Chhath Puja 2026 in Westbury: Where Long Island's Desi Community Greets the Sun

TL;DR

• Chhath Puja 2026 key dates for Westbury are Sandhya Arghya on November 15 and Suryoday Arghya on November 16 🌅
• Long Island's Bihari and eastern UP diaspora organizes large ghat events at Jones Beach and local parks
• Three temples — Clas Hindu Learning Center INC, Vaishnav Temple of New York, and Hindu Temple of Long Island — serve as community anchors
• The 4-day vrat begins with Nahay Khay on November 13, followed by Kharna on November 14
• Arrive early for Suryoday Arghya — sunrise crowds at water-side ghats fill up fast ☀️

Chhath Puja holds a place unlike any other on the Indian festival calendar. For the Bihari and eastern UP families who make up a significant part of Long Island's Indian community, this is not simply a religious observance — it is a homecoming of the spirit, observed with the same devotion thousands of miles from the Ganges plain. In Westbury and across Long Island, 2026 marks another year when the Sun God receives offerings by the water's edge, the air smells of thekua and camphor, and the entire Desi community comes together.

Here is everything you need to know about Chhath Puja 2026 in Westbury.

The Four Days of Chhath Puja 2026

Chhath Puja follows a precise four-day sequence rooted in Vedic tradition. Each day carries distinct rituals and meaning.

Day 1 — Nahay Khay (November 13): Devotees begin with a ritualistic bath in a natural water body before cooking and eating a single pure meal. The emphasis is on sattvic food — plain rice, chana dal, and bottle gourd prepared without onion or garlic. In Westbury, families often drive to nearby water bodies or parks that have pond access to perform the ritual bath.

Day 2 — Kharna (November 14): This is the day of the first offering. Devotees fast through the day, then prepare kheer (rice cooked in milk and jaggery) as the evening prasad. After offering it to the Sun and Moon at dusk, the vratis eat a small portion — and then begin a strict 36-hour nirjala fast with no food or water until the morning after Sandhya Arghya.

Day 3 — Sandhya Arghya (November 15): This is the main event. Families gather at the ghat — Jones Beach and other Long Island parks with water access have hosted organized Chhath gatherings in recent years — with bamboo soops loaded with fruits, sugarcane stalks, thekua, and seasonal vegetables. The offering to the setting sun is made as the last light fades over the water. The sight of hundreds of vratis standing waist-deep, hands raised in prayer, is one of the most moving scenes the Indian community in Long Island offers.

Day 4 — Suryoday Arghya (November 16): The fast breaks at sunrise with the final arghya to the rising sun. Prasad — thekua and seasonal fruits — is distributed to family, friends, and neighbors. The vrat officially concludes after the first meal post-sunrise.

Temple Community in Westbury

Three established temples give Long Island's Desi community spiritual infrastructure during Chhath season and throughout the festival calendar.

Clas Hindu Learning Center INC at 26 Harwick Rd, Westbury, is a cornerstone of the local Hindu community. The center plays an active role in organizing religious programming around major Hindu festivals. During Chhath Puja season, it often coordinates community information and prayer schedules.

Vaishnav Temple of New York at 100 Lakeville Rd, New Hyde Park, serves a wide base of devotees across Long Island. Its strong Bengali and north Indian congregation makes it a natural gathering point in the weeks leading up to Chhath. The temple's calendar through the autumn season is typically packed: the community observes the full arc from Navratri through Diwali and into Chhath.

Hindu Temple of Long Island at 729 S Oyster Bay Rd, Bethpage, is one of the largest and most institutionally established temples on Long Island. It draws worshippers from across Nassau and Suffolk counties and maintains robust programming around the major festival cycle. For Chhath Puja, the temple community often coordinates with local parks for ghat access, making it a key point of contact for newcomers.

Connecting with any of these three temples ahead of November 15 is the best way to find out about organized ghat events, puja timing, and prasad distribution points.

Insider Tip: The Suryoday Arghya on November 16 draws large early-morning crowds. If you plan to participate or witness the sunrise ceremony, arrive at least 90 minutes before dawn. Good parking spots near Jones Beach fill quickly, and ghat space at smaller local parks can run out for latecomers.

Chhath in Context: The Long Island Desi Festival Calendar

Chhath Puja arrives near the end of a packed Hindu festival season. Westbury's Desi community typically observes a continuous stretch of celebrations beginning in mid-October. This year that arc includes Navratri 2026, Dussehra/Vijayadashami 2026, Karva Chauth 2026, Dhanteras 2026, Diwali 2026, and Bhai Dooj 2026 — before culminating in Chhath Puja 2026 in mid-November.

For many families, Chhath Puja serves as the closing ceremony of this extended festival period. The discipline of the nirjala fast, the simplicity of the prasad, and the communal nature of the ghat gathering offer a spiritually grounding counterweight to the larger celebrations that precede it.

Long Island's mix of Bengali, Bihari, and Gujarati families means that Chhath Puja draws observers well beyond the Bihari core. Many families who observe Diwali 2026 and Karva Chauth 2026 as the season's headline events will also attend the ghat on November 15 — both to support vrati friends and neighbors and to receive prasad on the morning of November 16.

FAQ

When is Chhath Puja 2026 in Westbury? Sandhya Arghya falls on November 15, 2026. Suryoday Arghya is the morning of November 16, 2026. The full vrat begins with Nahay Khay on November 13.

Where do people celebrate Chhath Puja on Long Island? Jones Beach and various local parks with water access have hosted organized ghat events. Contact Clas Hindu Learning Center INC, Vaishnav Temple of New York, or Hindu Temple of Long Island for the most current information on community ghat locations for 2026.

What is the nirjala fast? Nirjala means fasting without water. Devotees who keep the full Chhath vrat go without food or water for approximately 36 hours, from Kharna evening (November 14) through the Sandhya Arghya sunset offering on November 15.

What prasad is offered during Chhath Puja? Traditional prasad includes thekua (a baked wheat and jaggery snack), seasonal fruits, sugarcane, and rice. These are arranged in bamboo soops and offered to the sun at the water's edge.

Can non-Bihari families participate? Chhath Puja is open to all. Many Gujarati, Bengali, and South Indian families in Westbury attend the ghat ceremony as observers and receive prasad, making it one of the most cross-community events in the local Desi calendar.

Bottom Line

Chhath Puja 2026 in Westbury brings together one of Long Island's most deeply rooted traditions from the Bihari and eastern UP diaspora. With key ghat celebrations on November 15 and 16, anchored by the communities around Clas Hindu Learning Center INC, Vaishnav Temple of New York, and Hindu Temple of Long Island, this is the festival where Long Island's Desi families reaffirm their connection to Surya, to water, and to each other. Mark your calendar, connect with your local temple, and show up for sunrise.