Chhath Puja 2025: Dates, Rituals, and the Festival of Faith

The first image that forms in anyone's mind about Chhath Puja is the endless ghat with hundreds of people around, waiting patiently for the sun to rise and as the first rays fall on the holy water of Ganga river, people step into the cold water, barefoot, with their eyes closed worshipping Sun God, offerings in their hand and their heart full of devotion. This has not changed for centuries.
This year, Chhath Puja will fall between 25 October 2025 to 28 October 2025.
But it is not just about fasting. It’s about people trying to connect with nature, with patience, and with something higher. The festival is a reminder to reconnect with nature and to express gratitude for the resources we receive from it. Every little offering, every softly sung hymn has generations of devotion behind it.



Chhath Puja is not new. Its beginnings start from legends before most written history. There is one story of Karna, son of Surya Dev (Sun God), who was waist-deep in water and prayed to his divine father, acquiring his strength and golden glow. Another story attributes that Draupadi and Pandavas adored the Sun in their exile era, praying for peace and prosperity.

A legend also connects Chhath Puja to Ramayana. According to Anand Ramayana, to atone the sins of Brahmahatya (killing a Brahmin, Ravana), Lord Rama was advised to perform a Rajasuya Yagna by the sages. He along with Mata Sita was directed to seek the guidance of Sage Mudgal in Mudgalpuri (modern-day Munger in Bihar). There the sage advised Mata Sita to fast and worship the Sun God while he along with Lord Rama performed the Brahmahatya Mukti Yagna, in order to successfully complete the rituals. It is then Mata Sita is said to have performed the Chhath fast and she offered arghya to both setting and rising sun.
Another popular legend mentions of a king named Priyavrat and his queen Malini who did not have any children. After performing yagna and striving for a child for long, the queen finally gave birth, but the child was stillborn. She was grief struck and went to commit suicide when a woman appeared identifying herself as Devasena/Shasthi (Chhathi Maiya), the sixth form of goddess Prakriti (according to Brahmavaivarta Purana).
But underlying these tales, there is a deep sense of gratitude woven into it. The Sun, being the giver of energy and health, is a symbol of life. Fasting on water, maintaining the body in purity, standing in the early morning cold river, these are not just rituals. They’re acts of faith, of giving thanks to the forces that make life possible. Long before temples and ceremonies, Chhath was about that, saying thank you to nature.


Each day of Chhath has its own beat and purpose, like a four-part story.

• 25 October 2025 – Nahay Khay: The start is a process of purification. Adherents bathe, primarily in rivers, and prepare a simple meal in bronze pots. To consume it is a form of rebooting, abandoning the old to make way for the divine.
• 26 October – Kharna: The fast begins. No water, no food. It only ends at sunset with gur ki kheer and fruits. The meal is plain but warm; it's more about testing one's discipline than hunger.
• 27 October – Sandhya Arghya: At dusk, it's a time for humans to gather close to the ghats. They hold baskets of fruits, sugarcane, and the well-known thekua (prepared with wheat flour, jaggery, and ghee) along with diyas, to pay homage to the sun as it sets.
• 28 October – Usha Arghya: The last morning begins early. At pre-dawn, devotees enter the waters once more, this time to meet the new light, the rising sun that promises hope and healing.

The four days reflect life itself: cleaning, struggling, giving thanks, and beginning again. The poetry is not in words, but in water rhythm, light rhythm, and faith rhythm.


If anything makes Chhath unique, it is the manner in which it levels everyone out. This is celebrated all over the ghats of Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and even in Nepal. It unites people, regardless of their caste or class. Whether the richest of the rich or the poorest of the poor, all stand in the same water praying to the same God, altogether. This is the way Chhath unites people, and the celebration provides a feeling of oneness.
There is no priest. Everybody performs the ceremonies individually based on what they were taught by their seniors. Women perform most of the rituals, but men also do them with the same enthusiasm. The simplicity of the festival is what makes it democratic, religion without hierarchy, worship without display.
And the tunes, "Kaanch hi baans ke bahangiya" and so many others, are not merely melodies. They are vintage voices ringing across generations, sung in the same worn, soulful voices. They are wrapped around tales of migration, adversity, and love, all packaged in the melody of faith.


In 2025, Chhath appears a bit different from what it once did. The ancient ghats, previously open and empty, now witness thousands of individuals, lights, and barricades. In cities such as Patna, Ranchi, and Delhi, the expanding metropolises can't always provide clean or accessible rivers. People therefore adjust.
Temporary ponds, rooftops, and water tanks have taken the place of the ghats. Cities construct artificial pools with railings and lamps, where individuals can perform the ritual without a hitch. The environment may be contemporary, but the feeling remains the same.
Still, for many elders, it feels different. The sound of flowing river water, the cool mud underfoot, those are memories. Yet, this change also shows how deeply people value the festival. They’ll build a ghat if they can’t find one. They’ll make a river if the real one is lost. That, in itself, is devotion.


What used to be a regional ritual has now gone global. In Dubai, London, New Jersey, and Singapore, Indian communities have turned public parks and lakes into Chhath sites. The sight of women in saris standing in cold foreign waters, holding lamps, is both moving and surreal.
For many families abroad, Chhath is the one festival that ties them back home. Mothers teach old folk songs over video calls, neighbors borrow sugarcane from Indian stores, and someone always finds a way to make thekua. It’s nostalgia turned into prayer.
Even when oceans separate them from their native rivers, the act of offering to the rising Sun keeps that connection alive. Chhath becomes less about location and more about memory, proof that traditions travel when hearts carry them.

As the break of dawn will break on 28 October this year, and the Sun will rise above the rim of the world, thousands will stand in silence, giving thanks and light to the light.
The rivers may have changed, the cities may have altered, but that moment, hands clasped, eyes closed, remains the same as it did in centuries gone by.
Chhath Puja survives because individuals do. Its form changes, but its core remains constant. Each arghya prayed is prayer as well as vow, that so long as there is Sun, there is thankfulness.
In a too-fast world, Chhath seems like a break, a gesture of, "thank you" to what sustains life. The Sun continues to rise in the same manner; it is only the shores that appear different.

Explore the latest trends and tips in Health & Fitness, Spiritual, Travel, Life Hacks, Trending, Fashion & Beauty, and Relationships at Times Life!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Can Chhath Puja be done at home?
   Yes, many devotees now perform Chhath rituals on rooftops or in water tubs when ghats are inaccessible.
2. Is Chhath Puja only celebrated in Bihar?
   No, it’s widely observed in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Nepal, and by diaspora communities worldwide.
3. What is the real date of Chhath Puja in 2025?
   In 2025, Chhath Puja will be celebrated from 25th October to 28th October.
4. What should be avoided during Chhath Puja?
   Non-veg food, onion, garlic, and impure utensils are strictly avoided during the four days.