How many days until Diwali?

When is Diwali?

Diwali, or Deepavali, the festival of lights, is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, and by many others in India and around the world. Its main day is Lakshmi Puja, when homes are lit with diyas and families pray to Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. In 2027 that is Friday, October 29, 2027.

Diwali is really a five-day festival, from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj. The countdown above runs to Lakshmi Puja, and the list under it shows the date of each of the five days.

How the date of Diwali is set

Diwali follows the Hindu lunisolar calendar. Lakshmi Puja falls on Amavasya, the new moon of the month of Kartika, so in the Gregorian calendar it moves every year, between mid-October and mid-November.

A day in the Hindu calendar is counted by the lunar day, the tithi, which does not start at midnight. When a tithi begins or ends partway through a day, panchangs can place a festival on different days, so dates can differ by a day between regions and calendars. In some years two observances fall on the same day: in 2028, Naraka Chaturdashi and Lakshmi Puja are both on October 17.

How this countdown works

The dates come from a published panchang for New Delhi, checked for every year in the table. The page counts down to the start of the day of Lakshmi Puja in your own time zone, using your device’s clock.

Lakshmi Puja itself is performed in the evening, and the best time, the muhurat, depends on where you live. For the exact time in your city, or if your family follows a regional calendar, check a local panchang or your temple.

Diwali for the next five years

The five days of Diwali

Dhanteras opens the festival; it is a traditional day to buy gold, silver or new utensils. Naraka Chaturdashi, also called Choti Diwali, follows. In South India, and in Malaysia and Singapore, this is often the day celebrated as Deepavali. Lakshmi Puja is the main night of lamps, prayers, sweets and fireworks. Govardhan Puja, with its offering of food known as Annakut, comes next, and Bhai Dooj closes the festival as a day for brothers and sisters.

Diwali is a public holiday in India and in countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.

Put the Diwali countdown on your Home Screen

1. Install Left on your iPhone and open Ahead.
2. Tap Add a date ahead, choose New date, name it Diwali and set Starts to the day of Lakshmi Puja.
3. Add Left’s Ahead widget to your Home Screen or Lock Screen and choose the date in Edit Widget.

Because Diwali moves every year, add the next year’s date once this one has passed; the table above has them. The Home Screen widget guide covers each step, and the countdown widget page shows the widget styles.

Read more

• The best countdown widgets for iPhone
• Organise your dates in Ahead and Since
• Add a widget to your iPhone Lock Screen

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