Diwali’s main night, Lakshmi Puja, falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026, according to Drik Panchang and the Government of India’s 2026 holiday list. The Hindu lunisolar calendar sets it on the Amavasya (new moon) that ends Ashvin in the amanta system, called Kartika in the purnimanta system, so it moves between mid-October and mid-November.
Key takeaways
- Drik Panchang and the Government of India’s 2026 holiday list both put Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) on Sunday, 8 November 2026.
- Twelve lunar months last about 354 days, so Hindu calendars add a month about every 32.5 months; Diwali moved from 20 October 2025 to 8 November 2026.
- One new moon, two names: it closes Ashvin in amanta calendars (Gujarat, Maharashtra) and falls in Kartika in purnimanta calendars (most of north India).
- Jains mark Mahavira’s nirvana, Sikhs mark Bandi Chhor Divas, and Newar Buddhists in Nepal celebrate the festival as Swanti.
- In a lab study of 116 young adults, room light before bed delayed melatonin onset in 99%; a steady wake time helps after late nights.
When is Diwali in 2026?
Diwali’s main day, Lakshmi Puja, is Sunday, 8 November 2026. Drik Panchang’s New Delhi calendar gives Amavasya from 11:27 AM on 8 November to 12:31 PM on 9 November, India time, with the evening Pradosh Kaal for Lakshmi Puja from 5:31 PM to 8:09 PM.
The Press Information Bureau’s 2026 holiday list for central government offices in Kerala also names Diwali (Deepavali) on Sunday, 8 November.
The surrounding days depend on where the panchang (Hindu almanac) is set, because the new moon arrives around midday on 9 November in India:
| Day | New Delhi | Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| Dhanteras | Fri 6 Nov | Fri 6 Nov |
| Naraka Chaturdashi | Sun 8 Nov | Sat 7 Nov |
| Lakshmi Puja | Sun 8 Nov | Sun 8 Nov |
| Govardhan Puja, Gujarati New Year | Tue 10 Nov | Mon 9 Nov |
| Bhai Dooj | Wed 11 Nov | Tue 10 Nov |
How does the Hindu lunisolar calendar set Diwali’s date?
Diwali follows a lunar day, not a solar date: Lakshmi Puja falls on Amavasya, the last lunar day of the dark fortnight, when it covers the evening.
The month name depends on where a calendar ends its months. Amanta calendars end months at the new moon; purnimanta calendars end them at the full moon. Bright fortnights share a month name in both systems, but a dark fortnight takes different, consecutive month names. So Diwali’s new moon closes Ashvin in amanta calendars, used in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and falls in Kartika in purnimanta calendars, used in Nepal and most of India north of the Vindhya mountains. The BBC places Diwali in Kartika; JAINA, a Jain federation, says Ashwin. Same night.
It also explains Gujarat’s new year: the amanta month of Kartika starts right after Diwali’s new moon, so Bestu Varas falls on its first day.
Why does Diwali move between mid-October and mid-November?
Twelve lunar months add up to about 354 days, roughly 11 days short of a solar year. Rather than add days, Hindu calendars insert an extra month (adhika masa) about every 32.5 months to keep festivals in their seasons.
Drik Panchang’s dates show it: 20 October 2025, 8 November 2026, 29 October 2027. An extra lunar month from 17 May to 15 June 2026 pushed Diwali 19 days later than in 2025. Between 2023 and 2033 it ranges from 17 October (2028) to 14 November (2031). In any year, look up Lakshmi Puja in a panchang set to your city.
What are the five days of Diwali?
Diwali is commonly kept over five days, from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj, with Lakshmi Puja at the center; customs vary by region.
| Day | Name | How communities describe it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dhanteras | Homes are cleaned, lamps set out and new utensils bought; the name recalls Dhanvantari, linked with Ayurveda. |
| 2 | Naraka Chaturdashi | Krishna’s defeat of the demon Narakasura; Marathi and South Indian Hindus traditionally take an oil bath before sunrise. |
| 3 | Lakshmi Puja | The new-moon night of lamps and prayers to Lakshmi; Kali is honored in Bengali and Odia areas. |
| 4 | Govardhan Puja, Annakut | Krishna lifting Govardhan hill; temples offer a mountain of food; New Year in Gujarat. |
| 5 | Bhai Dooj | The bond between sisters and brothers. |
How do Jains, Sikhs and Newar Buddhists mark Diwali?
Each community tells its own story about the night.
- Jains mark the nirvana of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, at Pavapuri, by tradition in 527 BCE. JAINA explains that the night was moonless, so lamps were lit to keep the light of his knowledge, and Jains still light homes and temples with clay lamps.
- Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas, Guru Hargobind’s release from prison in 1619 with 52 princes; Sikhs lit the Golden Temple in Amritsar for his return, a tradition that continues.
- Newar Buddhists in Nepal celebrate the festival as Swanti and, unlike most Buddhists, worship Lakshmi; Newar families also hold Mha Puja, worship of the self, on the Nepal Sambat New Year.
- Hindus tie the night to Lakshmi and to Rama and Sita’s return to Ayodhya.
Why light lamps on the darkest night of the month?
At Amavasya the moon is not visible, so Diwali’s lamps light the darkest night of the lunar month. In a Hindu telling recounted by the BBC, people set lamps outside to guide Rama and Sita home on a moonless night; the name comes from the Sanskrit dipavali, a row of lights. UNESCO, which inscribed Deepavali on its intangible heritage list in December 2025, describes a new-moon festival of light over darkness.
Moonlight likely shaped sleep, too: a 2021 wrist-monitor study of 98 people in Toba/Qom communities in Argentina and 464 Seattle students linked moonlit early evenings with later, shorter sleep.
What do Diwali’s late nights do to the body clock?
Bright evening light tells the body clock it is still day. The NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences says light and dark have the biggest influence on circadian rhythms, with food intake also a cue. In a 2011 lab study of 116 adults aged 18 to 30, room light in the eight hours before bed, versus dim light, delayed melatonin onset in 99% and shortened melatonin duration by about 90 minutes. In a 2013 study, eight adults who camped a week in Colorado under natural light alone had internal clocks about 2 hours earlier than under electric lighting.
Diwali falls in Northern Hemisphere autumn, when evenings are long, and its nights run late. Keep the celebration and the anchors: the same wake time, daylight soon after waking, regular meals.
| Tradition | Grade | Science | On My BodyClock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps mark light over darkness | cultural | Evening room light delays melatonin | Lamps at dusk; dim the house after |
| Pre-dawn bath on Naraka Chaturdashi | cultural | More daylight is linked with an earlier body clock | Usual wake time, then daylight |
Your day on My BodyClock
The day above on My BodyClock keeps a Diwali day anchored: wake at 7 AM, a daylight walk, rangoli, diyas before dusk, lamps with family, dinner, lights with friends, then dimmed lights and an 11:30 PM bedtime.
Build yours in Owaves: My BodyClock on the App Store, join the Android waitlist, or take the Body Clock Type quiz. More on evening light: Let There Be Light When the Time Is Right and World Mental Health Day: Light, Rhythm and Your Mind. Chai at a late gathering? See Caffeine Cutoff Time.
FAQ
When is Diwali in 2027?
Drik Panchang lists Lakshmi Puja on Friday, 29 October 2027, 10 days earlier than in 2026.
Is Diwali a public holiday in India in 2026?
Yes. Diwali (Deepavali), Sunday, 8 November, is a compulsory holiday for central government offices; their 2026 Kerala list makes Govardhan Puja optional on 9 November, a day earlier than Drik Panchang’s New Delhi date.
Is Diwali the Hindu New Year?
For some communities. Gujarati New Year (Bestu Varas) begins the bright fortnight of Kartika right after Diwali’s new moon: 10 November 2026 in New Delhi and 9 November in Los Angeles, per Drik Panchang.
Why do calendars list Diwali days on different dates?
Panchangs compute lunar days for a specific place. A lunar day that begins around midday in India is already under way at sunrise in the Americas, so the days after Lakshmi Puja can shift by one.
Sources
- Drik Panchang. Lakshmi Puja 2026 Date and Timings, New Delhi. https://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/lakshmipuja/festivals-lakshmipuja-timings.html?geoname-id=1261481&year=2026
- Drik Panchang. Diwali Puja Calendar 2026, New Delhi. https://www.drikpanchang.com/diwali/diwali-puja-calendar.html?geoname-id=1261481&year=2026
- Drik Panchang. Diwali Puja Calendar 2026, Los Angeles. https://www.drikpanchang.com/diwali/diwali-puja-calendar.html?geoname-id=5368361&year=2026
- Drik Panchang. Jyeshtha 2026 Festivals (Adhika Maas). https://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/lunar-month/festivals-jyeshtha.html?geoname-id=1261481&year=2026
- Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Holidays to be observed by Central Government Offices in Kerala in 2026, 7 November 2025. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2187285
- UNESCO. Deepavali (Intangible Cultural Heritage list), December 2025. https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/deepavali-02312
- Wikipedia. Hindu calendar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_calendar
- Wikipedia. Diwali. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali
- BBC Religions. Hinduism: Diwali, 20 October 2010. https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/diwali.shtml
- BBC Religions. Sikhism: Diwali, 20 October 2011. https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/holydays/diwali.shtml
- JAINA. Diwali Special Newsletter, 19 October 2017. https://www.jaina.org/page/10_19_2017_Newslette
- OnlineKhabar English. Mha Puja: Worshipping self on New Year, 20 October 2017. https://english.onlinekhabar.com/mha-puja-worshipping-self-on-new-year.html
- NIGMS, NIH. Circadian Rhythms. https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/circadian-rhythms
- Gooley JJ et al. Exposure to room light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and shortens melatonin duration in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, March 2011. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21193540/
- Wright KP Jr et al. Entrainment of the human circadian clock to the natural light-dark cycle. Current Biology, 19 August 2013. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23910656/
- Casiraghi L et al. Moonstruck sleep: Synchronization of human sleep with the moon cycle under field conditions. Science Advances, 27 January 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33571126/
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