Chhath Puja 2026 in Lombard: Events, Puja & Where to Celebrate

TL;DR 🌅

• Chhath Puja 2026 runs November 13–16, with the Sandhya Arghya (sunset offering) on November 15 and the Usha Arghya (sunrise offering) at dawn on November 16
• Lombard sits at the heart of a DuPage County Indian-American enclave that is part of Chicago's diaspora of more than 180,000 South Asians
• The two biggest Desi worship spaces within driving distance are the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Bartlett and the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago in Lemont
• Chhath celebrations happen outdoors at parks or forest preserve lakes — confirm your community's gathering spot before the festival week
• Find Lombard's full Desi directory, local events, and community listings at desi.net/lombard

Chhath Puja lands each November with a quiet force. For Indian-American families of Bihari, UP, and Jharkhand origin in suburban Chicago — including Lombard's growing Desi community — this four-day festival is the one that demands the most and returns the most. No fireworks, no paint. Just water, sunlight, and an ancient dialogue with the sun.

The festival's most recognizable image is the Sandhya Arghya: devotees standing waist-deep in a lake at sunset, holding copper vessels overhead, the sky turning orange behind them. It is beautiful and physically demanding. The 36-hour waterless fast that runs from Kharna to Usha Arghya is not symbolic — devotees genuinely abstain from water while maintaining the ritual schedule. For many families, that endurance is part of the point.

The Four Days of Chhath Puja 2026

Chhath unfolds on a fixed schedule tied to the Hindu lunar calendar. In 2026, the dates fall in mid-November, right after Diwali season has wound down.

Nahay Khay — November 13 (Friday): The festival opens with a ritual bath in a river or clean water body, followed by a simple purifying meal. Rice, chana dal, and bottle gourd cooked without salt or processed ingredients in earthen pots is the traditional Nahay Khay thali. The discipline starts here: the goal is to cleanse the body and the home before the deeper fast begins.

Kharna — November 14 (Saturday): A full-day fast ends at nightfall with a meal of Kheer and rotis cooked on a clay chulha (traditional stove). The act of sharing this prasad — first within the family, then with neighbors and visitors — is as central to Kharna as the cooking itself. Many Lombard families treat Kharna evening as a gathering, pulling friends from across the Chicago suburbs to share the prasad meal.

Sandhya Arghya — November 15 (Sunday): The main event. Families dress in yellow and saffron, fill bamboo baskets with fruit, sugarcane, and thekua (fried wheat-jaggery sweets), and walk to a designated water body. At the precise moment of sunset, they stand in the water and offer argha to Surya. For Chicago-area devotees, this typically happens at a forest preserve lake or municipal park pond, with hundreds gathering from across DuPage and Cook counties.

Usha Arghya — November 16 (Monday): The final offering is made just before sunrise. Devotees return to the same water, greet the rising sun with argha, and break the 36-hour fast with the Paran prasad of ginger and jaggery. The ritual is complete.

Where Lombard's Indian Community Celebrates

Lombard falls within a western suburban corridor — Oak Brook, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Westmont — that holds a dense and long-established South Asian community. While the community is sizable, Chhath celebrations are organized through temple networks and community WhatsApp groups rather than a fixed venue, because the ritual itself requires a natural or semi-natural water body, not an indoor hall.

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Bartlett is the nearest major Hindu institution. Inaugurated in 2004 on a 27-acre campus and built in the traditional Swaminarayan architectural style, the mandir serves tens of thousands of devotees across the Chicago region. Its cultural programming — Hinduism classes, classical Indian music instruction, Gujarati language classes, and an annual walkathon that raises funds for local charities — makes it a year-round community anchor. For the Chhath season, the mandir's networks serve as a clearinghouse for event announcements, even though the puja itself happens outdoors.

The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, located in Lemont on the southwestern edge of the metro, is the state's largest Hindu complex. It opened in 1986 after a decade of planning by the South Indian community and now draws devotees of all regional backgrounds for major festivals. The two temple buildings — one with a Rama sanctum and one with Ganesha, Shiva, and Durga — sit within a larger complex that has become a landmark for the broader diaspora.

For families in Lombard who prefer a Lake County option, the Hindu Mandir of Lake County in Grayslake rounds out the regional network. Established by the Indian Cultural Association, it serves roughly 3,500 Hindu families from Lake, McHenry, and northern Cook counties and holds weekly pujas and seasonal festival observances throughout the year.

Insider Tip: The Sandhya Arghya usually draws the largest crowd of any Chhath event, often 300–600 people for Chicago-area celebrations. Arrive at the water body at least 90 minutes before the actual sunset time (approximately 4:38 PM on November 15 in Lombard). Late arrivals find limited shoreline space, and parking fills up well before sunset. Bring a folding chair for waiting family members who are not fasting — the gathering is long and cold in mid-November.

What to Bring: The Chhath Prasad Basket

A proper Chhath prasad basket requires a handful of items that South Asian grocery stores across the Chicago suburbs carry in October and November: banana clusters, coconut, apples, limes, raw sugarcane stalks, thekua, paan leaves, sindoor, and a brass or copper lamp with cotton wicks. Bamboo baskets (called daura or sup) hold the offerings. Most families also bring a brass or steel lota (small vessel) for the actual argha offering.

Stock up by November 12 to avoid the last-day rush. Devon Avenue in Chicago remains the most reliable source, but stores in Schaumburg, Naperville, and Westmont carry Chhath goods during the festival season.

FAQ

When is Chhath Puja in 2026? Chhath Puja 2026 runs from November 13 (Nahay Khay) through November 16 (Usha Arghya). The main sunset offering, Sandhya Arghya, is on November 15.

Where do Lombard families typically go for Chhath? Most Lombard-area Chhath celebrations are organized by community groups and held at designated parks or forest preserve lakes across DuPage County. Check with the BAPS Mandir in Bartlett or local Indian community networks for the announced venue each year.

Who celebrates Chhath Puja? Chhath originated among families from Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern UP, and Bhojpuri-speaking communities are its primary custodians. In diaspora cities it has expanded into a shared Indian community event.

What is the Chhath fast like? The main Chhath fast — from sundown on Kharna (November 14) to sunrise on Usha Arghya (November 16) — is a waterless nirjala fast. Devotees do not eat or drink for 36 hours while maintaining the full ritual schedule. It is considered one of the most demanding fasts in the Hindu calendar.

Can non-Hindu guests attend the Arghya? Yes. The sunset and sunrise argha gatherings are communal outdoor events. Guests are welcome to observe and participate respectfully; modest, warm clothing is appropriate given the November weather in Illinois.

Bottom Line

Chhath Puja 2026 offers Lombard's Indian-American families a November festival that is both deeply intimate and visibly communal — a 36-hour fast followed by a lakeside gathering that marks the sun's departure and return. The ritual is old, the community observance is growing, and the DuPage County diaspora has the temples, the grocery infrastructure, and the community networks to make it happen.

Always confirm hours and gathering locations before you go — organizers often finalize venue details in the week of the festival. For Lombard's full Desi directory — restaurants, grocery stores, temples, professionals, and upcoming events — visit desi.net/lombard.