Diwali 2026 Abroad: Your Lakshmi Puja Time in Toronto, London, Sydney and Melbourne
Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November 2026. But the Lakshmi Puja time printed in Indian calendars is for India. Here is the window for your own city, worked out from your own sunset.
AstroPal Editorial
AstroPal team
Every year, Indian families abroad receive a WhatsApp graphic saying something like "Lakshmi Puja Muhurat: 5:56 pm to 7:46 pm". That time is for Delhi. Adding or subtracting the time difference does not give the right time for your city.
The muhurat cannot be converted with a time-zone calculator. It depends on your local sunset and the sign rising on your local horizon, and both are different in Toronto, London and Sydney. So we calculated it for the cities where most of our readers live.
Why Diwali is on 8 November everywhere this year
Diwali is celebrated on the evening of Kartik Amavasya, the new moon. In 2026, Amavasya begins at 05:59 UTC on 8 November (11:29 am in India) and runs until 07:03 UTC on 9 November. So the evening of Sunday 8 November is Amavasya in India, Canada, the UK and Australia, and Diwali is on the same date everywhere this year. For Sikh families, the same evening is Bandi Chhor Divas.
How the muhurat is built
The most widely followed rule for Lakshmi Puja combines two windows:
- Pradosh Kaal: the period after sunset, traditionally about 2 hours 24 minutes (six ghatis).
- Sthir Lagna: a fixed sign rising on the eastern horizon. Vrishabha (Taurus) is preferred, because a fixed sign is believed to make Lakshmi's blessings stay.
The best window is where the two overlap. Because sunset and the rising sign both depend on your exact latitude and longitude, this window has to be calculated city by city.
Your city's window, 8 November 2026
These windows are our own calculation, rounded to five minutes, using the Lahiri ayanamsa and Pradosh as 2 hours 24 minutes after sunset. Your local mandir or gurdwara may follow a slightly different convention, and that is perfectly fine. If you live outside these cities, the method below will get you there.
Examples: two families
Picture Harleen and Amrit Dhaliwal in Brampton. Their window is roughly 5:20 to 7:00 pm. With school on Monday and grandparents visiting from Moga, they can do the puja early and then have dinner together.
In Melbourne, Shreya and Nikhil Bhardwaj have a later window. Sunset is around 8 pm in late spring, and their window starts at about 8:40 pm, when their four-year-old will be asleep. Many families in Australia light the diyas at sunset with the children and do the main Lakshmi Puja later.
Getting the home ready
Lakshmi Puja is traditionally done in a home that has been cleaned in the days before Diwali, with a rangoli at the entrance. In a Toronto townhouse or a London flat, that might be a rangoli on a board by the door, and electric diyas in the window where a real flame might set off the smoke alarm.
The puja can be as simple as your family's tradition: a clean altar, an image of Lakshmi and Ganesha, a diya, flowers, sweets and a few minutes of quiet. If you are doing it alone, away from family for the first time, that is still a complete Lakshmi Puja.
Transits around Diwali 2026
Several planets change around Diwali this year. Jupiter entered Leo on 31 October, a good sign for children and creative work. Venus, the planet of comfort and wealth, has been retrograde and turns direct on 14 November, just after Diwali, before returning to Libra on 22 November. Mars enters Leo on 12 November. Mercury turns direct on 13 November.
In practice, Diwali 2026 is better for making plans than for big new commitments. Make your financial plans for the year on Diwali, then act on them from mid to late November, once Venus and Mercury are both moving forward.
How to work out any city yourself
Find your local sunset on 8 November. Add 2 hours 24 minutes: that is Pradosh Kaal. Then find when Taurus is rising at your location during that window. A kundli tool will show this if you cast a chart for your city at different times that evening. The overlap of the two is your best window.
Simple Diwali practices
The traditional upaya on this night is lighting a ghee or oil diya and keeping the home clean, bright and welcoming. Keep lamps on a steady surface, away from curtains and children's reach, and never leave them burning unattended. Many families also give daan on Diwali, which abroad can be as easy as dropping a bag of groceries at a food bank or contributing to a gurdwara langar.
Free tools and reports
- Today's Panchang: today's tithi, nakshatra, Rahu Kaal and auspicious times. Free.
- Free Kundli: your D1, D9 and D10 charts, planets, yogas, doshas and current dasha. Free, no sign-up.
- Wealth Report: your 2nd and 11th houses, Dhan Yogas and money periods. Uses credits.
- Muhurat Report: good dates for a wedding, a move or a launch, ranked. Uses credits.
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Names in this article are illustrative.
