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Festival of lights

Diwali in Portugal 2026

Diwali 2026: Sunday, 8 November 2026

Dates and venues checked against the organisers’ own pages on .

Diwali 2026 in Portugal is on Sunday, 8 November 2026. The sun sets at 5:29 pm in Lisbon. Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening after sunset, in the pradosh period — roughly the first two and a half hours after it; the lamps are lit as it gets dark. The biggest public celebration is the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal’s Diwali Show at the Aula Magna in Lisbon on 29 November.

Portugal’s Diwali is above all the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal’s. The community grew from 1975, when families left Mozambique after its decolonisation, was constituted in 1982 and counts about 9,000 members in the Lisbon and Porto areas; it keeps the Templo Radha Krishna in Lumiar, Lisbon, and stages the Diwali Show, a family dance show now past its 25th edition, on Sunday 29 November 2026 at the Aula Magna of the University of Lisbon’s Reitoria, three weeks after Diwali itself on Sunday 8 November. The temple’s published timetable has an evening programme from 18:00 to 20:30 with the aarti at 19:30; the Sikh temple in Odivelas has no page of its own that we could find, and no other organiser’s Diwali programme for 2026 had been published by 30 October.

Diwali is not a public holiday in Portugal: the Labour Code’s list of mandatory national holidays (article 234) has no Hindu festival, and Sunday 8 November is a rest day for most people anyway. Consumer fireworks come under Decreto-Lei 135/2015: they must be CE-marked, are not sold to under-16s (class F2) or under-18s (F3), and must be used as sold, with the PSP and GNR enforcing the rules and the câmara able to add conditions, so homes are lit with diyas and candles.

Sunset on Diwali 2026 in Portugal

Sunday, 8 November 2026 · local time, worked out for each city centre

CitySunset
Lisbon5:29 pm
Porto5:22 pm

Diwali 2026 in Portugal at a glance

DateWhatWhere
Sunday, 8 NovemberDiwali itselfHomes, temples and community dinners across the country
Sunday, 29 NovemberDiwali Show 2026Aula Magna, Reitoria da Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, Lisbon

Diwali 2026 dates

  1. Friday, 6 November

    Dhanteras

  2. Saturday, 7 November

    Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali)

  3. Sunday, 8 November

    Diwali — Lakshmi Puja

  4. Monday, 9 November

    Govardhan Puja and Annakut

  5. Tuesday, 10 November

    Bhai Dooj

The biggest Diwali celebrations in Portugal

Diwali Show 2026

When
Sunday 29 November 2026, 17:00 to 20:30
Where
Aula Magna, Reitoria da Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, Lisbon
Entry
Tickets €12.50 to €30.00

The community’s family dance show, now past its 25th edition: groups from the community prepare original performances and professional dancers join them. It falls three weeks after Diwali itself, and tickets are sold through the event page on the organiser’s own site.

Comunidade Hindu de Portugal — Diwali Show 2026 ↗

Diwali events in Portugal3 listed

Diwali in Lisbon →

Elsewhere in Portugal

Where to celebrate Diwali in Portugal, city by city

Diwali in Lisbon

The Comunidade Hindu’s Diwali Show is the dated event: Sunday 29 November, 17:00 to 20:30, at the Aula Magna of the Reitoria in Alameda da Universidade, with tickets from €12.50 to €30. On Diwali itself, Sunday 8 November, the Templo Radha Krishna in Lumiar (Alameda Mahatma Gandhi) has its published evening programme, 18:00 to 20:30 every day, and the Sikh temple in Odivelas is the gurdwara for the Lisbon area.

Diwali in Porto

Porto’s Hindu families belong to the same Comunidade Hindu de Portugal, whose members live in the Lisbon and Porto areas, but its temple, secretariat and Diwali Show are all in Lisbon, and we found no Diwali event for Porto by 30 October. A gurdwara is reported in Porto, but we found no page of its own with a programme for Sunday 8 November.

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Diwali is better with people near you

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  • Buy and sellSarees, kurtas, furniture, kitchen things — from people a few streets away.
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What Diwali is

The biggest night of the Indian year: lamps, sweets, new clothes and fireworks. Abroad it is celebrated over the surrounding weekends, with one large public event in most big cities.

Diwali marks the return of Rama to Ayodhya and the victory of light over darkness; for many families it is also the day of Lakshmi Puja and the start of a new business year. Homes are cleaned and lit with diyas, sweets are exchanged, and the evening ends with fireworks.

Diwali dates and how it is celebrated around the world →

If it is your first one in Portugal

  • Book restaurant tables two weeks ahead — the Diwali weekend fills every Indian restaurant in town.
  • Check local fireworks rules before buying any; most European towns restrict them to New Year.
  • Sweets (mithai) can be ordered from Indian grocers a week ahead; many deliver nationwide.
  • The big city events sell tickets in advance and sell out; children under a certain age are usually free.

Questions people ask

When is Diwali 2026 in Portugal?
Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. It is not a public holiday in Portugal, so the community celebrates on the weekends around it — 3 events are listed on this page, each with its own date.
What time is sunset on Diwali 2026 in Portugal?
On Sunday, 8 November 2026, the sun sets at 5:29 pm in Lisbon and 5:22 pm in Porto. The times are worked out for each city centre with a flat horizon, as every published table gives them; behind buildings or hills it appears a few minutes later. Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening after sunset, in the pradosh period — roughly the first two and a half hours after it; the lamps are lit as it gets dark.
Where can I celebrate Diwali in Portugal?
Portugal’s Diwali is above all the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal’s. The community grew from 1975, when families left Mozambique after its decolonisation, was constituted in 1982 and counts about 9,000 members in the Lisbon and Porto areas; it keeps the Templo Radha Krishna in Lumiar, Lisbon, and stages the Diwali Show, a family dance show now past its 25th edition, on Sunday 29 November 2026 at the Aula Magna of the University of Lisbon’s Reitoria, three weeks after Diwali itself on Sunday 8 November. The temple’s published timetable has an evening programme from 18:00 to 20:30 with the aarti at 19:30; the Sikh temple in Odivelas has no page of its own that we could find, and no other organiser’s Diwali programme for 2026 had been published by 30 October. This year’s listings so far are in Lisbon.
Can non-Indians go to Diwali events in Portugal?
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.
Is Diwali a public holiday in Portugal?
No. The Labour Code (Código do Trabalho, article 234) lists the mandatory national holidays and Diwali is not among them. In 2026 it falls on Sunday 8 November, a rest day for most employees, and the community’s Diwali Show follows on Sunday 29 November.
When and where is the Diwali Show in Lisbon in 2026?
On Sunday 29 November 2026, 17:00 to 20:30, at the Aula Magna of the Reitoria of the University of Lisbon (Alameda da Universidade). The organiser, the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal, lists tickets at €12.50 to €30.00 on its own event page and describes the show as a dance show for the whole family; buy only from the community’s own channels.
Where is the Hindu temple in Lisbon?
The Templo Radha Krishna of the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal is at Alameda Mahatma Gandhi, 1600-500 Lisbon (Lumiar). Its website gives daily programmes from 08:00 to 10:30 and from 18:00 to 20:30, with the aarti at 08:30 and at 19:30, and the community calls the temple open to everyone; check the site for times on the day, as its footer is dated 2024.
Is there a Diwali celebration in Porto?
Not one that we could find by 30 October. The Comunidade Hindu de Portugal counts members in the Porto area, but the Diwali Show in Lisbon on 29 November was the only Diwali entry we found on its events list for 2026.
Can you set off fireworks for Diwali in Portugal?
Only consumer fireworks that are CE-marked with Portuguese labelling, and under Decreto-Lei 135/2015 they are not sold to under-16s (class F2) or under-18s (F3); they must be used as sold, never linked together, and not under the influence of alcohol. The PSP and GNR enforce the rules and a município can add conditions, so check with your câmara — or light diyas and candles.

Moving or newly arrived? Indians in Portugal: the living guide covers work, renting, health, schools and worship.

Organising something?

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