Tihar 2026 in the USA: Bhai Tika Date, Laxmi Puja and Deusi Bhailo Programs Coast to Coast
Tihar 2026 in the USA runs November 7–11 with Laxmi Puja on Sunday 8 November — the Nepal-side Bhai Tika is Wednesday 11 November, and confirmed community progr
By Nepalese Events Australia Editorial
Published: 2026-10-24T22:15:00.000000Z
Category: Festivals
America's Nepali community — now one of the world's largest — celebrates Tihar across every timezone in the country. Tihar 2026 runs Saturday 7 November to Wednesday 11 November on the Nepal-side calendar, with Kukur Tihar and the Laxmi Puja evening on Sunday 8 November and Bhai Tika on Wednesday 11 November.
USA Tihar 2026 dates
• Kag Tihar: Saturday, 7 November
• Kukur Tihar & Laxmi Puja: Sunday, 8 November — the puja is performed at local sunset (Pradosh Kaal), so US families light diyas on their own evening regardless of the Nepal clock
• Gai Tihar: Monday, 9 November
• Govardhan Puja / Mha Puja: Tuesday, 10 November — Nepal Sambat 1147 begins
• Bhai Tika: Wednesday, 11 November (Nepal-side date)
A note for US readers: because the Kartik Shukla Dwitiya tithi is measured from local sunrise, some US-published Nepali panchangas place Bhai Tika one day earlier — Tuesday, 10 November. Both dates circulate in the community; follow the day your family or community organisation observes. The Nepal-announced sahit lands around 12:45 AM US Eastern on 11 November — a technical conversion most American families replace with a morning or early-evening ceremony. The worldwide Bhai Tika sahit er converts the official announcement for every US timezone, and the Nepal–New York time converter shows the 10-hour-45-minute offset.
Confirmed US Tihar programmes
• Nepali American Community Center (NACC), Manassas, Virginia: Deusi Bhailo at the NACC premises, Sunday 8 November, 12–4 PM, 10501 Balls Ford Rd.
• Albany New York Nepalese Society (ANNS): Tihar Celebration 2026, Saturday 7 November, 5–10 PM in Latham, NY — Laxmi Puja, Bhai Tika, Deusi Bhailo and cultural performances (details).
• Olympia Hindu Temple, Washington: a full Tihar programme running Kag Tihar through Bhai Tika (our report).
• Campus celebrations: the Nepali Student Organization at the University of Toledo hosts a combined Dashain & Tihar night on Saturday 7 November (Student Union Auditorium), and UCF's Nepalese Student Association marks Tihar on Sunday 8 November — the student-society circuit that anchors the festival for the newest arrivals.
How Tihar works across four timezones
The US pattern mirrors Dashain (see the USA Dashain calendar): public events concentrate on the weekend of 7–8 November, families do Bhai Tika midweek, and Deusi Bhailo fundraisers for community associations run both weekends. With Laxmi Puja on a Sunday evening this year, the lighting ceremony happens at full strength — no workday compromise.
For families sending dakshina home, the USD–NPR rate is on our exchange page. We every announced US celebration on the USA desk, and the national directory of events, restaurants and organisations is at /world/us.
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