Bihu Greeting Cards

Unlike almost every other major Indian festival, Bihu isn't a single date — it's three, each tied to a different point in Assam's agricultural cycle rather than to a deity or historical event. Bohag Bihu (Rongali Bihu) opens the Assamese new year and spring sowing season in mid-April. Kati Bihu, in mid-October, is the quiet one — a prayer-focused observance during the growing season when farmers light earthen lamps beside their fields to protect crops from pests, with none of the dancing associated with the other two. Magh Bihu (Bhogali Bihu) closes the cycle in mid-January with harvest feasts and community bonfires. The festival's whole structure follows the crop, not the calendar of any single religion.

Seven Days of Bohag Bihu

Bohag Bihu, the loudest and most widely celebrated of the three, runs a full week with a different focus each day. It opens with Goru Bihu, dedicated entirely to cattle — cows are bathed, fed gourds and turmeric, and decorated with new rope, before the humans get their own celebration the next day. Manuh Bihu, the main day, is when families dress in new clothes and younger members touch elders' feet for blessings. Chenehi Bihu, the fourth day, is specifically for gifting new clothes to sons-in-law — a detail unique to Assamese Bihu tradition.

The Dance That Defines the Festival

Bihu dance is performed in open fields by young men and women together, women in mekhela chador and men in dhoti with a gamosa, moving in energetic circles to dhol, pepa (buffalo-horn flute), toka (bamboo clapper), and gagana (jaw harp). It's read as a celebration of fertility and young love, and it's paired with Bihu geet — sung poetry about Assam's landscape and the emotions of the season, cherished as much as the dance itself.

Did You Know?

• Bohag Bihu falls in the same mid-April window as Baisakhi in Punjab and Vishu in Kerala — three unrelated regional new years landing within days of each other.
• Pitha, the rice cake central to Bihu food, comes in dozens of regional variants — til pitha, ghila pitha, and tekeli pitha differ by filling and cooking method, and households often make several kinds at once to share.
• Apong (or haj), a traditional rice beer brewed for Bihu, has distinct red and white variants depending on the rice and fermentation method used.

Send Subha Bihu to Family Beyond Assam

Many Assamese families now live well outside the state — a personalised card with your name is an easy way to bring the festival's warmth across that distance. Choose a design below, add your name, and share it on WhatsApp instantly.