Chhath Puja 2026 in USA: Sun, Nov 15 — Puja Time by City

Related days (New York)

Other cities may differ by a day; open the festival's own page for city-wise dates.

How the Chhath Puja date is decided

Shashthi at local sunset for Sandhya Arghya; Usha Arghya at the next sunrise.

Significance

Chhath worships Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya (Shashthi Devi — the mind-born daughter of Brahma, protector of children). It is believed to be the most fruitful vrat for children's welfare, the family's health and good fortune — and it is one of the rare festivals in which arghya is offered to the setting sun too, that is, gratitude even in decline.

There is no priest, idol or temple in it — only water, the sun, bamboo soop and daura, an earthen stove, thekua of wheat-jaggery-ghee and folk songs. The rule of purity is strict: no garlic-onion for four days, a new stove, sleeping on the floor, hand-made prasad.

Puja vidhi (brief)

1. Day 1 — Nahay-Khay (Chaturthi): the vrati bathes in the morning in a river/pond or at home; the house is washed and cleaned; at noon a single sattvik meal cooked on a new/earthen stove — pumpkin (bottle gourd) sabzi, chana dal, arwa rice, rock salt, ghee — first offered to the sun, then the vrati eats, then the family. Garlic, onion and meat stop from this day.
2. Day 2 — Kharna/Lohanda (Panchami): the vrati stays without water all day; after sunset, on an earthen stove with mango wood, jaggery-rice kheer (rasiyav), ghee-smeared roti and banana are cooked and offered to Chhathi Maiya; the vrati eats the prasad in solitude (if there is noise she stops there), then prasad to all. The 36-hour waterless fast begins after this.
3. Day 3 — Sandhya Arghya (Shashthi): during the day arrange thekua, kasar (rice laddoos), fruit, coconut, sugarcane, turmeric and ginger rhizomes, water chestnut, a whole bunch of bananas, lime (dabh), suthni, radish etc. in bamboo soops and the daura (basket); a man of the house carries the daura on his head to the ghat.
4. At the ghat decorate the earthen sun-altar/kosi (an elephant-shaped clay lamp stand, for fulfilled vows); before sunset (time above) the vrati stands waist-deep in water holding the soop; family members offer arghya of milk and water to the setting sun — 'Om Ghrini Suryaya Namah' or the Chhath songs; five/seven rounds with the soop.
5. At night a vigil at the ghat or at home, filling the kosi (for those with vows — 12/24 earthen lamps under a canopy of sugarcane), the Chhath folk songs — 'Kelwa ke paat par ugelan suraj mal jhuke-jhuke', 'Kaanch hi baans ke bahangiya'.
6. Day 4 — Usha Arghya and Paran (Saptami): at dawn (in Brahma Muhurat) to the ghat with the same soop-daura; arghya to the rising sun at sunrise (time above); the vrati comes out of the water, touches the feet of elders and distributes prasad (thekua).
7. Paran: on returning from the ghat the vrati bows to Chhathi Maiya and breaks the 36-hour fast with ginger-jaggery/thekua and water; then a light meal. Distributing the soop prasad among neighbours and relatives is essential — even asking for Chhath prasad is considered auspicious.
8. The vow of the vrat is usually taken for a wish or by family tradition and then kept every year; if a year is missed, the puja is completed by having another parvaitin lift the soop.

Frequently asked questions

Is Chhath Puja 2026 on the same day in USA and India?

Yes — Sunday, November 15, 2026.

What is the puja time for Chhath Puja 2026 in New York?

Sandhya Arghya — sunset: 4:38 PM (EST). Other cities are in the table above.

Which time zone are these timings in?

Each row is in that city's own local time with daylight saving applied (Eastern Time (EST/EDT) for New York).

What are the Chhath arghya timings?

The evening arghya at sunset on Shashthi and the dawn arghya at sunrise on Saptami — the Delhi times are above. In Patna sunrise and sunset are about 35-40 minutes earlier than Delhi, in Lucknow 15-20 minutes earlier, in Mumbai 25-30 minutes later — see your city's time on the panchang page.

Who is Chhathi Maiya?

Shashthi Devi — regarded as the mind-born daughter of Brahma and sister of Surya Dev; the goddess who protects children. Chhath worships both Surya and Chhathi Maiya.

Can men keep the Chhath vrat?

Yes — both women and men are vratis in Chhath; many men in Bihar are parvaits. The rule of vow and purity is the same for all.

Why arghya to the setting sun?

Chhath is one of the few festivals where the setting sun is also worshipped — it teaches gratitude even in decline; the evening arghya is held to be for Pratyusha and the morning arghya for Usha, the consorts of the sun.

Daily panchang in USA

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