Dashain 2026: Dates, Tika Time and Celebrating in America

Updated 17 August 2026 · Hamro App

Dashain is the longest and most important festival in the Nepali year — fifteen days that empty Kathmandu and fill every Nepali home abroad with phone calls. If you are in America, the hardest part is that the calendar does not stop for it.

Here is what happens on each day, and how families here make it work.

The days that matter

Day	What it is
Ghatasthapana	Day 1 — jamara is sown, the festival begins
Phulpati	Day 7 — flowers and offerings brought in
Maha Ashtami	Day 8 — the most intense day of worship
Maha Navami	Day 9 — Vishwakarma puja, tools and vehicles blessed
Vijaya Dashami	Day 10 — tika and jamara from elders, the day everyone means when they say Dashain
Kojagrat Purnima	Day 15 — the full moon that closes the festival

Dashain 2026 dates

Dashain 2026 runs from Sunday 11 October to Sunday 25 October. Vijaya Dashami — tika day — is Wednesday 21 October 2026. In the Nepali calendar that is Ashwin 25 to Kartik 9, 2083.

Day	Date (2026)	Nepali date
Ghatasthapana	Sunday 11 October	Ashwin 25, 2083
Phulpati	Saturday 17 October	Kartik 1, 2083
Maha Ashtami	18 or 19 October — see below	—
Maha Navami	Tuesday 20 October	Kartik 3, 2083
Vijaya Dashami (tika)	Wednesday 21 October	Kartik 4, 2083
Kojagrat Purnima	Sunday 25 October	Kartik 9, 2083

Maha Ashtami is genuinely disputed. Some panchang place it on 18 October, others on 19 October, because tithis begin and end at astronomical times rather than at midnight and different calendar authorities resolve the overlap differently. If Ashtami matters to your family's observance, confirm with the temple or priest you normally follow rather than trusting any single website — including this one.

What time is tika in the USA?

The tika sahit is given as 11:53 AM Nepal time on 21 October. Nepal is 9 hours 45 minutes ahead of US Eastern time, so that moment falls around 2:08 AM ET, or 11:08 PM Pacific on Tuesday 20 October.

There is no separate "US tika time". The sahit is calculated for Nepal, no calendar authority publishes an American one, and any page offering you a confident US time has invented it. In practice families here do one of three things, and all three are normal: keep the Nepal moment (usually because they are already on a video call with relatives), do tika at a natural hour on the 21st, or — because 21 October 2026 is a Wednesday — move the gathering to Saturday 24 October so relatives can travel. Moving it does not make the tika less valid.

Dashain follows the lunar Bikram Sambat calendar, so the Gregorian dates move every year. That is exactly why people search for the date annually rather than remembering it. Hamro App's Nepali calendar shows the current BS date and the festival days without you converting anything.

Celebrating Dashain in America

Tika across time zones. Most families do tika on the US weekend closest to Dashami rather than the exact day, because Dashami usually lands midweek. Nobody minds.
Jamara by post. Many people grow their own from barley seed; some Nepali grocery stores sell it around Ghatasthapana.
Video-call tika. Elders in Nepal give tika over video — now completely normal, and worth scheduling early because Nepal is 9 hours 45 minutes ahead of US Eastern.
Community programs. Nepali associations in most states run a Dashain program with food and cultural performances, usually the weekend after Dashami.

Shopping ahead

Nepali grocery stores sell out of festival items early — sel roti ingredients, pooja materials, jamara seed. Order the week before, not the week of. Many stores take phone pre-orders.

Frequently asked questions

When is Dashain in 2026?

Dashain 2026 runs from Sunday 11 October to Sunday 25 October. Vijaya Dashami — tika day — is Wednesday 21 October 2026, which is Kartik 4, 2083 in the Nepali calendar. Dashain follows the lunar Bikram Sambat calendar, so the Gregorian dates shift each year, which is why people search for them annually.

What time is Dashain tika in 2026?

The sahit is 11:53 AM Nepal time on 21 October — roughly 2:08 AM US Eastern, or 11:08 PM Pacific on 20 October. There is no separate US tika time; most families here do tika at a convenient hour on the day, or move the gathering to Saturday 24 October since the 21st is a Wednesday.

What is the most important day of Dashain?

Vijaya Dashami, the tenth day, when elders give tika and jamara to younger family members. It is the day most people mean when they say "Dashain".

How do Nepali families celebrate Dashain in the USA?

Most families hold tika on the weekend nearest Dashami since the actual day usually falls midweek, take tika from elders in Nepal over video call, and attend a community Dashain program run by a local Nepali association.

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