Diwali 2026: Date, the Five Days, and How Deepavali Is Celebrated in South India

Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. That is nearly three weeks later than in 2025, when Diwali fell on 20 October, because the festival follows the new moon rather than a fixed calendar date. This page sets out every day of the festival, explains how Deepavali is kept in South India — where, this year, the main morning and the main night fall on the same Sunday — and answers the questions people ask most in the weeks before it.

When is Diwali in 2026?

Diwali 2026 is on Sunday, 8 November 2026. It is the night of Lakshmi Puja on the new moon (Amavasya) of Kartika. The Amavasya tithi runs from 11:27 AM on Sunday 8 November to 12:31 PM on Monday 9 November (IST), and the Lakshmi Puja muhurat for New Delhi is 5:54 PM to 7:50 PM on the 8th, according to Drik Panchang.

Diwali and Deepavali are the same festival. Deepavali ("row of lamps" in Sanskrit) is the name used across South India; Diwali is the shortened form used in the north and west. The date is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, which is why it moves between mid-October and mid-November from one year to the next.

The five days of Diwali 2026

Diwali is a five-day festival. In 2026 the days fall as follows.

1. Dhanteras — Friday, 6 November. The day for buying gold, silver or a new vessel and lighting the first lamp at the door. Drik Panchang's New Delhi puja muhurat is 6:02 PM to 7:57 PM.
2. Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — Sunday, 8 November. The Chaturdashi tithi runs from 10:47 AM on 7 November to 11:27 AM on 8 November, so it is in force at dawn on the 8th, when the oil bath is taken. Some calendars print Choti Diwali on Saturday 7 November, which Drik Panchang lists as Kali Chaudas and Hanuman Puja.
3. Lakshmi Puja (Diwali) — Sunday, 8 November. The main night: lamps in every window, rangoli at the door, Lakshmi Puja in the evening and, in Bengal, Kali Puja.
4. Govardhan Puja, Annakut and Bali Pratipada — Tuesday, 10 November. Drik Panchang gives the 10th, when the Pratipada tithi is running at sunrise; the central government's restricted-holiday list shows Govardhan Puja on Monday 9 November.
5. Bhai Dooj — Wednesday, 11 November. Sisters apply a tilak to their brothers and pray for their long life; brothers give a gift in return. Drik Panchang's tilak window for New Delhi is 1:10 PM to 3:20 PM.

Public holidays. Deepavali is a central government holiday on Sunday 8 November 2026, on the DoPT list of holidays for 2026. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh list Deepavali on the same Sunday. Karnataka, where Naraka Chaturdashi falls on that Sunday, gives its holiday for Balipadyami on Tuesday 10 November.

When is Deepavali 2026 in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana?

Deepavali in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is on Sunday, 8 November 2026. In the South, the main Deepavali morning is Naraka Chaturdashi, kept with an oil bath before sunrise, and the rule is that the Chaturdashi tithi must still be running in the hour before dawn. In 2026 that happens on the morning of the 8th — so Deepavali morning and Lakshmi Puja night fall on the same day.

Drik Panchang's pre-sunrise oil-bath windows on 8 November are 5:06–6:05 AM in Chennai, 5:17–6:15 AM in Bengaluru and 5:19–6:18 AM in Hyderabad. Some lists show 7 November for Tamil Deepavali; that date comes from calendars worked out for the US or UK, not for India.

Kerala also lists Deepavali on Sunday 8 November. Karnataka's public holiday is Balipadyami on Tuesday 10 November.

Why the date of Diwali changes every year

Hindu festivals follow a lunisolar calendar: months are counted by the moon and kept in step with the seasons by adding an extra month every few years. Diwali is tied to the new moon that ends the month of Ashvina in the amanta calendar used across South and West India — the same night that falls in Kartika in the purnimanta calendar of the North. A lunar year is about eleven days shorter than a solar one, so the date drifts earlier each year until an extra month pulls it later again. That is why Diwali fell on 20 October in 2025 and falls on 8 November in 2026.

How Deepavali is celebrated in South India

In much of South India, Deepavali is a morning festival as much as an evening one. Its heart is the victory of Krishna over the demon Narakasura, and its rituals begin before sunrise.

• The pre-dawn oil bath. Families rise before sunrise for an oil bath, called Ganga snanam because the water that morning is believed to carry the Ganga. Being asked whether you have had your Ganga snanam is the Deepavali morning greeting in many Tamil homes.
• Narakasura's defeat. The morning celebrates the killing of the demon Narakasura by Krishna and Satyabhama — in many tellings it is Satyabhama who strikes the final blow.
• New clothes, crackers and sweets at dawn. After the bath come new clothes, the first crackers of the day and visits to neighbours carrying plates of home-made sweets.
• Deepavali marundhu. In many Tamil homes a spoonful of Deepavali marundhu, or legiyam — a home-made digestive of cumin, coriander, ginger, jaggery and ghee among some twenty ingredients — comes before the day's sweets.
• Thalai Deepavali. A newly married couple's first Deepavali is spent at the bride's family home, with the oil bath, the elders' blessing, a feast and gifts of new clothes.
• Bali Padyami in Karnataka. On the fourth day Karnataka welcomes back the asura king Bali, believed to visit from the netherworld; homes and temples are lit. In 2026 it is the state's Deepavali holiday, on Tuesday 10 November.
• A quieter Deepavali in Kerala. In Kerala, where Onam and Vishu are the great festivals, Deepavali is a smaller occasion, celebrated more in the south of the state, around Thiruvananthapuram, than in the north.

How the rest of India marks the festival

• North and West India: Lakshmi Puja on the new-moon night, lamps and rangoli at every door, and the story of Rama's return to Ayodhya.
• Bengal, Odisha and Assam: Kali Puja on the same new-moon night — Sunday 8 November in 2026.
• Govardhan Puja and Annakut: a mountain of food offered to Krishna, remembering the day he lifted Govardhan hill.
• Sikh tradition: Bandi Chhor Divas marks Guru Hargobind's release from Gwalior Fort.
• Jain tradition: Diwali marks Mahavira's nirvana at Pawapuri; the Jain new year begins the following day.

Planning your Diwali 2026: a simple timeline

• Three to four weeks before: corporate and bulk gifts. Offices empty out during the festival week, so gifts for teams and clients should land a week or two early. See corporate Diwali chocolate gifting in bulk.
• Two weeks before: write the gift list — households, not people — and order boxes that need delivering. Our Diwali gift box buying guide has the six questions every box should pass.
• One week before: clean, decorate, and buy anything shelf-stable — lamps, oil, wicks, chocolates and dry fruit. Fresh sweets wait until the last two days.
• Dhanteras (Friday 6 November): the traditional day for buying metal — gold, silver, a new steel vessel — and for starting the round of visits.
• Diwali week (6–11 November): visiting, gifting, the oil bath, Lakshmi Puja and lamps — and keeping chocolate somewhere cool, well away from the diyas. Our Diwali chocolates guide covers storage in the festive heat.

Sweets, chocolate and the Diwali table

Every region has its Deepavali sweets, made at home in the days before the festival and shared with neighbours on the morning itself. Chocolate has joined that exchange rather than replaced it: it keeps for months, travels without spoiling, and suits households whose sweet-shop or diet you do not know. A small box of chocolate beside the mithai has become a familiar Diwali gift.

If you are giving chocolate this year, the FAARO Diwali gift box holds six filled chocolates — Berryza, Biscova, Pistera, Lotus, Nocciola and Chocoza — in a maroon-and-gold drawer box with a Diwali greeting printed on the back, for ₹349. For building a bigger hamper, see our Diwali chocolate hamper guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the date of Diwali 2026?

Diwali 2026 is on Sunday, 8 November 2026. Lakshmi Puja is performed that evening; Drik Panchang gives the New Delhi muhurat as 5:54 PM to 7:50 PM. The Amavasya tithi runs from 11:27 AM on 8 November to 12:31 PM on 9 November (IST).

Diwali 2026 kab hai?

Diwali 2026 Ravivar, 8 November ko hai. Lakshmi Puja ka muhurat (New Delhi) shaam 5:54 se 7:50 baje tak hai. Dhanteras Shukravar, 6 November ko aur Bhai Dooj Budhvar, 11 November ko hai.

When is Deepavali 2026 in Tamil Nadu?

Sunday, 8 November 2026. Tamil Deepavali is kept on the morning of Naraka Chaturdashi with an oil bath before sunrise; Drik Panchang's window for Chennai is 5:06 AM to 6:05 AM. The Tamil Nadu government holiday is also on Sunday 8 November.

When is Dhanteras 2026?

Friday, 6 November 2026. The Trayodashi tithi runs from 10:30 AM on 6 November to 10:47 AM on 7 November, and Drik Panchang's New Delhi puja muhurat is 6:02 PM to 7:57 PM.

When is Choti Diwali (Naraka Chaturdashi) in 2026?

In India, Naraka Chaturdashi falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026 — the same day as Lakshmi Puja — because the Chaturdashi tithi (10:47 AM on 7 November to 11:27 AM on 8 November) is in force at dawn on the 8th, when the oil bath is taken. Some calendars, mostly calculated for the UK or US, show Saturday 7 November.

When is Bhai Dooj 2026?

Wednesday, 11 November 2026. The Dwitiya tithi runs from 2:00 PM on 10 November to 3:53 PM on 11 November; Drik Panchang's tilak window for New Delhi is 1:10 PM to 3:20 PM on the 11th.

Is Diwali 2026 a public holiday?

Yes. Deepavali is a central government holiday on Sunday 8 November 2026, and Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh list it on the same day. Karnataka's Deepavali holiday is Balipadyami, on Tuesday 10 November.

Why is Diwali on a different date every year?

Diwali follows the Hindu lunisolar calendar: it falls on a new moon, and a lunar year is about eleven days shorter than a solar one. The date drifts earlier each year until an extra month is added to keep the calendar in step with the seasons, which is why Diwali fell on 20 October in 2025 and falls on 8 November in 2026.

Wishing you and your family a bright, safe and sweet Deepavali.