Diwali 2026 Five Days by City: Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj

The five days at a glance

Each cell is the single civil date returned for that city. London uses the same rules as every other city, so Naraka Chaturdashi is Saturday 7 November and Govardhan Puja is Monday 9 November there. Those tithis sit close to the civil-day boundary, which is why some family calendars also name the following morning.

The rules used for each day

Each festival is tied to a tithi and a part of the day.

Bhai Dooj is the civil day on which Shukla Dwitiya is already running at the start of Aparahna. That gives Wednesday 11 November in Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney, and Tuesday 10 November in Dubai, London and North America. For Delhi the date matches the published almanac date of 11 November.

Why five festivals fill six or seven calendar days

The festivals are called the five days of Diwali, but the lunar calendar does not guarantee five consecutive civil dates. In 2026 a Delhi household sees Dhanteras on 6 November, then Naraka Chaturdashi and Diwali on the same day, 8 November, then Govardhan Puja on 10 November and Bhai Dooj on 11 November. The dates of 7 and 9 November carry no festival of the sequence.

The reason is timing. In Delhi, Chaturdashi begins on the morning of 7 November, after the pre-dawn window has already passed, so the abhyanga snan on the morning of 8 November is the first one where Chaturdashi is present. On 9 November the morning still belongs to Amavasya, since Pratipada begins later that day, so Govardhan Puja moves to 10 November. In New York the same tithis begin hours earlier on the local clock, so the pre-dawn window of 7 November already falls inside Chaturdashi, and the festival moves one day earlier than in Delhi.

Lakshmi Puja on 8 November: Pradosh window by city

Amavasya is present at sunset on 8 November in all eleven cities and has ended before sunset on 9 November, so Lakshmi Puja is on 8 November everywhere.

Some almanacs name a narrower Lakshmi Puja muhurta inside Pradosh that follows a steady rising sign, and a night window called Nishita for traditions that worship at midnight. Check your own panchang if your family follows one of those.

What each day is for

• Dhanteras opens the festival with prayers for wealth and health. See the Dhanteras guide.
• Naraka Chaturdashi, also called Choti Diwali, is marked with an early morning oil bath and lamps in the evening.
• Lakshmi Puja is the main night of Diwali, with lamps, rangoli and prayers to Lakshmi and Ganesha.
• Govardhan Puja remembers the lifting of Govardhan hill and is observed with food offerings, often called Annakut.
• Bhai Dooj celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters.

Check your own city

The table covers eleven cities. For any other place open the Inner Light panchang for each date and compare the tithi with the rules above. This page is for information, and traditions differ by community and region.

Frequently asked questions

When is Diwali 2026? Sunday 8 November 2026 in every city on this page.

Why is Naraka Chaturdashi on 7 November in New York but 8 November in Delhi? Chaturdashi begins at a given moment in universal time. That moment falls before the pre-dawn window on 7 November in North America and after it in India, so the first matching morning differs.

Is Diwali always the same day everywhere? Often, but not always. Some years the new moon covers the evening of one date in Asia and a different date in the Americas.

Related

• Dhanteras 2026 date and puja time by city
• Dhanteras guide
• Panchang by city
• Moon phase