festival falls after spring harvest, and in others during harvest. It also marks the first day of the Hindu calendar, hence also known as the Hindu Lunar New Year according to Vikram Samvat calendar. Vaisakhi: Vaisakhi marks the beginning of Hindu Solar New Year in Punjab, Northern, Eastern, North-eastern and Central India according to the solar Vikram Samvat calendar. and marks the first day of the month of Vaisakha, which is usually celebrated on 13 or 14 April every year and is a historical and religious festival in Hinduism. Baisakhi (Nepal): Baisakhi is celebrated as Nepalese New Year because it is the day which marks Hindu Solar New Year as per the solar Nepali Bikram Sambat. Divisions of a year The Vikram Samvat uses lunar months and solar sidereal years. Because 12 months do not match a sidereal year, correctional months (adhika māsa) are added or (occasionally) subtracted (kshaya masa). A lunar year consists of 12 months, and each month has two fortnights, with a variable duration ranging from 29 to 32 days. The lunar days are called tithis. Each month has 30 tithis, which vary in length from 20 to 27 hours. The waxing phase, beginning with the day after the new moon (amavasya), is called gaura or shukla paksha (the bright or auspicious fortnight). The waning phase is called krishna or vadhya paksha (the dark fortnight, considered inauspicious). Lunar metrics A tithi is the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the Moon and the Sun to increase by 12°. Tithis begin at various times of the day, and vary in duration. A paksha (or pakṣa) is a lunar fortnight and consists of 15 tithis. A māsa, or lunar month (about 29.5 days), is divided into two paksas. A ritu (season) is two māsas. An ayana is three ritus. A year is two ayanas. Months The classical Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calendar, except during January to April, when it is ahead by 56 years. The month that the new year starts varies by region or sub-culture. The Nepali BS, like other tropical calendars (such as Bangla) starts with Baisakh. As of 14 April 2022, it is 2079 BS in the BS calendar. The names of months in the Vikram Samvat in Sanskrit and Nepali, with their roughly corresponding Gregorian months, respectively are: See also Hindu units of time Hindu calendar Vira Nirvana