The great night of Shiva
Maha Shivaratri 2027
The night of Shiva, kept awake with a fast, four pujas through the night and the abhishek of the lingam — abroad, every Shiva temple’s longest night, and the Tamil and Nepali communities’ biggest after Diwali.
- Maha Shivaratri 2026
- Sunday, 15 February 2026
- Maha Shivaratri 2027
- Saturday, 6 March 2027
Maha Shivaratri near you
- No Maha Shivaratri events posted in Germany yet — the page has the big celebrations and their dates.
Maha Shivaratri events near you
What Maha Shivaratri is
Maha Shivaratri falls on the fourteenth night of the dark half of Phalguna, the night Shiva is said to have danced the tandava, or married Parvati. Devotees fast for the day and keep vigil through the night, bathing the lingam with milk, honey, water and bilva leaves in four pujas (prahars) from dusk to dawn, chanting Om Namah Shivaya. It is a day of rest from work and of temple pilgrimage — Varanasi, Somnath and Pashupatinath in Kathmandu draw the largest crowds.
Abroad the temples stay open all night: the Shiva temples of the Tamil communities in London, Paris, Toronto and Sydney, the Nepali community’s gatherings, the Mauritian temples (it is a public holiday in Mauritius), and the ISKCON and Swaminarayan centres with an evening programme. Expect the lingam abhishek on the hour through the night and prasad at dawn.
If it is your first one abroad
- The four pujas come at roughly three-hour intervals from about 6pm; stay for one or for all four.
- Bring milk and bilva leaves for the abhishek if the temple invites devotees to pour; most do.
Previous Maha Shivaratri events
Most of these return every year with the same organisers.
Maha Shivaratri is better with people near you
Free, in every country. Everything below is ranked by how far it is from you.
- Groups near youJoin the Indian community groups in your city — chat, plans and people who get it.
- Events near youEvery festival, garba night and meetup, ranked by distance, with RSVP and reminders.
- Buy and sellSarees, kurtas, furniture, kitchen things — from people a few streets away.
- Rent near youRooms and flats from the community, with the person behind the listing one tap away.
Questions people ask
- When is Maha Shivaratri in 2027?
- Saturday 6 March 2027, kept through the night into the 7th; in 2026 it was Sunday 15 February.
Other festivals
Organising something?
Post it from the app under Events, wherever you are. It is free, a moderator checks it, and it appears here and to every member nearby. Running several a year? Email hello@namaste.community for a listing invite.