Tihar 2026 in the Kathmandu Valley: Why Newar Dates Differ

Quick Answer

In 2026 the Kathmandu Valley is not keeping one Tihar calendar but at least three. Everyone agrees that Tihar runs from Saturday, November 7 to Wednesday, November 11 (Kartik 21 to 25, 2083 BS). They disagree about which evening each of three rituals falls on: Laxmi Puja, Mha Puja and Kija Puja (Bhai Tika). The national patro, the Joshi Samaj astrologers in Lalitpur and the Buddhist community at Jana Baha in Kathmandu each put at least one of these nights on a different day from the other two.

This is not mainly a split between Hindus and Buddhists. All three calendars work from the same moon. The difference is the rule each one uses to decide which day a lunar date belongs to. For the national dates, all five days and the holidays, see the Tihar 2026 guide.

The Three Calendars Side by Side

Observance	National patro	Joshi Samaj (Lalitpur)	Bhaktapur	Jana Baha (Kathmandu)
Kaag Tihar / Kwa Puja	Sat, Nov 7	—	—	Sat, Nov 7
Kukur Tihar / Khicha Puja	Sun, Nov 8	—	—	Sun, Nov 8
Laxmi Puja	Sun, Nov 8	Sun, Nov 8	Sun, Nov 8	Mon, Nov 9
Mha Puja	Tue, Nov 10	Mon, Nov 9 (evening)	Mon, Nov 9	Tue, Nov 10
Kija Puja / Bhai Tika	Wed, Nov 11	Tue, Nov 10	Tue, Nov 10	Wed, Nov 11

A dash means the announcement does not mention that day. The Nepali dates are Kartik 21 (Saturday) through Kartik 25 (Wednesday). The government's Tihar holiday is the same everywhere, Sunday, November 8 to Thursday, November 12, whichever calendar a household follows.

Why the Dates Split: Tithi Against Sunrise

Nepali festivals are fixed to tithis, the thirty lunar days of the month, and a tithi does not begin at sunrise. It can begin at any hour. In 2083 the three changes that matter for Tihar all happen around midday, according to the timings published with the Joshi Samaj and Bhaktapur announcements:

• Aunsi (the new moon, Laxmi's night) begins at 10:54 am on Sunday, November 8.
• Pratipada, or paru, the first day of the bright fortnight (Mha Puja), begins at 11:33 am on Monday, November 9.
• Dwitiya, the second day (Kija Puja), begins at 12:41 pm on Tuesday, November 10.

Every tithi therefore covers the afternoon and evening of one day and the morning of the next, and there are two ways to assign it.

The sunrise rule (udaya tithi). Whichever tithi is current at sunrise owns the whole day. Jana Baha's list follows this rule exactly. It names the tithi beside each date: Saturday trayodashi, Sunday chaturdashi, Monday aunsi, Tuesday paru, Wednesday dwitiya. On that reading Laxmi Puja is Monday, Mha Puja Tuesday and Kija Puja Wednesday.

The time-of-ritual rule. Laxmi Puja and Mha Puja happen in the evening, and Kija Puja in the afternoon, so what counts is the tithi current at that hour. The Joshi Samaj puts each ritual on the first day its tithi is current by then: Laxmi Puja on Sunday evening, Mha Puja on Monday evening and Kija Puja on Tuesday afternoon. Bhaktapur reasoned the same way in 2025, holding Mha Puja after 4:29 pm, when pratipada began, and Kija Puja after 6:20 pm, when dwitiya began. Both fell a day ahead of the national date.

The national patro uses the time-of-ritual rule for Laxmi Puja, which it places on Sunday night, and the sunrise rule for the last two days, which it places on Tuesday and Wednesday. That is not an error. Calendar committees decide separately, observance by observance, which part of the day the tithi has to cover, and this year those decisions land on different sides of the line.

Is It Hindu Against Buddhist?

The pattern can look religious, because Jana Baha, the one Buddhist body here, is also the only one with Laxmi Puja on Monday. The announcements themselves do not support that reading:

• The Joshi Samaj, a Hindu astrologers' society, and the Bhaktapur schedule, drawn up with the Taleju priests, disagree with the national patro on two of the three nights. The national patro is also Hindu.
• Jana Baha agrees with the national patro on Mha Puja and Kija Puja.

What actually varies is the rule used to read the almanac, and a family's dates depend on whose almanac it follows: its vihara, its guthi, its family priest or its lineage astrologer. Many Buddhist Newar households in Kathmandu follow their vihara's announcement, so the split does run partly along religious lines in practice. The cause, though, is the reckoning, not the religion.

The Joshi Samaj says as much in its own notice. After its four points, it adds that families who celebrate according to their own kul and tradition — आ-आफ्नो कुलायन, परम्परा अनुसार — are free to do so. Neither calendar is wrong. Neighbours a few lanes apart can simply light their Mha Puja mandalas on different nights.

Who Announced What

• Joshi Samaj, Central Committee (Lalitpur). The society of the Newar Joshi astrologers. Its jyotish sub-committee met with astrologers from across the valley and published four points: Laxmi Puja on Sunday evening, Kartik 22; Gai Puja on Monday morning, Kartik 23, with Mha Puja permitted that evening; Kija Puja on Tuesday, Kartik 24; and the swan phool prasad, the flowers from the Laxmi Puja taken as blessing, on Wednesday, Kartik 25.
• Jana Baha, Kanak Chaitya Mahavihar (Kathmandu). The Aryavalokiteshwar Sudhar Samuha at Jana Bahal, the vihara of Seto Machhindranath (Karunamaya), published its Thugusiya Swanti Nakha Hanegu Din, this year's Swanti days. They are Kwa Puja (crows) on Saturday, Khicha Puja (dogs) on Sunday, Laxmi Puja on Monday, Mha Puja on Tuesday and Kija Puja on Wednesday. Jana Bahal is also home to the Seto Machhindranath Jatra.
• Bhaktapur. A schedule shared in Bhaktapur Municipality's name puts Laxmi Puja on Sunday, Mha Puja on Monday and Kija Puja on Tuesday, all observed in the evening. It says the dates were set after consulting the Taleju priests, astrologers, acharyas and the Navadurga gana. We could not find a copy on the municipality's own channels. The dates match the Joshi Samaj's and Bhaktapur's practice in 2025, but if you will be in Bhaktapur, confirm them locally.
• The national patro. The Nepal Panchang Nirnayak Bikas Samiti's 2083 calendar, which the government holidays follow: Laxmi Puja on Sunday, Gai Puja on Monday, Govardhan Puja, Mha Puja and the Nepal Sambat New Year on Tuesday, and Bhai Tika on Wednesday.

Nepal Sambat 1147

The Newar new year starts on pratipada, so it follows Mha Puja. The national calendar starts Nepal Sambat 1147 on Tuesday, November 10, and Lalitpur's organising committee has scheduled its 30 km cycle rally for that day. Households that keep Mha Puja on Monday evening, following the Joshi Samaj and Bhaktapur dates, welcome the year at their Mha Puja a day earlier. Bhaktapur did the same in 2025. Public Bhintuna events follow each organiser's own date, so check the town you will be in.

If You Are Visiting

• Sunday, November 8 is the safe night for lamps. The national patro, the Joshi Samaj and Bhaktapur all put Laxmi Puja on Sunday. In central Kathmandu, especially around Jana Baha and Asan, Buddhist households light their Laxmi Puja on Monday, so the old city stays lit for two nights.
• The holidays do not move. Offices and banks close from November 8 to 12 whatever date a household keeps.
• Mha Puja and Kija Puja are family rituals inside the home. If you are invited, ask your hosts which evening they keep. Do not assume it from a calendar.
• In Bhaktapur, Kija Puja is Tuesday. If you are staying in Bhaktapur for Bhai Tika, expect it on November 10, a day before the national date.
• Do not correct anyone. A family that keeps Laxmi Puja on Monday is following its own priest, not making a mistake.

Related Pages

• Tihar 2026 guide: the five days, the holidays and the Bhai Tika sait, by the national patro
• Tihar festival page, with Laxmi Puja, Mha Puja and Kija Puja
• Nepal Sambat: the Newar new year that turns with Mha Puja
• Jana Bahal and Bhaktapur Durbar Square
• November 2026 calendar