Chhath Puja is one of the few major Hindu festivals built around the sun itself, and search interest for it has been spreading well beyond Bihar and Jharkhand as families who've moved to other cities or countries look up exactly when to fast, what to buy, and how the four days are structured. Here's what's confirmed for 2026, along with a samagri list that covers the home side of the ritual — the part that happens before anyone gets to the riverbank.
When Is Chhath Puja 2026?
Chhath Puja 2026 begins on Friday, 13 November and concludes on Monday, 16 November. The festival falls on Kartik Shashthi and Saptami, about six days after Diwali (8 November 2026). The four-day schedule is:
- Nahay Khay — Friday, 13 November 2026: The opening day. Observers bathe, clean the home, and prepare a simple sattvic meal of lauki (bottle gourd) and chana dal.
- Kharna (Lohanda) — Saturday, 14 November 2026: A day-long fast that ends at sunset with rasiao kheer (jaggery rice pudding) and roti, offered first to Chhathi Maiya and then shared with the family.
- Sandhya Arghya — Sunday, 15 November 2026: The main evening ritual, when the fasting devotee (the vratin) stands in water and offers arghya to the setting sun.
- Usha Arghya — Monday, 16 November 2026: The closing ritual at sunrise, offering arghya to the rising sun, after which the roughly 36-hour fast is broken (parana).
Chhath is observed most widely in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal's Terai region, though families from these regions now celebrate it across India and abroad.
What Goes Into the Chhath Puja Samagri
Chhath is largely a home-and-riverbank ritual rather than a temple one, and the samagri reflects that — more bamboo basketry and fresh produce than flowers and idols. A fairly complete list looks like this:
- Soop (bamboo winnowing baskets) and daura/dauri (deep bamboo baskets) to carry offerings to the ghat
- Thekua and rice laddoo (kasar) as the signature prasad
- Sugarcane with the leaves intact, for the arghya and the kosi canopy
- Seasonal fruit — banana, coconut, citron, sweet lime, singhara (water chestnut), sweet potato
- Fresh turmeric and ginger plants, roots and leaves attached
- Diyas, ghee or mustard oil, and cotton wicks
- A lota or kalash for water and milk
- Sindoor, rice, betel leaf and supari, flowers, and incense for the Chhathi Maiya altar
- New or freshly washed clothes — typically a dhoti for men and a saree for women
Most of this is bought fresh closer to the day. The one category worth sorting out early is the home shrine essentials — dhoop, camphor, and incense — since these get used daily across all four days, not just at the ghat.
Why the Home Altar Still Needs Dhoop and Camphor
The ghat rituals get most of the attention, but Chhath also runs a quieter, parallel ritual at home. Before the Nahay Khay bath, during the Kharna evening puja, and again before leaving for Sandhya and Usha Arghya, most households clean and light the puja ghar — and that's where dhoop, agarbatti, and camphor come in. A lit dhoop marks that the space has been purified before Chhathi Maiya's offering is placed, and camphor is used in the aarti that typically precedes and follows each day's main ritual.
Because the fast is long and the mornings start well before sunrise, many families prefer a dhoop that burns clean without adding smoke to a closed room — part of why charcoal-free dhoop has become a common choice for home pujas. This is a note on ritual tradition and comfort during a physically demanding fast, not a health or medical claim.
Choosing Dhoop and Camphor for the Four Days
A few simple picks cover the home side of the ritual well:
- A sandalwood-saffron dhoop for the daily puja ghar lighting — the Kesar Chandan Dhoop Sticks keep the scent consistent across all four mornings and evenings.
- Bhimseni Camphor for the aarti — a 50g pouch comfortably covers the festival, and natural bhimseni camphor burns without the sooty residue of synthetic blocks.
- Pure resin dhoop such as Singapore Loban, if your family's tradition leans toward resin over sticks for the Chhathi Maiya altar.
To pick everything in one place, the Puja Samagri collection groups dhoop, camphor, and resin items together, which makes it easier to stock up once for all four days instead of making repeated trips.
A Few Practical Notes
Because Nahay Khay, Kharna, and the two Arghya days run back-to-back with very little sleep in between, it helps to set out the home puja essentials — dhoop, camphor, matches, a holder — before the festival starts, rather than searching for them on Kharna evening. Store the dhoop and camphor somewhere dry and away from direct sunlight so they stay fresh through all four days. Fresh items like sugarcane, fruit, and the turmeric plant are best bought a day or two before Nahay Khay rather than too far in advance, since freshness matters more for Chhath's offerings than for most other festivals.
Chhath Puja 2026 runs from 13 to 16 November. Sorting the home samagri — dhoop, camphor, loban — a week or so ahead leaves the actual festival days free for what matters: the fast, the ghat, and the family.