Diwali 2026

When Is Diwali in 2026?

In 2026, Diwali falls on November 8. The observance lasts 5 days (main celebration on day 3). Because Diwali follows a Amanta Hindu lunar calendar, amavasya (new moon) of Kartik month; peak day (Lakshmi Puja) is the 3rd of a 5-day festival, the exact Gregorian date shifts each year. The lunar tithi (amavasya) is a fixed moment in time; the corresponding Gregorian date depends on local timezone and whether sunrise or the tithi's duration defines the observance. India observes it one Gregorian day earlier than most of the Western Hemisphere, and the Tamil Deepavali (Naraka Chaturdashi) can fall a day before North Indian Diwali. Since Diwali's date changes from year to year, here are the dates for the next five years so you can plan ahead: Year Date 2026 November 8 2027 October 29 2028 October 17 2029 November 5 2030 October 26

What Time Does Diwali Start in Your Time Zone?

Diwali falls on the new moon (amavasya) of the Hindu month of Kartik, which corresponds to October or November in the Gregorian calendar. Because the Hindu lunar calendar is calibrated to both the moon and the sun, the date shifts each year but stays within a roughly three-week window. In 2026, Diwali will be celebrated on November 8. The festival's main night coincides with the darkest night of the Hindu month — the new moon — which is why the lamps are so visually striking. The timing of Lakshmi puja — the central ritual of the main Diwali night — is calculated precisely according to Hindu astrological tables, with the most auspicious window (muhurat) varying by city and longitude. In 2026, the ideal Lakshmi puja muhurat falls in the evening hours of November 8 across most of India. Communities in the United States and Canada, where the time difference is 9 to 12 hours behind India, often observe Diwali on the same Gregorian date — but the new moon moment technically occurs at a different local time, which can shift the muhurat. Diaspora families typically coordinate with their local temple's published calendar rather than calculating independently. The table below shows the observance date for Diwali in major time zones around the world: Location Observance Date Time Zone New York, USA November 8 EST/EDT (UTC-5/-4) London, UK November 8 GMT/BST (UTC+0/+1) New Delhi, India November 8 IST (UTC+5:30) Sydney, Australia November 8 AEST/AEDT (UTC+10/+11) Dubai, UAE November 8 GST (UTC+4)

The Story Behind Diwali

Diwali — the festival of lights — is one of the oldest and most beloved festivals in the world, celebrated by over a billion people across India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and the global Indian and South Asian diaspora. The name comes from the Sanskrit deepavali, meaning "a row of lights," and the central image of the festival is the small oil lamp called a diya, lit by the millions to line windowsills, rooftops, courtyards, and the banks of rivers. The light symbolizes the victory of knowledge over ignorance, hope over despair, and good over evil. Diwali's origins are layered because it draws on multiple religious traditions. In North India, the festival commemorates the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile, as told in the Ramayana. The people of Ayodhya lit rows of lamps to welcome him home, and that act is reenacted every year. In South India, Diwali marks the defeat of the demon Narakasura by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama, symbolizing the triumph of divine justice. In Jainism, Diwali commemorates the attainment of moksha — liberation from the cycle of rebirth — by Lord Mahavira in 527 BCE. In Sikhism, Diwali marks the release of the sixth Guru, Hargobind, from Mughal imprisonment in 1619, when he arrived at the Golden Temple in Amritsar to a city lit with lamps. Beyond these specific narratives, Diwali has long served as a harvest festival and a new year celebration for many Hindu, Jain, and Sikh business communities. It falls on the new moon of the Hindu month of Kartik (October-November), which marks the end of the agricultural year and the beginning of a new financial year. Merchants close their old account books, perform puja to Lakshmi — the goddess of wealth — and open new ledgers in a ritual called chopda pujan. The goddess is invited into homes that have been freshly cleaned and whitewashed, with lamps lit at every doorway to guide her in.

How Diwali Is Celebrated

Diwali is technically a five-day festival, with each day carrying its own rituals and significance. The first day, Dhanteras, is dedicated to wealth and health, with families buying gold, silver, or new utensils as auspicious purchases. The second day, Naraka Chaturdashi (also called Choti Diwali), marks Krishna's defeat of Narakasura and is celebrated with early-morning oil baths and rangoli designs drawn at the doorstep. The third day is the main Diwali — the night of the new moon — when Lakshmi puja is performed in homes and temples, fireworks light the sky, and families share sweets. The fourth day, Govardhan Puja or Annakut, marks the new year for many business communities. The fifth day, Bhai Dooj, celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters. The visual signature of Diwali is light. Every home is illuminated with rows of small clay diyas filled with ghee or mustard oil, with cotton wicks. Modern celebrations add strings of electric lights — white, gold, and multicolored — that wrap balconies, rooftops, and entire apartment towers. Rangoli — intricate patterns drawn on the floor with colored powders, rice flour, or flower petals — decorate entrances to welcome Lakshmi. In cities across India, the night of Diwali is punctuated by the sound and light of fireworks, though concerns about air pollution have led many communities to scale back firecrackers in favor of community displays. Food is central to Diwali, and the sweets are endless. Families exchange boxes of mithai — Indian sweets like gulab jamun, barfi, laddu, jalebi, and kaju katli — with neighbors, colleagues, and extended family. Savory snacks like chivda, chakli, and namakpara are prepared in large batches. New clothes are essential: women often wear new saris or salwar kameez in vibrant colors, men wear kurta-pajamas, and children get fresh outfits in anticipation of the festivities. Cards parties — friendly gambling gatherings — are a popular evening tradition in many North Indian communities. Why Does Diwali Move Every Year? The Hindu calendar that governs Diwali is a lunisolar system — it tracks both the phases of the moon and the position of the sun. Lunar months in this system are 29.5 days long on average, which means a lunar year of 354 days falls about 11 days short of the solar year. Without correction, festivals like Diwali would drift through the seasons like Eid does. But the Hindu calendar corrects this drift by adding an intercalary month — adhika maasa — roughly every 2.5 years, which keeps Diwali anchored in the October-November window. This is why Diwali stays in autumn while Eid al-Fitr, governed by a strictly lunar calendar, tours every season. The amavasya (new moon) of Kartik is the astronomical anchor. To find it, you find the new moon that occurs when the sun is in the zodiac sign of Libra (Tula), and that new moon is Diwali night. The result is a festival that can fall anywhere from mid-October to mid-November — predictable within that window, but not on a fixed Gregorian date.

Calendar Calculation

Amanta Hindu lunar calendar, amavasya (new moon) of Kartik month; peak day (Lakshmi Puja) is the 3rd of a 5-day festival

Traveling for Diwali? Where to Go

Diwali is one of the largest travel periods in India, with millions of people traveling from cities back to their home towns and villages for the festival. Indian Railways runs special Diwali trains to handle the surge, and flights between major metros fill up weeks in advance. Internationally, the festival draws visitors to destinations like Jaipur, where the entire old city is illuminated for the occasion, and to Amritsar, where the Golden Temple is lit with thousands of lamps for Bandi Chhor Divas (the Sikh observance that coincides with Diwali). Singapore's Little India district and Leicester in the UK host some of the largest Diwali celebrations outside India. Top destinations for this holiday: Jaipur: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. Varanasi: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. Amritsar: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. Udaipur: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. Kolkata: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. If you're planning to travel for diwali, compare hotel rates and book early — accommodations in Jaipur fill up weeks before the festival. [Search hotels for Diwali travel →]

Did You Know? Diwali Facts & Trivia

Diwali is celebrated by over a billion people worldwide, making it one of the most widely observed festivals on Earth. It is an official public holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname — countries with significant Hindu, Sikh, or Jain populations. The air pollution in New Delhi spikes dramatically on Diwali night due to firecrackers. In response, the Supreme Court of India has restricted firecracker sales, allowing only "green crackers" with reduced emissions. Several Indian states have banned firecrackers entirely. Leicester in the United Kingdom hosts one of the largest Diwali celebrations outside India, with over 35,000 people attending the annual Diwali lights switch-on along Belgrave Road — a street decorated with thousands of lights for the festival. The gold and silver purchases on Dhanteras (the first day of Diwali) are so significant that jewelers in India see up to 40% of their annual sales in the week before Diwali. The World Gold Council estimates that Indian consumers purchase approximately 50-100 tons of gold during this period.