Festival Guide
Diwali 2026
Diwali dates, rituals, puja context, and festival meaning
Diwali is the Festival of Lights, observed with diyas, Lakshmi Puja, family gatherings, sweets, and prayers for prosperity and inner clarity.
Date
Saturday, November 7, 2026
Calendar basis
Kartika lunar month
Default location
New Delhi, India. Use city pages for local panchang context.
About Diwali
Diwali is the Festival of Lights, observed with diyas, Lakshmi Puja, family gatherings, sweets, and prayers for prosperity and inner clarity.
HinduLab treats festival dates as calendar events connected to tithi, paksha, lunar month, solar transition, or fixed-date rules depending on the observance. For daily ritual timing, pair this guide with the panchang and muhurat tools for your city.
Common Rituals
- Clean and decorate the home before the main evening puja.
- Light diyas near the entrance, altar, and windows as a symbol of auspiciousness.
- Perform Lakshmi and Ganesha Puja with flowers, sweets, incense, and lamps.
- Share prasad, meals, and gifts with family and community.
Regional Notes
- North Indian traditions often connect Diwali with the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya.
- Western Indian observances place strong emphasis on Lakshmi Puja and new account books.
- South Indian traditions often highlight Naraka Chaturdashi and Krishna defeating Narakasura.
- Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj extend the festival into a multi-day observance.
Helpful HinduLab Tools
Festival dates can be shared across regions, but exact ritual windows may depend on sunrise, sunset, tithi boundaries, and local tradition.
How HinduLab Calculates Festival Dates
HinduLab combines computed vrat occurrences, lunar festival rules, solar Sankranti transitions, and fixed Gregorian observances. The annual festival calendar is generated for the default location and then connected to city-aware panchang tools for local timing context.
Read the calculation methodology