Chhath Festival Australia
Celebrating Chhath Across Australia
A national platform for tradition, devotion and community — helping devotees, visitors and organisers discover verified Chhath information and find local celebrations across the country.
1 confirmed event · 1 verified ghat
What is Chhath Puja?
An ancient festival of the sun, water and devotion
Chhath Puja is one of the oldest and most revered festivals of the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to Surya Dev — the Sun — and to Chhathi Maiya. Over four days, devotees offer gratitude for life, light and the natural world, gathering at water bodies to make offerings at both sunset and sunrise.
The festival is a vow of discipline and purity. Fasting, prayer and the careful preparation of offerings are woven together with community — families and neighbours gather at the ghat, prepare prasad together, and share it widely as an expression of unity and devotion.
The four days
Four days of devotion
Each day of Chhath has its own meaning, practices and offerings — from the first bath and meal to the dawn offering that closes the festival.
Nahay Khay
नहाय खाय
The first day of Chhath begins the period of discipline. After bathing and cleaning the home, a simple meal is prepared and eaten — the last meal before the stricter fasting begins.
Read the guideKharna
खरना
The second day centres on preparing the prasad. The day is observed with a fast, and in the evening the offering is cooked and shared before the long fast begins.
Read the guideSandhya Arghya
संध्या अर्घ्य
The central day of Chhath. Devotees gather at a water body at sunset and offer arghya to the setting Sun, standing in the water with offerings arranged in a soop.
Read the guideUsha Arghya
उषा अर्घ्य
The final day. Before sunrise, devotees return to the ghat to offer arghya to the rising Sun, after which the fast is broken (parana) and the festival concludes.
Read the guideFestival dates
Verified 2026 observances
These are the confirmed festival observance dates for Chhath Puja. They describe the festival itself and may differ from locally organised event schedules, which are confirmed by community organisers.
Chhath Puja 2026
Four-day observance| Day | Observance | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nahay Khay Bathing and the first traditional meal — the start of the observance's discipline. | 13 November 2026 | Friday |
| 2 | Kharna The evening preparation of prasad, after which the day's fast is observed. | 14 November 2026 | Saturday |
| 3 | Sandhya Arghya Evening offerings to the setting Sun at a water body — the central day of Chhath. | 15 November 2026 | Sunday |
| 4 | Usha Arghya Dawn offerings to the rising Sun, after which the fast concludes (parana). | 16 November 2026 | Monday |
Source: DrikPanchang Chhath Puja date & time. Australian local observance; local event schedules may differ.
Discover Chhath across Australia
Find celebrations in your city
Chhath is observed by diaspora communities across Australia. City-specific event details are added as they are confirmed by local organisers.
Sydney
Sydney is home to one of Australia's largest Chhath communities, with organised gatherings along the city's waterways.
Event confirmed
Melbourne
A growing Chhath observance community in Melbourne, with gatherings organised around the Yarra and suburban lakes.
Local event details to be confirmed
Perth
A close-knit diaspora community in Perth, marking the festival along the Swan River and coastal areas.
Local event details to be confirmed
Brisbane
Community gatherings along the Brisbane River and surrounding water bodies.
Local event details to be confirmed
Adelaide
A developing observance community in Adelaide, with gatherings around the Torrens and suburban waterways.
Local event details to be confirmed
Canberra
A smaller capital-city community bringing the traditions of Chhath to Lake Burley Griffin and nearby shores.
Local event details to be confirmed
Browse the full city directory or explore upcoming events.
Verified gathering places
Each confirmed Chhath event lists its ghat — the water body where the community gathers — with address, directions and important notices. Ghat information lives on the event page, so programme details and venue details stay together.
What you'll find on an event page
- Verified ghat address and maps link
- Session timings, kept separate from sunrise/sunset
- Organiser, sponsor and reference links
- Transport, accessibility and notices when supplied
Traditions
The offerings and customs of Chhath
From thekua to the soop, the traditions of Chhath are prepared with care and shared with generosity. Practices vary between families and regions — this is a respectful overview.
Thekua
The signature offering of Chhath — a wheat-flour, jaggery and ghee cake, moulded by hand and deep-fried. Thekua is prepared with care over the festival days and placed in the soop as an offering.
Soop & Daura
A soop is a woven bamboo tray used to carry and display offerings; a daura is a bamboo basket. Both are central to how the offerings are presented at the ghat.
Prasad
Offerings are made first to Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya, then shared as prasad with family, neighbours and visitors. Generosity and distribution are at the heart of the festival.
Fasting & discipline
The vrata is a vow of discipline — restraint in food, purity in body and home, and devotion through the four days. The strictness varies by family and personal tradition.
Community participation
Chhath is deeply communal. Families gather at the ghat together, prepare offerings collectively, and share prasad widely — an expression of unity as much as devotion.
Community
Built for devotees, visitors and organisers
Chhath Australia exists to help the community discover and share verified information — from festival dates and rituals to local gatherings and ghat locations.
For devotees
Find the four days of Chhath, ritual guides and verified festival dates in one place.
For visitors
Learn what Chhath is, why it matters, and how to take part respectfully.
For organisers
Submit your event details and images so your community can be discovered.
For the community
A shared, accurate record of Chhath celebrations across Australia.
Organising a Chhath event?
We would love to hear from you. Share your event details and images through our community enquiry form, and help devotees across Australia find your celebration.