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A bamboo soop of offerings and sugarcane at the river at sunrise for Chhath Puja

Chhath Puja

Surya (Sun God), Chhathi Maiya

This year
Sun, 15 Nov 2026
in 162 days
Major festival Regional 4-day festival
Chhath Puja 2026 is centred on Sunday, 15 November 2026, the day of the evening arghya to the setting sun. It is a four-day festival to Surya and Chhathi Maiya, kept mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. Because it falls on the sixth day (Shashthi) of the bright fortnight of Kartik, the Gregorian date shifts each year between late October and mid-November, a few days after Diwali.

When it falls

The date shifts because it tracks the moon, not the Gregorian calendar.

2024 Nov 7
Thu
2025 Oct 27
Mon
2026 Nov 15
Sun
2027 Nov 4
Thu
2028 Oct 23
Mon
2029 Nov 11
Sun

Calculated for India (IST) using precise Panchang astronomy. Dates can shift by a day at locations far to the east or west.

Significance & story

Chhath is one of the few festivals addressed directly to the Sun (Surya) and to Chhathi Maiya, regarded as a form of the goddess who protects children and looks after their wellbeing. The reasoning is plain: the sun is the visible source of warmth, harvest and health, and Chhath is the year's formal thanks for it. The festival honours both the setting sun on one evening and the rising sun the next morning — gratitude for the day that is ending before the request for the one to come.

The fast at the heart of it is demanding. The main observer (the vrati, often a woman of the household) keeps a waterless fast (nirjala) for roughly thirty-six hours, taking neither food nor water through a full day and night. There is no temple and no priest — the rite is done by the family at the water's edge, which is part of why it carries such personal weight in the communities that keep it.

It is also known for being scrupulously clean and demanding in preparation, with the offerings cooked under strict rules of purity. The mood is one of disciplined devotion rather than celebration: people return to ancestral homes and river ghats for it, and in Bihar and the eastern belt it is often described as the most important festival of the year, ahead of Diwali.

Rituals & observance

How the four days are kept:

  • Day 1 — Nahay Khay: the vrati bathes, often in a river, and eats a single simple, sattvic meal to begin the period of purity.
  • Day 2 — Kharna: a day-long fast broken after sunset with kheer and roti; once this meal ends, the long waterless fast (nirjala) begins.
  • Day 3 — Sandhya Arghya: the family gathers at a river or pond at dusk and offers water and fruit (arghya) to the setting sun, standing in the water — the visual heart of the festival.
  • Day 4 — Usha Arghya: before dawn they return to offer arghya to the rising sun; only after this is the fast finally broken (paran).
  • Offerings centre on thekua (a baked wheat-and-jaggery sweet), seasonal fruit and sugarcane, carried to the water in flat bamboo trays (soop and daura).
  • Folk songs to Chhathi Maiya are sung through the nights, and many walk barefoot to the ghat as part of the vow.

Regional variations

Bihar, Jharkhand & eastern Uttar Pradesh
This is the festival's heartland, where it is often the most important observance of the year. River ghats fill at dusk and again before dawn, and people travel home from across the country specifically to keep it.
Mithila & Nepal (Terai)
Widely kept in the Mithila region across the India-Nepal border and through Nepal's Terai plains, with the same four-day pattern and arghya at the water's edge.
How this date is determined

Observed on the Shashthi tithi of Kartik (Shukla paksha), reckoned by sunrise (udaya tithi). Should the tithi fall across two days, tradition keeps the earlier day (purva-viddha).

Dates are computed to astronomical precision (NASA/JPL ephemeris), in line with traditional panchang.

Frequently asked

What date is Chhath Puja in 2026?
The main day of Chhath Puja — the evening arghya to the setting sun — is on Sunday, 15 November 2026 in 2026. The festival runs over four days, beginning two days earlier with Nahay Khay and ending the next morning with the sunrise arghya.
Why does Chhath Puja's date change every year?
It follows the Hindu lunar calendar, falling on Shashthi — the sixth day of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of Kartik. Lunar months don't line up with the Gregorian year, so the date drifts each year between late October and mid-November.
Is Chhath Puja before or after Diwali?
After. Chhath falls about six days after Diwali, since Diwali is on the Kartik new moon and Chhath is on the sixth day of the fortnight that follows it.
Who keeps the Chhath fast, and how strict is it?
The main observer (the vrati) — traditionally a woman of the household, though men keep it too — holds a waterless fast (nirjala) for roughly thirty-six hours, broken only after the sunrise arghya on the final day. Other family members support the preparations and the offerings.
Do you need a temple or priest for Chhath?
No. Chhath is done by the family itself at a river, pond or any clean water source, with no temple and no priest. The offerings are cooked at home under strict rules of purity, which is a large part of the preparation.

Plan around it

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