Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has officially declared August 29 as a holiday for the popular Western Odisha festival, Nuakhai. This new notification came from the Department of Revenue & Disaster Management on 26 August.
Earlier Department of Revenue & Disaster Management, which had marked August 28 as a holiday for the festival. The change means government employees will now get two days off for the celebration.
This decision comes with another significant update: September 13, which is a second Saturday, has been designated as a working day for all government offices.
Normally, the second and fourth Saturdays of each month are government holidays in Odisha. This adjustment to the holiday calendar aims to balance the additional leave granted for Nuakhai.
Nuakhai is the most widely celebrated festival of Western Odisha. It’s an agrarian festival, where people offer the first grains of the new harvest to the local deity.
The word “Nuakhai” itself is derived from two words: “Nua” meaning new and “khai” meaning food. It’s a day of great joy, feasting, and community gathering, strengthening social bonds and celebrating the region’s agricultural heritage.