Chher Chhera Festival The day the new paddy is given away from the door.
Chher Chhera 2027 falls on Friday, 22 January, computed for Chennai.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
- English
- Chher Chhera
- हिन्दी
- छेरछेरा
Only the names actually in use are listed. A blank script is not an omission: the day may simply not be kept there, or be kept under a different festival's name.
Asia/Kolkata · UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place: a tithi that ends at dusk in Chennai can still be running at dusk a thousand kilometres west, which moves the day. Sunrise and sunset here are computed for the place above.
When it falls next
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh calendar, computed for Chennai
- Friday, 22 January 2027
- Wednesday, 12 January 2028
- Saturday, 19 January 2030
Where Chher Chhera falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2027: 22 Jan
- 2028: 12 Jan
- 2030: 19 Jan
The dates, year by year
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh calendar, computed for Chennai
| Year | Chher Chhera |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Monday, 13 January 2025 |
| 2026 | Saturday, 3 January 2026 |
| 2027 | Friday, 22 January 2027 |
| 2028 | Wednesday, 12 January 2028 — some traditions keep it on Sunday, 31 December 2028 |
| 2030 | Saturday, 19 January 2030 |
| 2031 | Wednesday, 8 January 2031 |
| 2032 | Tuesday, 27 January 2032 |
| 2033 | Saturday, 15 January 2033 |
| 2034 | Wednesday, 4 January 2034 |
| 2035 | Tuesday, 23 January 2035 |
| 2036 | Sunday, 13 January 2036 |
Worked out for Chennai, Lahiri ayanamsa. A date is a function of the place: set yours above and the next three come back for where you are.
What the day is
The day the new paddy is given away from the door. The threshing is done by the Pausha full moon, so the kothi is opened, a measure of the new grain is set at the door, and the children of the village go from house to house calling for it. The danda nach and the raut nacha parties come dancing to the same doors and are given from the same measure, because the dance is the asking and not a performance paid for. Nobody who asks is refused, and a house that gives nothing on this day is remembered for it.
- Deity
- Lakshmi, Annapurna, Shakambhari
- Kind
- Festival Days of celebration: the house is decorated, a feast is cooked and the temple is visited.
The hour
Clock times for Friday, 22 January 2027 at Chennai
Pausha Purnima at sunrise, the full moon that closes the purnimanta Pausha and the day the new rice is first cooked and eaten.
| Instant | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | 06:36 | the udaya tithi, the tithi running as the sun comes up |
Sunrise 06:36, sunset 18:05, UTC+5.5. These are the instants the rule is read at, not the temple's own puja times, which every temple prints for itself.
The fast
No fast is kept. The new rice is cooked and eaten for the first time, and the dehrori and the papchi are made for the full moon.
Where the regions differ
Chhattisgarh keeps it as its own and gazettes it, and the Chhattisgarhi belt of Odisha keeps it too. The same full moon carries the Shakambhari Purnima and the Pausha bathing day elsewhere, and Mithila prints the start of its Lakshmana Samvat year on it, so one full moon holds several unrelated things.
The dates above are the Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh reckoning, because that is the calendar this key belongs to. Switch the tradition on the calendar page to see how another one dates the same day.
Fixing a day for it
The muhurtham rules that go with this festival
A temple visit, or the first darshan at a new temple. No weekday is ruled out: Tuesday belongs to Murugan and the Amman, Saturday to Perumal and Sani, so the day usually follows the deity rather than the almanac. Ashtami and Chaturdasi are the two tithis held back for darshan, with the standing exceptions of Sivaratri on Krishna Chaturdasi and Kala Bhairava Ashtami, which are kept on those very days. Rahu kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika kaal are not scored here; the panchangam page prints them for the day you pick, and most families simply wait them out.
Every date here is computed from the Sun and Moon for the place entered, by the rule printed beside it. A printed panchangam can differ by a day where an almanac reads a tithi at a different instant, and a family's own custom always comes first. Where the practice genuinely varies, the text says so rather than choosing for you.