Mera Houchongba Festival The day the hills and the valley meet.
Mera Houchongba 2026 falls on Monday, 26 October, computed for Chennai.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
- English
- Mera Houchongba
- মৈতৈলোন্
- মেরা হাউচংবা
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
Manipur calendar, computed for Chennai
- Monday, 26 October 2026
- Friday, 15 October 2027
- Tuesday, 3 October 2028
Where Mera Houchongba falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2026: 26 Oct
- 2027: 15 Oct
- 2028: 3 Oct
The dates, year by year
Manipur calendar, computed for Chennai
| Year | Mera Houchongba |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Tuesday, 7 October 2025 |
| 2026 | Monday, 26 October 2026 |
| 2027 | Friday, 15 October 2027 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, 3 October 2028 |
| 2029 | Monday, 22 October 2029 |
| 2030 | Friday, 11 October 2030 |
| 2031 | Thursday, 30 October 2031 |
| 2032 | Monday, 18 October 2032 |
| 2033 | Saturday, 8 October 2033 |
| 2034 | Friday, 27 October 2034 |
| 2035 | Wednesday, 17 October 2035 |
| 2036 | Sunday, 5 October 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 hills and the valley meet. The chiefs of the hill peoples come down to Kangla and eat with the Meiteis of the plain, and the old bond between them is renewed for the year. Through the whole month of Mera a lamp is kept burning on a tall pole outside the house, the Mera Wayungba, for the kin who live in the hills.
- Deity
- Lainingthou Sanamahi
- Kind
- Festival Days of celebration: the house is decorated, a feast is cooked and the temple is visited.
The hour
Clock times for Monday, 26 October 2026 at Chennai
Mera Purnima at sunrise, the full moon of the Meitei Mera.
| Instant | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | 06:01 | the udaya tithi, the tithi running as the sun comes up |
Sunrise 06:01, sunset 17:45, 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; a shared feast is the rite.
Where the regions differ
There is nothing else like it on this calendar: a festival whose whole content is that two peoples who live differently sit down together once a year.
The dates above are the Manipur 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.
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.