Ganesh Chaturthi 2026: Is It September 14 or September 15 Where You Live?

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 falls on Monday, September 14, 2026 in New York, San Francisco, Toronto, London and Dubai — the same date as in India. In Sydney it falls on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.

If you have seen both dates printed on different calendars, neither one is a typo. Ganesh Chaturthi — also called Vinayaka Chavithi (Telugu), Vinayagar Chaturthi (Tamil), Chavath (Konkani) and, across the ten-day festival, Ganeshotsav (Marathi) — is observed on a tithi, a lunar day that begins and ends at exact astronomical moments. Those moments land on different clock dates in different timezones, and the rule that resolves them can push the observance to a different day than the one on a calendar printed for Mumbai.

This guide gives the verdict for the six cities most of the diaspora calls home, the exact tithi timings behind each verdict, the sthapana muhurat rule, and the visarjan schedule — all computed for each city's own coordinates and timezone, not copied from an India calendar.

The short answer, city by city

| City | Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 | |------|-----------------------| | New York (USA) | Monday, September 14 | | San Francisco (USA) | Monday, September 14 | | Toronto (Canada) | Monday, September 14 | | London (UK) | Monday, September 14 | | Dubai (UAE) | Monday, September 14 | | Sydney (Australia) | Tuesday, September 15 |

If your city is not listed, the rule of thumb is: anywhere in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and India, observe on Monday, September 14; in Australia and New Zealand, check the tithi timings below against your local midday — the further east you are, the more likely September 15 is your day. The app does this calculation for any city.

Why the date changes with your timezone

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi — the fourth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada. A lunar day, or tithi, is not a midnight-to-midnight block. It is the time the Moon takes to move twelve degrees ahead of the Sun, which takes roughly a day but rarely lines up with the civil calendar. A tithi typically begins in the middle of one day and ends in the middle of the next.

That is the whole source of the confusion. The Chaturthi tithi in 2026 begins on the evening of September 13 in North America, in the small hours of September 14 in Europe and early on the morning of September 14 in the Gulf, and just before midday on September 14 in eastern Australia — the same instant, read off different clocks. It then ends about a day later, again straddling two civil dates in every timezone.

So which of the two civil dates is Ganesh Chaturthi? Tradition answers with a rule, and the rule is what the rest of this article is about.

The exact Chaturthi tithi timings for 2026

The table below is generated directly from the KAAL panchang engine — the same engine that powers the app — for each city's coordinates, and verified against Drik Panchang. It shows the instant the Chaturthi tithi begins and ends in local time, the sunrise on the observance day, and the resulting verdict.

City	Chaturthi tithi begins	Chaturthi tithi ends	Sunrise (observance day)	Observe on
New YorkEDT	Sun, Sep 13, 9:37 PM	Mon, Sep 14, 10:14 PM	Mon, Sep 14, 6:35 AM	Mon, Sep 14
San FranciscoPDT	Sun, Sep 13, 6:37 PM	Mon, Sep 14, 7:14 PM	Mon, Sep 14, 6:50 AM	Mon, Sep 14
TorontoEDT	Sun, Sep 13, 9:37 PM	Mon, Sep 14, 10:14 PM	Mon, Sep 14, 6:55 AM	Mon, Sep 14
LondonGMT+1	Mon, Sep 14, 2:37 AM	Tue, Sep 15, 3:14 AM	Mon, Sep 14, 6:33 AM	Mon, Sep 14
DubaiGMT+4	Mon, Sep 14, 5:37 AM	Tue, Sep 15, 6:14 AM	Mon, Sep 14, 6:04 AM	Mon, Sep 14
SydneyGMT+10	Mon, Sep 14, 11:37 AM	Tue, Sep 15, 12:14 PM	Tue, Sep 15, 5:55 AM	Tue, Sep 15

• New York: Chaturthi tithi runs Sep 13, 9:37 PM – Sep 14, 10:14 PM local time and spans the madhyahna (midday) Ganesha puja window only on Mon, Sep 14.
• San Francisco: Chaturthi tithi runs Sep 13, 6:37 PM – Sep 14, 7:14 PM local time and spans the madhyahna (midday) Ganesha puja window only on Mon, Sep 14.
• Toronto: Chaturthi tithi runs Sep 13, 9:37 PM – Sep 14, 10:14 PM local time and spans the madhyahna (midday) Ganesha puja window only on Mon, Sep 14.
• London: Chaturthi tithi runs Sep 14, 2:37 AM – Sep 15, 3:14 AM local time and spans the madhyahna (midday) Ganesha puja window only on Mon, Sep 14.
• Dubai: Chaturthi tithi runs Sep 14, 5:37 AM – Sep 15, 6:14 AM local time and spans the madhyahna (midday) Ganesha puja window only on Mon, Sep 14.
• Sydney: Chaturthi tithi runs Sep 14, 11:37 AM – Sep 15, 12:14 PM local time, reaching midday on 2 days; Tue, Sep 15 carries the greater madhyahna coverage (85 min on Mon, Sep 14 vs 95 min on Tue, Sep 15).

Two things stand out. First, in five of the six cities the tithi covers midday on exactly one date — September 14 — so there is no ambiguity once you know the rule. Second, Sydney is the interesting case: the tithi begins late in the morning of the 14th and ends just after midday on the 15th, so it touches midday on both days, and the rule has to pick one.

The rule: madhyahna-vyapini, and what it means for sthapana

Ganesha is worshipped at madhyahna kala — the midday period of the day. In the classical scheme the span from sunrise to sunset is divided into five equal parts (pratah, sangava, madhyahna, aparahna, sayahna), and madhyahna is the third of those five. This is the window in which Ganesha is said to have been born, and it is the window in which Ganesh sthapana — installing the idol and performing pranapratishtha — is traditionally done.

The observance-date rule follows from that: Ganesh Chaturthi is the civil day on which the Chaturthi tithi covers the madhyahna period. Panchang texts call this madhyahna-vyapini Chaturthi. When the tithi covers midday on only one of the two candidate days, that day is the festival — which is the case for New York, San Francisco, Toronto, London and Dubai in 2026, all of which land on Monday, September 14.

When the tithi covers midday on both days, as it does in Sydney, the day with the greater overlap between the tithi and the madhyahna window is chosen (with ties going to the earlier day). For Sydney in 2026, September 15 carries the greater coverage, which is why Sydney observes on Tuesday.

This is the same rule Indian panchangs apply for Mumbai and Delhi. Because the tithi timings for India happen to cover midday only on September 14, the answer there is the 14th — and a calendar printed for India will say so. It is not wrong; it is simply computed for a different sky.

Sthapana muhurat for your city

The sthapana muhurat is the madhyahna window on your observance day, trimmed of any inauspicious period that overlaps it — Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika Kalam. Because madhyahna is defined by your sunrise and sunset, the window differs from city to city and cannot be read off an India calendar — a later sunrise puts midday later, so New York, London and Dubai each get their own window (their sunrises are in the table above).

Rather than publish approximate windows here, the KAAL app computes the exact sthapana muhurat for your saved city, excludes the inauspicious periods, and shows the visarjan windows for each farewell day alongside it.

What if there is no time for a midday puja?

Tradition is practical about this. The tithi-at-midday rule fixes the date; it does not require that every household perform the puja at noon. If the madhyahna window is impossible on a working Monday, many families do sthapana in the morning before work or in the evening on the same civil date, and the observance is still counted on the correct day. What the rule protects you from is installing Ganesha on a day the tithi has not reached — or has already left.

Ganpati visarjan 2026 dates by city

Ganeshotsav lasts up to ten days, but the farewell — Ganpati visarjan, immersing the idol in water after the uttar puja — happens on different days for different households: after one and a half days (dedh din), three days, five days, seven days, or on the tenth day, Anant Chaturdashi.

The shorter farewells are simple day counts from sthapana, so they follow directly from your city's observance date:

City	Sthapana (Day 1)	1.5-day (dedh din)	3-day	5-day	7-day
New York	Mon, Sep 14	Tue, Sep 15	Wed, Sep 16	Fri, Sep 18	Sun, Sep 20
San Francisco	Mon, Sep 14	Tue, Sep 15	Wed, Sep 16	Fri, Sep 18	Sun, Sep 20
Toronto	Mon, Sep 14	Tue, Sep 15	Wed, Sep 16	Fri, Sep 18	Sun, Sep 20
London	Mon, Sep 14	Tue, Sep 15	Wed, Sep 16	Fri, Sep 18	Sun, Sep 20
Dubai	Mon, Sep 14	Tue, Sep 15	Wed, Sep 16	Fri, Sep 18	Sun, Sep 20
Sydney	Tue, Sep 15	Wed, Sep 16	Thu, Sep 17	Sat, Sep 19	Mon, Sep 21

Anant Chaturdashi is different. It is governed by its own tithi — Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi — so its date is determined by the same kind of tithi-at-observance calculation as Chaturthi itself, not by counting ten days. The app computes it for your city along with the visarjan muhurat for every farewell day, excluding the inauspicious periods.

The visarjan itself is customarily done in the morning or afternoon (a choghadiya muhurat in the auspicious periods), with the uttar puja and aarti performed before the idol leaves the house.

Regional names and traditions

The festival is one, but the names and the emphasis vary by community — and diaspora families often carry several traditions in one household.

• Ganeshotsav / Ganesh Chaturthi (Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka): the ten-day public festival with community pandals, daily aarti and the grand Anant Chaturdashi immersion. The tradition of sarvajanik (public) Ganeshotsav was popularised by Lokmanya Tilak in the 1890s.
• Vinayaka Chavithi (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana): a clay Ganesha is installed at home, worshipped with 21 varieties of leaves (patri), and offered undrallu and kudumulu.
• Vinayagar Chaturthi / Pillaiyar Chaturthi (Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka): home worship with kozhukattai (modak) and a fresh clay idol, usually immersed after one, three or five days.
• Chavath (Goa, Konkan): a family festival centred on the matoli — a canopy of seasonal fruits and leaves hung over the idol — and days of household aarti.

Whatever the name, the date question is identical: the observance follows Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi at midday in your own sky.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 on September 14 or September 15?

September 14 in India, the Americas, Europe and the Gulf — including New York, San Francisco, Toronto, London and Dubai. September 15 in Sydney and other eastern-Australian cities, where the Chaturthi tithi covers more of the midday puja window on the 15th.

Why does my calendar from India say a different date than my temple in Sydney?

Because they are computed for different places. An India calendar applies the midday rule to Mumbai's sky, where the tithi covers midday only on September 14. Sydney's clock runs several hours ahead of India's, which shifts the same tithi later into the 15th. Both are correct for where they were computed.

Can I use the Indian Ganesh Chaturthi date if I live in the USA?

For 2026, yes — the verdict for every American, Canadian, British and Gulf city we computed is September 14, matching India. That coincidence is not guaranteed every year, which is why it is worth checking the tithi timings for your city rather than assuming.

What time does the Chaturthi tithi start in the USA?

On the evening of Sunday, September 13, 2026, local time — see the table above for the exact minute in New York (Eastern) and San Francisco (Pacific). It ends on the evening of Monday, September 14.

What is the sthapana muhurat on Ganesh Chaturthi?

The madhyahna window — the third of five equal parts of your local day from sunrise to sunset — on the observance day, minus any overlapping Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda or Gulika Kalam. It depends on your sunrise and sunset, so it is different in every city. The KAAL app calculates it for your location.

When is Ganpati visarjan 2026?

For the 1.5-day, 3-day, 5-day and 7-day farewells, count from your city's own sthapana day — the table above lists them. Anant Chaturdashi, the tenth-day immersion, follows the Chaturdashi tithi and is computed separately for your city in the app.

Do I need to fast on Ganesh Chaturthi?

Fasting is not required, but many devotees observe a fast until the midday puja, or for the full day, and break it with modak — Ganesha's favourite sweet — offered as naivedya. Sweets like modak and ladoo, along with durva grass and red hibiscus, are the traditional offerings.

How KAAL computes this

Every time and date on this page comes from the KAAL panchang engine — the same astronomical calculation that runs inside the app — evaluated for each city's latitude, longitude and IANA timezone, and then checked against Drik Panchang for each city. The facts are generated by a script, never typed in by hand, and the app and this article render the very same file, so the date you see here is the date the app will show you.

If your city is not one of the six above, the app applies the identical rule to your coordinates. During Ganeshotsav it also opens a Season mode with the day-by-day ritual guide, sthapana and visarjan muhurat windows for your city, and guided aarti — so that once the date question is settled, the rest of the festival is simple.

See also: the Ganesh Chaturthi festival page, what is tithi, what is muhurta, and how to read a panchang.