The Indian festival season from October 2026 to March 2027 runs from Navratri (Sunday 11 October) to Holi (Monday 22 March 2027), and the busiest stretch is Diwali week: Dhanteras on Friday 6 November, Diwali on Sunday 8 November and Bhai Dooj on Wednesday 11 November. The tables below give every date, who it matters to, what people usually buy and which Readers Ride guide to open.
We checked the festival dates against Drik Panchang on 12 October 2026. Wedding muhurat days and Eid are the exceptions: panchang lists disagree on muhurats and the moon decides Eid, so we give "about" dates. A few other festivals fall on different days in different calendars, and we say so wherever that happens.
For your own city, check your local panchang before you book a puja, plan a fast or order a gift.
Which dates should go in your diary first?
If you only copy six dates into your phone, make them these:
- Thursday 29 October: Karwa Chauth.
- Friday 6 November: Dhanteras.
- Sunday 8 November: Diwali (Lakshmi Puja).
- Wednesday 11 November: Bhai Dooj (some calendars say Tuesday 10 November).
- About 21 November: the wedding muhurat season opens.
- Monday 22 March 2027: Holi, the day after Holika Dahan.
Everything else hangs off those six. Navratri is already under way as we write, so the first table starts with it and moves in date order.
October 2026: Navratri, Dussehra, Sharad Purnima and Karwa Chauth
| Date | Festival | Who it matters to | What people buy or do | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 11 to Mon 19 Oct (some calendars run it to Tue 20 Oct) | Sharad Navratri; Durga Ashtami and Maha Navami on Mon 19 Oct | Families keeping nine-day fasts, garba and dandiya goers | Vrat food, a colour for each day, garba outfits | Colours, vrat food, garba outfits |
| Tue 20 Oct | Dussehra (Vijayadashami) | Whole families | Sweets and a puja at home | Dussehra at home |
| Sun 25 Oct | Sharad Purnima (Kojagari Lakshmi Puja in Bengal) | Families who keep the full-moon night | Many make kheer for the night | Drik Panchang |
| Thu 29 Oct | Karwa Chauth | Women keeping the fast, and the husbands planning around it | Sargi, mehndi, an outfit and makeup, gifts | Date and rules, sargi list, gift for wife, gift for husband |
Karwa Chauth has the biggest cluster of guides: the makeup look, how to open the fast and, for readers abroad, which day and moonrise by city. The Karwa Chauth, Dhanteras and Diwali guides each have a city box: choose your city and it shows local timings, so you do not have to hunt through panchang pages.
November 2026: Ahoi Ashtami and the five days of Diwali
| Date | Festival | Who it matters to | What people buy or do | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 Nov | Ahoi Ashtami | Mothers who fast for their children | A day-long fast; puja time varies by city | Drik Panchang |
| Fri 6 Nov | Dhanteras | Almost every household | Gold or silver, a new utensil, brass lamps | What to buy, dos and don'ts, gold calculator |
| Sat 7 Nov (night) | Kali Chaudas | Families who observe it | Nothing to buy; check the timings | Five-day calendar |
| Sun 8 Nov | Narak Chaturdashi and Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) | Everyone | Puja samagri, diyas, sweets, new clothes, rangoli | Puja samagri, decoration, outfits, makeup |
| Mon 9 Nov | Diwali Snan | Families following the full five-day order | Little to buy; plan visits and sweets | Five-day calendar |
| Tue 10 Nov (Drik's UK page says Mon 9 Nov) | Govardhan Puja | Families who observe it | Annakut food offerings and sweets | Sweets and dry fruit |
| Wed 11 Nov (some calendars say Tue 10 Nov) | Bhai Dooj | Sisters and brothers | A tilak thali, sweets, a gift | For brother, for sister, from abroad |
| Fri 13 to Mon 16 Nov (main day Sun 15 Nov) | Chhath Puja: Nahay Khay Fri 13, Kharna Sat 14, evening arghya Sun 15, morning arghya Mon 16 | Families in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of Nepal | Samagri, fruit, thekua ingredients, a saree | Samagri list, saree and outfit |
Diwali week shopping lists
Diwali week comes with a long shopping list, so we have split the guides by job:
- The home: the room-by-room cleaning checklist, the cleaning supplies list, lights and diya ideas and rangoli designs and stencils.
- Gifts:gifts under ₹500, hampers by budget, family, employees, clients and wife and sister.
- Away from India:sending Diwali gifts to India from abroad, with the Bhai Dooj shipping dates in the table above.
For all the gift guides in one place, see our gift ideas by relationship and budget.
Mid-November to December 2026: Dev Uthani Ekadashi, wedding season, Kharmas and Christmas
| Date | Festival | Who it matters to | What people buy or do | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 20 Nov (Smarta) and Sat 21 Nov (Vaishnava) | Dev Uthani Ekadashi; Tulsi Vivah on Sat 21 Nov | Families who fast on Ekadashi or hold Tulsi Vivah | A fast, then puja at home or temple | Drik Panchang |
| About Sat 21 Nov onwards | Wedding muhurat season opens | Brides, families and guests | Outfits, sarees, lehengas, jewellery, gifts | Guest outfits, couple gifts |
| Tue 24 Nov | Kartik Purnima, Dev Deepawali and Guru Nanak Jayanti | Hindu and Sikh families | Diyas, sweets, a temple or gurdwara visit | Drik Panchang |
| Fri 27 Nov | Black Friday sales | Online shoppers | Planned buys from a saved wishlist | What to buy, sale calendar |
| Wed 16 Dec | Kharmas begins (Dhanu Sankranti) and runs to Makar Sankranti | Families planning weddings or housewarmings | Many families pause weddings and new beginnings | Drik Panchang |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas | Christian families and anyone gifting | Cake, decor, gifts, Secret Santa | Gift ideas |
Chaturmas, the four-month stretch when many families avoid weddings, ends with Dev Uthani Ekadashi, which is why the wedding calendar opens in late November. Panchang lists disagree on the exact muhurat days (one popular list has 21, 24, 25 and 26 November, others differ), so ask your pandit for the dates that suit your family before you book anything.
For wedding shopping, start with the Banarasi and Kanjeevaram saree guide, the Kanchipuram silk guide, the bridal lehenga price guide and the bridal jewellery guide. Winter arrives in the north at the same time, so the winter wear guide and the dry-skin moisturiser guide are worth a look before the cold sets in.
January to March 2027: Lohri, Sankranti, Vasant Panchami, Shivratri, Eid and Holi
| Date | Festival | Who it matters to | What people buy or do | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 14 Jan | Lohri | Punjabi and North Indian families | Til, peanut and jaggery sweets, a bonfire gathering | Drik Panchang |
| Fri 15 Jan (some calendars say Thu 14 Jan) | Makar Sankranti and Pongal; Kharmas ends around now | Families across India, and Tamil Nadu for Pongal | Til-jaggery sweets, kites, sweet pongal | Drik Panchang |
| Tue 26 Jan | Republic Day sales | Online shoppers | Big-ticket and wishlist buys | Sale calendar |
| Thu 11 Feb | Vasant Panchami (Saraswati Puja) | Students and families | Many families wear yellow and set out books and pens | Drik Panchang |
| Sat 6 Mar | Maha Shivratri | Devotees who fast and keep the night vigil | Fasting food and puja items | Drik Panchang |
| About Tue 9 or Wed 10 Mar (moon dependent) | Eid al-Fitr | Muslim families and their friends | New outfits, sweets, eidi gifts | Chikankari kurti guide |
| Sun 21 Mar (Holika Dahan) and Mon 22 Mar (Holi) | Holika Dahan and Holi | Families and friends | Colours, gujiya, clothes you can afford to stain | Drik Panchang |
| Fri 26 Mar and Sun 28 Mar | Good Friday and Easter | Christian families | Church services and family meals | Drik Panchang |
Ugadi and Gudi Padwa fall in April 2027, outside this window, so they are not listed. Eid al-Fitr depends on the sighting of the moon, so any date given in October is a forecast: expect the announcement the evening before.
Why do festival dates differ between calendars?
Most Hindu festivals follow the tithi, a lunar day that does not start and end at midnight. When a tithi spans two sunrises or two afternoons, different panchang traditions choose different days. That is why Dev Uthani Ekadashi shows as Friday 20 November for Smarta families and Saturday 21 November for Vaishnava families, and why Bhai Dooj, whose Dwitiya tithi runs from the afternoon of 10 November to the afternoon of 11 November, appears on both days in some calendars.
Govardhan Puja shows the same effect: Drik Panchang's UK page gives Monday 9 November for Govardhan Puja and Tuesday 10 November for Bhai Dooj, while New Delhi gets Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November. The dates in this calendar are New Delhi's.
Solar festivals such as Makar Sankranti can move too: the sun's change of sign happens in the evening of 14 January 2027 in India, so many calendars place the main observance on 15 January. Eid depends on the moon. And if you live abroad, the local sunrise or moonrise can move a festival by a day, which is why Karwa Chauth has its own abroad guide.
Our rule is simple. Use the dates here to plan, then check your local panchang a week before the festival.
What should you do this week and next?
- This week: finish your Karwa Chauth shopping, because 29 October is 17 days away. Start with the sargi list and the gifts.
- By the weekend of 17 and 18 October: begin the Diwali clean, room by room, using the checklist.
- By the end of October: decide your Diwali gift budget and, if you are sending gifts across borders, read the shipping guide early.
- Before Friday 6 November: decide what you will buy for Dhanteras. If it is gold, compare two shops with our gold buying guide and calculator first.
- From mid-November: shop for wedding season and winter, and keep Black Friday and the other sales in mind through the sale calendar.
Frequently asked questions
When are Dhanteras, Diwali and Bhai Dooj in 2026?
Dhanteras is on Friday 6 November, Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) on Sunday 8 November and Bhai Dooj on Wednesday 11 November, though some calendars show Bhai Dooj on Tuesday 10 November. Check your local panchang.
When does the wedding season start after Diwali 2026?
Muhurat days open from about 21 November, after Dev Uthani Ekadashi ends Chaturmas. Sources disagree on the exact dates, so confirm yours with a pandit or a local panchang. Kharmas begins on 16 December 2026 and many families pause weddings until it ends in mid-January 2027.
When is Holi in 2027?
Holika Dahan is on Sunday 21 March 2027 and Holi on Monday 22 March 2027, according to Drik Panchang. It is in late March this time, not early March.
Why does my calendar show a different date for the same festival?
Festivals follow the tithi, which can span two days, and panchang traditions choose differently. City and country also matter. When two dates appear, follow the one your family or temple follows.
Do these dates apply outside India?
They are for India. In the UK, US, Canada, UAE and Australia a festival can fall a day earlier or later because of local sunrise or moonrise. Karwa Chauth especially depends on the moon, so read our abroad guide.
Your next step: pick the nearest festival, Karwa Chauth on Thursday 29 October, and open the date and rules guide, then plan the big week with the five-day Diwali calendar and our gift ideas by relationship and budget.
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