navami follows nine days later
The Day the Year Begins
Ugadi and Gudi Padwa are the same new year seen from two traditions: Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the first day after the new moon of spring, when the Shalivahana Shaka calendar turns and a new samvatsara — a named year in the sixty-year cycle — begins. Tradition places the beginning of Brahma's creation on this day, and Maharashtra adds the memory of Rama's coronation after his return to Ayodhya and of Shalivahana's victory, both raised on the gudi — the bright flag of victory. It is the most widely kept of the Hindu new years, and it opens a season of beginnings: Chaitra Navratri starts the same morning, and Rama Navami crowns its ninth day.
Pachadi, Gudi and the Almanac
Ugadi's defining ritual is edible philosophy: the Ugadi pachadi, a chutney of six tastes taken as the year's first food — neem flowers for bitterness, jaggery for sweetness, raw mango for tang, tamarind for sourness, chilli for heat, salt for savour. Eating all six together is the vow to receive the whole year, whatever it brings, with equanimity; Karnataka keeps the same teaching as bevu-bella, neem with jaggery. Maharashtra raises the gudi at dawn: a bamboo staff dressed in bright silk, topped with an inverted copper or silver pot, neem and mango leaves and a sugar garland, set at the door or window as a flag of Rama's victory and a shield against misfortune. The day traditionally includes panchanga shravanam — the formal hearing of the new almanac's forecast — an oil bath before sunrise, mango-leaf torans on the door, and puran poli or holige on the table. The exact Ottawa date is in the Festivals & Dates list on this page.
Ugadi & Gudi Padwa in Ottawa & Canada
The Pratipada tithi is computed astronomically, so Ottawa's new year — calculated on this page for Eastern time — can differ by a day from India's. Every element of the day travels well: neem is available dried or frozen at Ottawa's Indian grocers (fresh neem flowers are the one authentic scarcity — dried neem serves), raw mango and tamarind are easy, and a gudi needs only a stick, a cloth, a small pot and a doorway or balcony railing facing the morning sun. For panchanga shravanam, our own computed calendar serves the traditional purpose: the year's festival dates for Ottawa are all on our festival calendar page. Telugu, Kannada and Marathi associations in Ottawa hold Ugadi and Gudi Padwa gatherings, and the mandirs mark the day — see our Hindu temples in Ottawa guide.
Each link opens our computed festival calendar with exact dates and timings for your city.
Questions
When is Ugadi / Gudi Padwa this year in Ottawa?
The exact Ottawa date — computed astronomically for the Canadian timezone — is shown in the Festivals & Dates list on this page, together with Chaitra Navratri and Rama Navami.
Why does the Ugadi pachadi have six tastes?
The six tastes — bitter, sweet, tangy, sour, hot and salty — stand for the six flavours of any year: grief, joy, surprise, disappointment, anger and fear tempered into acceptance. Eating them together as the year's first food is a vow of equanimity.
Is this the same as the Punjabi or Tamil new year?
No — those are solar new years (Vaisakhi and Puthandu, mid-April, tied to the sun entering Mesha), while Ugadi and Gudi Padwa follow the lunar Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. India keeps several regional new years; this is the principal lunar one.
Source: Brahma Purana tradition, Shalivahana Shaka calendar tradition. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.