Hindu festival calendar 2026–27 for the US, Canada and Australia
Festival dates for where you live, from October 2026 to September 2027, side by side with India.
A Hindu festival falls on a tithi (lunar day), and the day is counted from local sunrise. So a festival can fall a day earlier or later abroad than in India. This calendar gives the date where you live, from October 2026 to September 2027.
- US and Canada dates are calculated for New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. They agree unless a note says otherwise.
- Australia dates are calculated for Sydney. Other cities, especially Perth, can occasionally differ by a day.
- India dates are calculated for New Delhi.
Dates in bold differ from India. Your local temple may follow a different panchang or tradition, so check with them for puja times.
October to December 2026
| Festival | US & Canada | Australia | India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharad Navratri (Navaratri, Golu) begins | Sun 11 Oct | Sun 11 Oct | Sun 11 Oct |
| Durga Ashtami | Sun 18 Oct | Mon 19 Oct | Mon 19 Oct |
| Maha Navami | Mon 19 Oct | Mon 19 Oct | Mon 19 Oct |
| Dussehra, Vijayadashami (Dasara) | Tue 20 Oct | Wed 21 Oct | Tue 20 Oct |
| Karva Chauth | Wed 28 Oct | Thu 29 Oct | Thu 29 Oct |
| Dhanteras | Fri 6 Nov | Fri 6 Nov | Fri 6 Nov |
| Diwali (Lakshmi Puja)† | Sun 8 Nov | Sun 8 Nov | Sun 8 Nov |
| Govardhan Puja | Mon 9 Nov | Tue 10 Nov | Tue 10 Nov |
| Bhai Dooj | Tue 10 Nov | Wed 11 Nov | Wed 11 Nov |
| Chhath Puja | Sun 15 Nov | Sun 15 Nov | Sun 15 Nov |
| Dev Uthani Ekadashi | Fri 20 Nov | Sat 21 Nov | Fri 20 Nov |
| Kartik Purnima | Tue 24 Nov | Tue 24 Nov | Tue 24 Nov |
| Vivah Panchami | Sun 13 Dec | Mon 14 Dec | Mon 14 Dec |
January to September 2027
| Festival | US & Canada | Australia | India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makar Sankranti and Pongal | Thu 14 Jan | Fri 15 Jan | Fri 15 Jan |
| Vasant Panchami | Thu 11 Feb | Thu 11 Feb | Thu 11 Feb |
| Maha Shivaratri | Sat 6 Mar* | Sat 6 Mar | Sat 6 Mar |
| Holika Dahan | Sun 21 Mar | Mon 22 Mar | Sun 21 Mar |
| Holi | Mon 22 Mar | Tue 23 Mar | Mon 22 Mar |
| Ugadi, Gudi Padwa and Chaitra Navratri | Wed 7 Apr | Thu 8 Apr | Wed 7 Apr |
| Ram Navami | Wed 14 Apr | Thu 15 Apr | Thu 15 Apr |
| Hanuman Jayanti | Tue 20 Apr | Wed 21 Apr | Tue 20 Apr |
| Akshaya Tritiya | Sat 8 May | Sun 9 May | Sun 9 May |
| Guru Purnima | Sun 18 Jul | Sun 18 Jul | Sun 18 Jul |
| Varalakshmi Vratam | Fri 13 Aug | Fri 13 Aug | Fri 13 Aug |
| Raksha Bandhan | Mon 16 Aug | Tue 17 Aug | Tue 17 Aug |
| Krishna Janmashtami | Wed 25 Aug* | Wed 25 Aug | Wed 25 Aug |
| Ganesh Chaturthi (Vinayaka Chavithi) | Fri 3 Sep | Sat 4 Sep | Sat 4 Sep |
| Onam (Thiruvonam) | Sun 12 Sep | Sun 12 Sep | Sun 12 Sep |
| Pitru Paksha begins | Thu 16 Sep | Thu 16 Sep | Thu 16 Sep |
* On the US West Coast (calculated for Los Angeles), Maha Shivaratri falls on Fri 5 Mar. For Janmashtami, the Smarta date there is Tue 24 Aug and the ISKCON date is Wed 25 Aug. Kerala calendars sometimes date Onam differently.
† Many South Indian families celebrate Deepavali on Naraka Chaturdashi, the day of the early-morning oil bath. In 2026 that is Sat 7 Nov in the US and Canada, and Sun 8 Nov, the same day as Lakshmi Puja, in Australia and India.
Why a festival can fall on a different day abroad
A tithi is a stretch of time set by the Moon and the Sun, the same moment everywhere on Earth. The Hindu day starts at local sunrise, and the festival is usually kept on the day whose sunrise falls inside its tithi. Sunrise in Toronto comes about 10½ hours after sunrise in Delhi, so the two cities can land on different days.
- 23h 37mThe average length of a tithi. The Moon's speed varies, so a single tithi can last from about 20 to 27 hours.30 tithis in the Moon's 29.5-day cycle of phases (NASA)
- 2025The year UNESCO added Deepavali to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.UNESCO, December 2025
- 2017The year the Kumbh Mela joined the same list. UNESCO calls it “the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth”.UNESCO, 2017
Periods many families avoid for weddings
Many families avoid weddings and some other new beginnings, such as griha pravesh, during the periods below. Traditions differ on which periods count and how strictly, so treat this as a guide to planning, not a rule.
| Period | Approximate dates |
|---|---|
| Chaturmas (ends 2026) | Until Dev Uthani Ekadashi, 20 Nov 2026 (21 Nov in Australia) |
| Venus combust (Shukra asta) | About 12 to 29 Oct 2026 |
| Kharmas (Sun in Sagittarius) | About 16 Dec 2026 to 14 Jan 2027 |
| Kharmas (Sun in Pisces) | About 14 Mar to 14 Apr 2027 |
| Chaturmas (begins 2027) | From Devshayani Ekadashi, 13 Jul 2027 in the US and Canada (14 Jul in Australia and India), until November 2027 |
| Venus combust (Shukra asta) | About 21 Jul to 9 Sep 2027 |
| Jupiter combust (Guru asta) | About 17 Aug to 13 Sep 2027 |
These dates are approximate. The combust periods of Venus and Jupiter in particular are calculated for a location, and abroad they can start or end up to two weeks apart from India. An astrologer works out the exact dates for your city when choosing a muhurat.
We don't list wedding muhurat dates here. A good muhurat depends on your city, your venue and the couple's birth charts, not only the calendar. Our guide to choosing a muhurat abroad explains what goes into it.
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Dates calculated from a traditional panchang for each city, checked in September 2026. Festival dates and practices vary between traditions and communities. See our disclaimer.
