Chhath Puja in Dublin

Date and timing in this city

Chhath Puja falls on Kartik Shukla Shashthi, the sixth tithi of the waxing fortnight of Kartik. In Dublin, Ireland, the festival date computed for the city's own sunrise is:

• 2026: Sunday 15 November 2026
• 2027: Wednesday 3 November 2027

Dublin runs on the Europe/Dublin time zone. The tithi is reckoned from the local sunrise at Dublin's own coordinates, not from sunrise in India. Devotees in Dublin therefore observe the vrat and the arghya according to the Dublin clock.

Why the date can differ from India

Chhath Puja is tied to a tithi, and a tithi is a segment of the lunar month defined by the changing distance between the Moon and the Sun. Because that segment begins and ends at specific moments, and because sunrise occurs at very different times in Dublin than in Patna, Ranchi, Varanasi or Kathmandu, the day on which Shashthi is current at sunrise can fall on a different civil date.

This is why families in Ireland sometimes find that their Chhath date is one day apart from what relatives in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh or Nepal are observing. Neither is an error; each is calculated for its own location. Where traditions differ on adjacent observances, such as amanta and purnimanta reckoning or regional variations in the sequence of Nahay Khay, Kharna, Sandhya Arghya and Usha Arghya, customs vary and are best followed as your family or local community keeps them. For personal chart questions, consult a qualified jyotishi.

Where and how the community celebrates

Chhath Puja is worship of Surya and Chhathi Maiya. The central observance is sun worship at rivers — offerings given to the setting sun and again to the rising sun the following morning.

In Dublin, the practical setting differs from the Ganga, Kosi or Bagmati ghats. Devotees look for any clean water's edge, or a quiet open spot facing east where the sun can be seen at both settings. The essentials travel well: a clean space, water, fruit, thekua and other prasad as family custom allows, and the discipline of standing in the water or at the water's edge to offer arghya.

Because Dublin sits far north, both the evening and morning sun are low and the daylight hours are short in November. Communities generally gather in small groups, often sharing space and prasad, and follow the same two-day sequence of evening and morning arghya that defines the festival.

Practical tips

• Fix your observance by the Dublin sunrise and sunset times, not by Indian timings.
• Confirm whether your family observes the 2026 or 2027 date above, and keep the two arghya sittings together as a pair.
• Dress for cold, wet November weather; waterproof layers help if you are near open water.
• Choose a safe, accessible water's edge and avoid slippery banks, especially before dawn.
• Prepare prasad in the quantities your household actually needs, and share any excess within the community.
• If you are unsure how your family's tradition sequences the days, ask an elder or a qualified jyotishi rather than guessing.