Diwali Countdown 2026

Diwali follows the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it has no fixed date in the Gregorian year: it falls on the new moon of the month of Kartik, somewhere between mid-October and mid-November. This countdown tracks the real date, recomputed each year, not an approximation.

Five days, not one. The festival runs across five days, and the main night — Lakshmi Puja, the one most people mean by Diwali — is the third:

• Dhanteras, when metal and new utensils are bought.
• Naraka Chaturdashi, or Choti Diwali.
• Lakshmi Puja, the main night of lamps and prayers to the goddess of prosperity.
• Govardhan Puja or Annakut.
• Bhai Dooj, honouring the bond between brothers and sisters.

The festival of lights. The diya, a small oil lamp, gives the festival its name — dipavali, a row of lights. The stories behind it differ by region: in the north it marks Rama's return to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile; in the south, Krishna's victory over Narakasura; in Gujarat it opens the new business year.

Not only Hindu. Jains mark Mahavira's attainment of nirvana on the same night, and Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas, the release of Guru Hargobind from imprisonment.

Diwali is a public holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago, and since 2024 it is a school holiday in New York City.