Sea blue Kashmiri pheran with green chinar aari embroidery from the Haba Khatoon collection, KAARKASH

Pheran Day 2026: 21 December, the Start of Chillai Kalan

In short: Pheran Day is 21 December, the first day of Chillai Kalan, the forty days of hardest cold in Kashmir. Kashmiris mark it by wearing the pheran, the long woollen winter robe, posting pictures in it and gathering in Srinagar. It is also called World Pheran Day or International Pheran Day.

Pheran Day at a glance

What The short answer
Date 21 December, every year
Pheran Day 2026 Monday, 21 December 2026
Also called World Pheran Day, International Pheran Day
Why that day It is the first day of Chillai Kalan, Kashmir's forty coldest days
Chillai Kalan 21 December to the end of January (29 or 31 January, by different counts)
How it began Online, with Kashmiris sharing pictures in their pherans; reported in December 2020
How it is marked Pheran pictures on social media, gatherings at Ghanta Ghar in Lal Chowk, pheran fashion shows, an artisans' fair at Kashmir Haat
What people wear The pheran, often with a kangri, the small fire pot, held underneath

Why Pheran Day is on 21 December

Pheran Day is tied to the weather. 21 December is the first day of Chillai Kalan, the local name for the forty-day period of the harshest winter in Kashmir. The name is Persian: chil means forty, and Chillai Kalan is usually translated as "the major cold".

Sources count the end a little differently. Some give 21 December to 29 January, which is exactly forty days. Others, including Kashmir Life, give 21 December to 31 January. After it come two shorter, milder spells: Chillai Khurd, the "small cold", of about twenty days, and Chillai Bachha, the "baby cold", of about ten.

The date has an older echo too. In the Persian tradition, the longest night of the year, which falls around 21 December, is kept as Shab-e-Yalda or Shab-e-Chelleh.

So the pheran and the date belong together. Chillai Kalan is when Kashmir needs its pheran most, and Pheran Day welcomes the cold by putting it on.

How Pheran Day started

Pheran Day began online. On 21 December 2020, The Hindu reported that dozens of Kashmiris on social media had named the first day of Chillai Kalan "Pheran Day", after the long woollen gown worn through the Kashmiri winter. A radio jockey, Sardar Nasir Ali Khan, said the day should be celebrated as "World Pheran Day" and started an online trend of posting pheran selfies. Hundreds followed.

That is the earliest account of the name we could find. No single founder or founding year is on record beyond it.

From the next winter, the day moved onto the street. On 21 December 2021, members of the Jammu and Kashmir Economic Confederation gathered by the Ghanta Ghar, the clock tower in Srinagar's Lal Chowk, to observe Pheran Day and welcome Chillai Kalan. Every year since, the papers have reported Pheran Day events in Srinagar.

Accounts of the start do differ. The Hindu's own report in 2022 called that year's events the first Pheran Day, and Wikipedia's article on the day begins with 2021. We give 2020 because it is the earliest report we found.

How Pheran Day is marked

There is no fixed ritual. People wear a pheran and show it. These are the ways it has been marked, as reported in the Kashmir and national press:

  • Pictures online. The day began with pheran selfies, and it still lives on social media. In 2022, hundreds of people changed their display pictures to show themselves in a pheran.
  • Lal Chowk. The Ghanta Ghar in Lal Chowk is the usual meeting point. In 2022, young people in pherans walked a catwalk there "to promote wearing of pherans". In 2023, locals and tourists gathered there in pherans, some carrying kangris.
  • Fashion shows. In 2024, a pheran fashion show in Srinagar brought together models and artists.
  • An artisans' fair. In 2025, the Handicrafts and Handloom Department held Pheran Day and Jashn-e-Chilai-Kalan at Kashmir Haat in Srinagar: two days of stalls selling pherans and blankets, with music.

The pheran and the kangri

The pheran is a long, loose woollen robe, worn by men, women and children in Kashmir to keep out the cold. Its loose cut has a purpose: it leaves room for the kangri, an earthen pot of hot embers set in a woven wicker basket, held inside the pheran against the body. The kangri is a personal heater, and its main season is Chillai Kalan, when its use, along with the hamam and the bukhari stove, rises sharply.

That is why the two appear together on Pheran Day. Our guide to what a Kashmiri pheran is tells the longer story of the garment, its cloth and its embroidery.

Other Chillai Kalan customs

The forty days have their own food. The best known is harissa, a slow-cooked mutton dish made with spices such as cinnamon, fennel, cardamom and cloves, eaten for warmth through the coldest weeks. Most harissa shops keep making it until about March, just before spring.

Wearing a pheran on Pheran Day

If you want to wear a pheran on 21 December, order it early enough to arrive. Our pherans are made in Kashmir and sent from Srinagar, with free delivery across India.

  • Paying online: delivery usually takes 3 to 5 days. Order by 14 December.
  • Cash on delivery: available for most pincodes, and takes 8 to 13 days. Order by 6 December.
  • Size: our pherans come in one size, L - XXL. The pheran size guide shows where the hem falls at your height.
  • Price: from about ₹1,450 (October 2026).

See our Kashmiri pherans for women, or this winter's Haba Khatoon collection. The embroidered pieces are hand-assisted manual work. For what to wear with one, read how to wear a pheran.

Questions

When is Pheran Day 2026?

Monday, 21 December 2026. Pheran Day falls on 21 December every year, the first day of Chillai Kalan.

Why is Pheran Day on 21 December?

Because 21 December is the first day of Chillai Kalan, the forty coldest days of the Kashmiri winter, when the pheran is needed most.

What is Chillai Kalan?

The forty-day period of the harshest winter in Kashmir, from 21 December to the end of January. The name is Persian and means "the major cold". It is followed by Chillai Khurd (about twenty days) and Chillai Bachha (about ten).

Is World Pheran Day the same as Pheran Day?

Yes. Pheran Day, World Pheran Day and International Pheran Day are names for the same day, 21 December.

Who started Pheran Day?

Kashmiris on social media. In December 2020, The Hindu reported that people online had named the first day of Chillai Kalan "Pheran Day", and that radio jockey Sardar Nasir Ali Khan started a trend of posting pheran selfies for "World Pheran Day".

How do you celebrate Pheran Day?

Wear a pheran and share a picture in it. In Srinagar, people gather at the Ghanta Ghar in Lal Chowk, and there have been pheran fashion shows and an artisans' fair at Kashmir Haat.

What is a kangri?

A small earthen pot of hot embers in a wicker basket, held inside the pheran to keep warm. It is used most during Chillai Kalan.

Sources

Writing about Pheran Day? You are welcome to quote this guide: please link to it as "Pheran Day: 21 December", KAARKASH.

Written by the KAARKASH team in Srinagar, Kashmir, where our pieces are made and packed. Updated October 2026.