Diwali muhurat
Diwali 2026
Sunday, 8 November 2026
The festival of lights centers on Lakshmi-Ganesh puja, lighting lamps, and cleaning the home. Below is the full five-day calendar and the auspicious window for the puja.
Auspicious muhurat
The exact muhurat depends on your city's sunset, so there is no single fixed time here. Check the precise window for your city below.
Check your city's muhurat →Days around this festival
Friday, 6 November 2026
Dhanteras
Saturday, 7 November 2026
Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali)
Sunday, 8 November 2026
Diwali
Monday, 9 November 2026
Govardhan Puja
Tuesday, 10 November 2026
Bhai Dooj
Why Diwali matters
Diwali marks Lord Ram's return to Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile. The city's residents lit rows of lamps to welcome him home, a tradition every household still follows today.
Lakshmi and Ganesh are worshipped on this night for wealth, prosperity, and peace in the year ahead. Lighting a lamp stands for light over darkness, and good over evil.
For traders, Diwali is also when new account books open, since the day is treated as a turn from darkness to light and from loss to gain.
How the muhurat is worked out
Lakshmi Puja is traditionally held during Pradosh Kaal, the window after sunset when a fixed ascendant (usually Taurus) rises. That window shifts by a few minutes depending on your city's sunset.
Rather than one fixed time, check the exact muhurat for your city on the muhurat page, which also shows that day's sunset and choghadiya.
Avoiding Rahu Kaal during the puja is a traditional precaution, so check Rahu Kaal timing even within the Pradosh Kaal window.
Timing abroad, by time zone
Diwali 2026 for Indo-Caribbean Families: Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Puja timing for Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname, home to Indo-Caribbean communities since 19th-century indentured migration.
Diwali 2026 in South Africa: Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Puja timing for Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, home to a South African Indian community with roots since the 1860s.
Diwali 2026 in Spain and Portugal: Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon Puja Timing
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Puja timing for Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon, two countries on different time zones despite sharing a border.
Diwali 2026 in Switzerland and Austria: Zurich, Geneva and Vienna Puja Timing
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. CET puja windows for Zurich, Geneva and Vienna.
Diwali 2026 in New Zealand: Auckland and Wellington Puja Timing
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8 in New Zealand. Puja timing for Auckland and Wellington, and why NZ is already a day ahead of the US.
Diwali 2026 in Scandinavia: Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen and Helsinki
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Puja timing for Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen and Helsinki, where early sunset shifts the window earlier in the evening.
Diwali 2026 in Singapore and Hong Kong
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Puja timing for Singapore, a public holiday there, and Hong Kong, where it is not.
Diwali 2026 in Ireland: Dublin Puja Time
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. How to work out the Lakshmi Puja window in Dublin for Ireland's small but growing Indian community.
Diwali 2026 in Japan and South Korea: Fitting Puja Around a Work Day
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Puja timing for Tokyo, Osaka and Seoul, where Diwali is not a public holiday, for the tech-worker diaspora community.
Diwali 2026 in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. CET puja windows for Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg City.
Diwali 2026 in East Africa: Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Puja timing for Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam, home to a largely Gujarati Indian diaspora community.
Diwali 2026 in Fiji, Mauritius and Reunion
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Local puja timing for Fiji, Mauritius and Reunion, home to century-old Indian diaspora communities.
Diwali 2026 in the Gulf: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Doha Puja Timing
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. Puja timing for Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Doha, and how the Gulf's mixed weekend structure affects that Sunday.
Diwali 2026 in Canada: Lakshmi Puja Time for Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8 across Canada. How to work out the local Lakshmi Puja window for Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.
Diwali 2026 in the UK: Date and Puja Time
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8 in the UK. How to work out your local Lakshmi Puja timing for a UK city rather than converting an Indian clock time.
Diwali 2026 in the USA: Dates and Lakshmi Puja Muhurat in ET/CT/MT/PT
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8 across US time zones. How to work out your local Lakshmi Puja muhurat rather than converting an IST time directly.
Diwali 2026 in CET: Dates for Germany, the Netherlands and the Rest of the EU
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8 across Central European Time. How to work out your local Lakshmi Puja window for a CET city.
Diwali 2026: Auspicious Lakshmi Puja Muhurat
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. An approximate Pradosh Kaal window for Lakshmi Puja, and how to check the exact time for your city.
Diwali 2026 in Australia and Singapore
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8 in most of Asia-Pacific, though Australia sits far enough ahead of India that some panchangs shift the local date by a day. Here is how to check which applies to you.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
When is Diwali 2026? +
Diwali 2026 falls on November 8. It is the third and main day of the five-day festival, which runs from Dhanteras (November 6) through Bhai Dooj (November 10).
How do I find the right Lakshmi Puja time? +
The exact time depends on your city's sunset. Select your city on the muhurat page to see that day's Pradosh Kaal and Rahu Kaal together.
Does the Diwali date change every year? +
Yes, Diwali falls on Kartik Amavasya, a lunar-calendar date, so it lands on a different Gregorian date each year.
How should people living abroad time their puja? +
Rather than converting the IST time directly, work out Pradosh Kaal from your own city's sunset. Detailed guides for the USA, UK, EU, and Australia are linked below.