Four days for the sun
Chhath Puja in the UK 2026
Chhath Puja 2026: Sunday, 15 November 2026
Chhath Puja 2026 in the UK is on Sunday, 15 November 2026.
London’s Chhath is kept on the Thames, the canals and the park lakes — Southall, Harrow and east London have the largest gatherings — with the Bihari associations arranging the ghat; Leicester and Birmingham keep their own.
Chhath Puja events in the UK0 listed
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What Chhath Puja is
The sun festival of Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, six days after Diwali: a thirty-six-hour fast and offerings to the setting and the rising sun, standing in the water.
Chhath honours Surya and Chhathi Maiya over four days: Nahay Khay, a bath and a simple meal; Kharna, a day’s fast broken with kheer at dusk; Sandhya Arghya, the evening offering to the setting sun from the ghat, standing in the river; and Usha Arghya, the same at sunrise, after which the fast of thirty-six hours ends. It is kept without priests, by the women of the family, with thekua, fruit and sugarcane in bamboo baskets.
If it is your first one in the UK
- The evening arghya is at sunset and the morning one before sunrise — in a northern November that is about 4.30pm and 7.45am; dress for cold water.
- Bring fruit, sugarcane and thekua for the basket; the association will say where the ghat is and whether the water is open to stand in.
Questions people ask
- When is Chhath Puja 2026 in the UK?
- Chhath Puja 2026 falls on Sunday, 15 November 2026. It is not a public holiday in the United Kingdom, so the community celebrates on the weekends around it — events are listed on this page as organisers post them, usually four to six weeks ahead.
- Where can I celebrate Chhath Puja in the UK?
- London’s Chhath is kept on the Thames, the canals and the park lakes — Southall, Harrow and east London have the largest gatherings — with the Bihari associations arranging the ghat; Leicester and Birmingham keep their own.
- Can non-Indians go to Chhath Puja events in the UK?
- Yes. Almost every community event is open to everyone and runs in English; temple and gurdwara celebrations welcome visitors too — dress modestly, and cover your head in a gurdwara.
More festivals in the UK
Organising something?
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