If August 2020 was full of festivals and events, September 2020 does not boast of many. In fact, the ninth month of the year barely has any religious occasions in its calendar this time around. Now, there is a reason for it. Pitru Paksha or Pitri Paksha starts from September 1 and will continue until September 17. And Pitri Paksha is considered to be inauspicious by Hindus, as they pay homage to their ancestors and death rite is performed during the ceremony known as, Shraadh or Tarpana. For Muslims, Muharram also ends this month. There are no major religious festivals taking place in the month. However, there are several international days and minor secular observances such as Teachers' Day, Engineer's Day, Hindi Diwas, World Heart Day. Let us look at the September 2020 calendar in detail. Lala Ramswaroop Calendar 2020 for Free PDF Download: Know List of Hindu Festivals, Dates of Holidays and Fasts (Vrat) in New Year Online.

Pitru Paksha literally means "fortnight of the ancestors" and is a 16–lunar day period in Hindu calendar when Hindus pay homage to their ancestor (Pitrs). Pitru Paksha start date in 2020 is September 1, Tuesday, with Purnima Shraddha (Bhadrapada Shukla Purnima) while Pitru Paksha 2020 end date is September 17, Thursday with Sarvapitru Amavasya or Mahalaya Amavasya. The last day of Pitru Paksha is known as Sarvapitri Amavasya, which is known by various other names as Pitru Amavasya, Peddala Amavasya, Mahalaya Amavasya or simply Mahalaya. It is the most significant day of Pitru Paksha.

However, the first day of September 2020, right before the inauspicious period begins, Hindus will observe Anant Chaturdashi. It is holy vrat dedicated to Lord Vishnu's Anant Roop and celebrated by Hindus especially in the states of UP and Bihar. However, Anant Chaturdashi is widely popular for Ganesh Visarjan (immersion of Ganesha idols) as it happens to be the last day of ten-day-long Ganeshotsav festival. Devotees bid goodbye to Lord Ganesha, however, this time around there will be no splendour immersion procession in the city of Mumbai. People will carry out Ganesh Visarjan at small scale while maintaining social distancing.

There are a handful of fasts and festivals for Hindus this month such as Vishwakarma Puja, Indira Ekadashi, Padmini Ekadashi, and regular monthly fasts such as Masik Durgashtami, Masik Shivratri, Sankashti Chaturthi and Skanda Sashti. And then there are a number of national and international days, with the important ones being Teachers' Day in India on September 5, which is celebrated in the honour of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. We have Engineer's Day or Visvesvaraya Jayanti on September 15, commemorated to honour M. Visvesvaraya, an Indian civil engineer's birth anniversary. Presenting you full September 2020 festivals and holiday calendar.

September 2020 Fasts (Vrat), Festivals, Events & Holiday Calendar

Sr. No. Date Day Fasts / Festivals / National / International Days
1. September 1 Tuesday Ganesh Visarjan, Anant Chaturdashi, Purnima Shraddha, Random Acts of Kindness Day (New Zealand)
2. September 2 Wednesday Bhadrapada Purnima, Pitrupaksha Begins, Pratipada Shraddha, Victory over Japan Day (US)
3. September 3 Thursday Dwitiya Shraddha, Skyscraper Day
4. September 4 Friday
5. September 5 Saturday Teacher’s Day, Tritiya Shraddha, Vighnaraja Sankashti Chaturthi, International Day of Charity
6. September 6 Sunday Chaturthi Shraddha, Colour Blindness Awareness Day
7. September 7 Monday Maha Bharani, Panchami Shraddha, Brazilian Independence Day
8. September 8 Tuesday Shashthi Shraddha, World Physical Therapy Day, International Literacy Day
9. September 9 Wednesday Saptami Shraddha, FASD Awareness Day
10. September 10 Thursday Rohini Vrat, Mahalakshmi Vrat Ends, Kalashtami, Jivitputrika Vrat / Jitiya Vrat, Ashtami Shraddha, World Suicide Prevention Day
11. September 11 Friday Navami Shraddha, Avidhava Navami, Patriot Day
12. September 12 Saturday Dashami Shraddha, ATSEP Day
13. September 13 Sunday Indira Ekadashi, Ekadashi Shraddha, RUOK? Day, International Chocolate Day, Birthday of Milton S. Hershey
14. September 14 Monday Hindi Day or Hindi Diwas, Dwadashi Shraddha, National Quiet Day (UK)
15. September 15 Tuesday Magha Shraddha, Pradosh Vrat, Trayodashi Shraddha, Engineer’s Day, Visvesvaraya Jayanti, Masik Shivaratri, International Day of Democracy
16. September 16 Wednesday Chaturdashi Shraddha, Kanya Sankranti, International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, Start of Mexican Independence Day
17. September 17 Thursday Mahalaya Amavasya, Ashwina Amavasya, Sarva Pitru Amavasya, Vishwakarma Puja, Malaysia Day, World Patient Safety Day
18. September 18 Friday Chandra Darshan, Muharram Ends, World Water Monitoring Day
19. September 19 Saturday International Talk Like a Pirate Day
20. September 20 Sunday Vinayaka Chaturthi
21. September 21 Monday International Day of Peace
22. September 22 Tuesday Skanda Sashti, World Car Free Day, Hobbit Day, World Rhino Day, Baltic Unity Day
23. September 23 Wednesday International Day of Sign Languages, Celebrate Bisexuality Day
24. September 24 Thursday Masik Durgashtami, Heritage Day (South Africa)
25. September 25 Friday As You Wish Day, World Pharmacists Day
26. September 26 Saturday World Contraception Day, European Day of Languages
27. September 27 Sunday Padmini Ekadashi, World Tourism Day
28. September 28 Monday World Rabies Day, International Right to Know Day, International Safe Abortion Day, Ask a Stupid Question Day
29. September 29 Tuesday Pradosh Vrat, International Coffee Day, World Heart Day
30. September 30 Wednesday Botswana Day, International Translation Day

As you might have noticed from the table, September also has several health days. Some of the important ones being World Heart Day, International Safe Abortion Day, World Contraception Day, World Pharmacists Day, and Colour Blindness Awareness Day. So, that is it for now. October will see the celebration of Sharad Navratri, which got pushed by a month due to leap year, as per few astrologers. Every year the end of Pitru Paksha marks the beginning of Navaratri, however, not this time around. We will be back with the October 2020 calendar with a detailed list of festivals and events.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 30, 2020 10:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).