Shravan Monday to Diwali: Hindu Festival Calendar 2026 for Pujas

Every year someone in the family WhatsApp group asks the same thing: "Wait, when exactly is Diwali this year?" A few messages later someone asks about Navratri, and then there is an argument about whether Pitru Paksha has already started. It is a small confusion, but a real one. The lunar calendar shifts every year against the Gregorian one, and 2026 shifts more than most. This Hindu festival calendar 2026 puts the major autumn dates in one place, checked against Drik Panchang, so you can plan pujas, leave and travel with confidence.

This year includes an Adhik Maas, an extra lunar month added periodically to keep the lunar and solar calendars aligned. That pushes the whole autumn season later than many families expect from memory. Bookmark this page, or screenshot it for the family group.

Hindu Festival Calendar 2026: The Autumn Dates at a Glance

Shravan Mondays fall in the monsoon month sacred to Shiva, observed with Monday fasts and Rudrabhishek. Exact dates differ between the Purnimant calendar used in much of North India and the Amavasyant calendar used in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South, so confirm your family's Mondays with a regional panchang or your pandit.

Karva Chauth 2026 Date

Karva Chauth falls on Thursday, October 29 in India and the UK. Because the festival is tied to moonrise during Chaturthi, Drik Panchang's New York listing shows Wednesday, October 28, and moonrise times differ widely between cities. Always check your own city rather than copying a Delhi time. Karva Chauth 2026: Date, Moonrise and Puja Vidhi has city timings.

Diwali 2026 Date and the Five Days

The main Lakshmi Puja falls on Sunday, November 8, the Kartik Amavasya. Dhanteras opens the festival on November 6. In 2026 the later days split by location: Drik Panchang's Delhi calendar places Govardhan Puja on Tuesday, November 10 and Bhai Dooj on Wednesday, November 11, while its New York calendar shows November 9 and 10. Diwali 2026: The Five Days, Explained walks through each day.

Chhath Puja 2026

Chhath is observed mainly by families from Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, with two demanding days of fasting and offerings to the Sun at a river or water's edge. In 2026 the four days run from Nahay Khay on Friday, November 13 to the dawn Usha Arghya on Monday, November 16, with the main evening Sandhya Arghya on Sunday, November 15. Some earlier forwarded lists gave a later date, so check against a live panchang.

Why the Pitru Paksha to Navratri Handover Is So Tight

The tightest stretch in the 2026 calendar catches families off guard every year, and this year the margin is especially thin. Pitru Paksha runs from September 27 to Sarva Pitru Amavasya on October 10. The very next morning, October 11, Sharad Navratri begins with Ghatasthapana.

In practice, any family with an annual Shraadh needs it completed by October 10, because once Navratri begins the household shifts into a different devotional mode. Most traditions keep ancestral rites and the joyous invocation of the goddess apart. If your family's tithi falls late in the fortnight, book early rather than assume there is slack. For Navratri itself, Sharad Navratri 2026: Dates, Nine Days, Nine Devis Explained covers each day.

Reading the Calendar From Chandigarh or Winnipeg

For a family in Chandigarh, the dates above are simply the dates. The main planning question is where to be and whom to invite. For their cousins in Winnipeg, the same calendar comes with a clock problem. Manitoba is on Central Daylight Time until November 1, ten and a half hours behind India, and on Central Standard Time after that, eleven and a half hours behind. That means a Navratri evening aarti in India lands in the Winnipeg morning, and a Diwali Lakshmi Puja at dusk in India falls very early on the Winnipeg Sunday.

The date itself can also move. Most festivals fall on the same civil date worldwide, but a few depend on sunrise or moonrise at your location, which is why Karva Chauth, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj appear a day apart between Delhi and New York this year. Families abroad should treat an India-based list as the starting point and confirm the local listing for anything tied to moonrise or sunrise.

Ghar Baithe Puja Kaise Karayein (How to Get a Puja Done From Home)

For many readers, in India and abroad, the real question behind any calendar is ghar baithe puja kaise karayein: how do you get a puja done properly from home when you cannot get to the temple? Some families call a local priest to the house. Others book a live puja performed at a temple in Ujjain, with the sankalp taken in their name and gotra, and watch it on video (DevPravas pujas in Varanasi and Prayagraj are coming soon). Both are valid. Browse the full list of options on our pujas page, and see our NRI page for how timings work across time zones.

For families who would rather not track every date themselves, a Festival Care Plan arranges Navratri, Diwali, Shravan Monday and Shraadh pujas once a year, tied to the correct tithi.

FAQ: 2026 Hindu Festival Dates

Related Reading

If you would like the whole season arranged for you, read Booking a Festival Care Plan. For the ancestral fortnight, Pitru Paksha Shraadh Dates 2026 lists each tithi, and families abroad planning Diwali can use 30 Days Out: An NRI's Diwali 2026 Planning Guide.

Plan Your Year Around These Dates

A Hindu festival calendar 2026 only helps if the dates turn into plans. Whichever festival is next for your family, message us on WhatsApp to book a pandit-led puja for the correct date and tithi, or go to book.html to see availability across the season.