According to the Hindu lunar calendar, Sant Kabir Jayanti is celebrated on the day of Jyeshtha Purnima, the full moon in the Hindu month of Jyeshtha. This means it normally takes place in late May or June. It is a regional holiday in India, usually in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, though it may be a holiday in other states in certain years. The table on this page shows which states observe the holiday this year.
Jayanti means birth anniversary and Sant Guru Kabir Jayanti marks the birthday of Sant Kabir, an Indian mystic poet and saint who lived in the 15th century. His writings and work influenced Hinduisms Bhakti movement and his verses are also found in the Sikh scriptures of Adi Granth. The year of Kabirs birth is open to debate, with arguments made for both 1398 and 1518, though whatever the year, it is commonly accepted that he was born and raised in a family of Muslim weavers.
Despite his Islamic background, Kabir became a disciple of the Hindu Bhakti saint Ramananda. Until other Gurus and Saints of the time, Kabir lived the simple life of a weaver. He got married and had children. During his life, he suffered some degree of persecution from both Muslims and Hindus, yet on his death, both religions tried to claim the body. That legacy of Kabir continues through the Path of Kabir (Kabir panth), a religious community that recognises him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. The members are known as Kabir panthis. In 1915, Kabirs poetry was brought to a wider audience when his work was translated into English by the famous Bengali polymath, Rabindranath Tagore.