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The Tamil Calendar is followed by the Tamil speaking state of Tamil Nadu in India and Sri Lanka. There are a number of festivals in Tamil Nadu based on the Tamil Calendar. The Tamil calendar is based on the solar cycle. It has a sixty years cycle and every year has twelve months. The Tamil New Year follows the vernal equinox.

Significance of Tamil Calendar

The months of the Tamil Calendar gains more significance and are deeply rooted to the faith of the Tamil People. Some months are considered very auspicious while a few are considered inauspicious as well. The Tamil New Year, starts in the first month of Chithirai, in the mid-April every year. It is celebrated with much enthusiasm among the Tamil Community all over the world. It is marked by gifting new dresses for the family members and giving prayers to God wishing for prosperity among the people for the coming year. The second month of Vaikaasi and the tenth month of Thai are considered very auspicious and most of the marriages usually happens during those months than the other months of the year. The fourth month of Aadi is considered inauspicious that usually marriages does not happen in the month. It is usually the worst month for thriving businesses and recently this situation has changed a lot, as the businesses started providing discount shopping during that particular month. The fifth month of Aavani is considered auspicious among the Tamil orthodox people, and the special occasion of Aavani Avittam marks the month. The sixth month of Purattaasi is auspicious to the effect that, most of the non-vegetarian Tamil people do not eat meat during the month. This faith can be considered much similar to the fasting by Muslims during the month of Ramzan. The full moon days and the new moon days have considerable importance among the Tamil people. One of the famous festivals, the Deepavali, is celebrated on the new moon day, in the seventh month of Aippasi. The month of Aippasi is usually characterised bythe North-East Monsoon in Tamil Nadu, which has gave birth to a phrase, Aippasi Adai Mazhai meaning the 'Non-stop Downpour'. The Festival of Thirukaarthigai is celebrated during the eighth month of Kaarthigai. The ninth month of Maargazhi is characterised by the winter in Tamil Nadu, and considered auspicious for maiden women to find their groom. The tenth month of Thai is the month of Harvest in Tamil Nadu. The festival of Pongal is celebrated to mark the harvest in the first day of that month.

The Months of a Tamil Calendar

The Tamil Calendar starts in mid-April of the Gregorian Calendar every year. It consists of twelve months. The number of days in a month can vary between 29 to 32.

The following list compiles the months of the Tamil Calendar.

The Sixty-Year Cycle of Tamil Calendar

The Tamil Yearly calendar follows a sixty year cycle. After the completion of sixty years, the calendar starts again with the first year.

The following list presents the current 60-year cycle of the Calendar:

The Seven Days of the Week

The days of the Tamil Calendar, like the Gregorian Calendar relate to the celestial bodies in the solar system Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, in that order.

The following list compiles the days of the week in Tamil Calendar:

Festivals of Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Calendar gains so much significance in the life of the Tamil-speaking people that most of the Festivals of Tamil Nadu are based on it. Some of Festivals include, Pongal, Tamil New Year, Deepaavali, Panguni Uthiram, Thirukaarthigai, Aadiperukku, etc.