Diwali 2026: dates, the five days, and a live countdown

When is Diwali in 2026?

Diwali 2026 — the main day of Lakshmi Puja — falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. The festival spans five days: it begins with Dhanteras on Friday, 6 November and concludes with Bhai Dooj on Tuesday, 10 November. Because the main day lands on a Sunday this year, families get a natural long weekend around the festival’s heart — a small mercy of the calendar worth appreciating.

If you’re planning travel, shopping, or time off, work from the full five-day span rather than just the 8th. Dhanteras (the 6th) is when the traditional gold and utensil purchases happen and markets are at their busiest; the days around the main festival see the heaviest travel. Booking trains, flights, and even sweet orders a few weeks ahead of early November is the difference between celebrating and queuing.

For readers outside India, note that regional calendars can shift adjacent days by one: in some regions and diaspora communities, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj are observed a day earlier or later depending on local sunrise-based calculations. The main Diwali day — 8 November — is consistent. When in doubt about a specific community’s observance, follow your family’s tradition or a panchang calculated for your city.

What are the five days of Diwali?

Diwali isn’t a single day — it’s a five-day arc, each day with its own name, rituals, and mood. Here’s the 2026 calendar:

Day 1 — Dhanteras (Friday, 6 November). The festival opens with the worship of Dhanvantari (health) and Lakshmi (wealth), and it’s the traditional day for buying gold, silver, and new utensils — purchases made today are considered auspicious for the year ahead. Markets stay open late; jewellers report some of their busiest hours of the year. The evening’s Yama Deepam — a lamp lit for Yama — is a quiet, reflective ritual amid the commercial buzz.

Day 2 — Choti Diwali / Naraka Chaturdashi (Saturday, 7 November). Commemorating Krishna’s victory over the demon Narakasura, this day centers on the ritual pre-dawn oil bath (abhyanga snan) and the first real wave of diya-lighting. In much of South India, this — rather than the next day — is the festival’s emotional centerpiece, which is why you’ll hear the dates described slightly differently across regions. Both are correct; they’re different traditions’ emphases.

Day 3 — Diwali / Lakshmi Puja (Sunday, 8 November). The main day: homes are cleaned and decorated, rangoli patterns grace doorways, and in the evening families perform Lakshmi-Ganesha puja — inviting prosperity (Lakshmi) and auspicious beginnings (Ganesha) — then light rows of diyas, exchange sweets and gifts, and (where permitted and safe) enjoy fireworks. This is the night the festival is named for: Deepavali, a row of lights.

Day 4 — Govardhan Puja (Monday, 9 November). Honoring Krishna’s lifting of Govardhan Hill to shelter villagers from the storm-god Indra’s wrath, this day features the annakut — a “mountain of food” offering — and, in many communities, the worship of cattle (Gau Puja). In Gujarat, this day doubles as the New Year (Bestu Varas), with new account books (chopda pujan) opened by trading families.

Day 5 — Bhai Dooj (Tuesday, 10 November). The festival closes intimately: sisters perform aarti for their brothers and pray for their well-being; brothers give gifts and pledge protection. After four days of public festivity, Bhai Dooj turns the focus to family bonds — a gentle landing for the festival’s emotional arc.

When is the Lakshmi Puja muhurat in 2026?

The most-asked timing question every Diwali — and the answer with a necessary caveat. Lakshmi Puja is traditionally performed during Pradosh Kaal, the twilight period after sunset on Diwali night, while the Amavasya (new moon) tithi is active. In 2026, most panchang calculations place the core muhurat window on the evening of Sunday, 8 November, roughly between 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM — but the exact window shifts by city, because it depends on local sunset time.

Here’s why you should treat any single published time cautiously: the muhurat is computed from your location’s sunset and the tithi boundaries, which can differ by 30–60 minutes even between cities in the same state, and more across the country. A muhurat published for Delhi won’t be exact for Chennai or Kolkata. Different panchang traditions (Drik vs. regional) can also differ slightly. The reliable approach: check a panchang or temple announcement calculated for your city, or ask your family priest — this is literally what they’re for.

What matters more than minute-precision is the structure of the evening: the puja belongs to the twilight hours after sunset, performed with the household gathered, lamps lit, and the Amavasya night outside. Families who can’t hit an exact muhurat — because of work, travel, or young children — perform the puja in the evening regardless, and that’s entirely in keeping with the festival’s spirit. The goddess, tradition assures us, is not checking her watch.

Business families should note the Chopda Pujan distinction: while many perform it during the evening Lakshmi Puja, trading traditions often place the new-account-books worship in the later Nishita Kaal (midnight) muhurat. Both timings are valid within their traditions — follow your community’s practice.

Why does Diwali’s date change every year?

Diwali follows the lunar Hindu calendar, not the solar Gregorian one — which is why it drifts across October and November each year. Specifically, Diwali falls on the Amavasya (new moon night) of the Kartik month. A lunar month is about 29.5 days; twelve of them make ~354 days, about 11 days shorter than the solar year. Without correction, lunar festivals would drift steadily earlier each year (as Ramadan does in the Islamic calendar).

The Hindu calendar corrects with Adhik Maas — an extra leap month inserted roughly every 32 months — which keeps festivals roughly seasonal but lets exact Gregorian dates wander within a window. That’s why recent Diwalis have fallen anywhere from mid-October to mid-November, and why the date must be looked up fresh each year rather than assumed. (For context: Diwali 2027 falls on 29 October, and 2028 on 17 October — the drift in action.)

The lunar basis also explains the regional one-day variations: the tithi (lunar day) boundaries fall at specific moments, and whether a tithi is “running” at local sunrise determines which Gregorian date a region assigns to observances like Govardhan Puja. It’s not disagreement about astronomy — it’s different consistent rules applied to the same moon. Our Indian festivals 2026 guide lists the year’s major festival dates in one place if you’re planning around several of them.

How is Diwali celebrated across India — and beyond?

Diwali’s core symbolism — light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil — is pan-Indian, but its stories and customs are gloriously regional. In North India, the festival celebrates Rama’s return to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile and his victory over Ravana; the diyas recall the lamps lit to welcome him home. In South India, the emphasis falls on Krishna’s defeat of Narakasura, celebrated most intensely on Naraka Chaturdashi. In West Bengal, Odisha, and Assam, the same night hosts Kali Puja; in Gujarat, it’s the New Year; Jains mark Mahavira’s nirvana, and Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas — Guru Hargobind’s release from imprisonment. One festival, many meanings, zero contradiction: that layering is the point.

Across all traditions, certain threads are constant. Cleaning and renewal: homes are scrubbed, repaired, and redecorated — the physical act mirrors the spiritual one. Light: diyas, candles, and electric lights outline homes, streets, and temples. Sweets and feasting: mithai moves in industrial quantities between households; no Diwali visit happens empty-handed. New clothes and gifts, fireworks (increasingly regulated in many cities for air quality — check local rules), and gambling in some communities, traditionally linked to the legend of Shiva and Parvati’s dice game.

Beyond India, Diwali is a major public festival in Nepal (as Tihar), Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa — and a growing civic celebration in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, where city centers host public light-ups. In Pakistan, Diwali is celebrated by the Hindu community, particularly in Sindh — Umerkot, Tharparkar, and Karachi see temple gatherings, fairs, and fireworks — and it’s recognized as a public holiday for the community. Wherever it’s kept, the festival’s essentials travel intact: light the lamps, gather the family, share the sweets.

Diwali 2026 planning checklist

With the dates set — 6 to 10 November, main day Sunday the 8th — here’s a practical timeline. Diwali rewards planners and punishes procrastinators; the difference is usually just starting in October.

• 4–6 weeks out (late September): Book travel — trains and flights around early November fill fast. Order gifts that need shipping. If hosting, plan the guest list.
• 3 weeks out (mid-October): Dhanteras shopping list: gold/silver purchases, utensils, new clothes. Sweet orders to favorite halwais go in now — the best shops sell out.
• 1 week out (late October): Deep-clean the house (the traditional diwali ki safai). Stock diyas, oil, candles, rangoli colors, and puja supplies. Confirm fireworks rules in your city.
• Dhanteras (Nov 6): Make the auspicious purchases; perform Dhanvantari-Lakshmi puja in the evening.
• Choti Diwali (Nov 7): Pre-dawn oil bath tradition; decorate — rangoli, lights, torans. Prepare sweets and snacks.
• Diwali (Nov 8): Evening Lakshmi-Ganesha puja in Pradosh Kaal (check your city’s muhurat), then diyas, dinner, gifts, fireworks where permitted.
• After (Nov 9–10): Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj — the family days. Rest. You’ve earned it.

One last note for the planners: festival dates for next year are already computable — Diwali 2027 is 29 October — so if you’re the person who books flights eleven months out, you have our respect and our festivals page for the full 2026 calendar. Shubh Deepavali — may your diyas stay lit and your mithai box stay full.