What Chhath Puja is

A four-day festival dedicated to the sun god Surya and his sister Chhathi Maiya, kept mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal.

It is unusual among Hindu festivals in involving no priest and no idol: devotees stand in water at dawn and dusk and offer directly to the sun.

When it falls, and why the date moves

The countdown at the top of this page is live, and the date beneath it is the next occurrence. The date comes from a lunisolar calendar, which follows the moon but adds a leap month every few years to stay in step with the seasons. That is why it drifts earlier for two or three years and then jumps back.

It is grouped here under Hindu, alongside the other observances that share its calendar.

What is coming up next

Once this date passes, the countdown moves straight on to the next occurrence — you do not need a different page for next year. See the full list of upcoming events, or use the countdown timer for a date of your own.

Where to go next

This chhath puja countdown has its own page, so the link keeps working next year as well as this one. If you came here wondering what time it is somewhere rather than how long is left, local time in every country has the current time in every country and city.

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