Chhath Puja 2026 in Atlanta falls on Sunday, November 15, 2026. Sunrise is 7:09 AM EST.
The great vrat of Surya and Chhathi Maiya — thanksgiving to the visible god, the Sun, for life itself. Devotees (vratis) keep a 36-hour waterless fast, standing waist-deep in rivers and ponds to offer arghya to the setting sun this evening and to the rising sun tomorrow at dawn.
The soul-festival of Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern UP and the Maithil and Bhojpuri diaspora worldwide — riverbanks become seas of lamps, sugarcane, thekua and fruit-laden soops, with folk songs to Chhathi Maiya. Its four days run: Nahay Khay, Kharna, Sandhya Arghya (today), Usha Arghya.
This date marks Sandhya Arghya, the evening offering; the fast concludes after Usha Arghya at sunrise tomorrow. Chhath is famed for its rigor and purity — no idols, no priests required: only the sun, water and discipline.