Diwali, Chhath & Christmas Away From Home (2026)

Festival dates for 2026

• Dhanteras — Friday, 6 November
• Choti Diwali — Saturday, 7 November
• Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — Sunday, 8 November
• Bhai Dooj — Tuesday, 10 November
• Chhath Puja — Friday 13 to Monday 16 November: Nahay Khay on the 13th, Kharna on the 14th, Sandhya Arghya (evening) on Sunday the 15th and Usha Arghya (sunrise) on Monday the 16th
• Christmas — Friday, 25 December

Why festivals feel hardest after you move

On a normal weekday, work and errands fill the day. Festivals are different: they are built around family, food and rituals that happen in one particular house. When you can’t be there, you notice everything that’s missing — the smell of your mother’s cooking, the neighbours dropping in, the noise.

Here’s the good news. Lakhs of people in your city are in exactly the same position, and festivals are the one time almost everyone is open to new company. A shared ritual gives you something to do together, so there’s no awkward small talk. Many lifelong city friendships start with “Are you going home for Diwali?” — “No, are you?”

Diwali away from home: ideas that actually feel like Diwali

• Host a flatmate or PG potluck — everyone brings one dish from their home state.
• Do a diya and rangoli evening at your flat. LED diyas work well in PGs and hostels with fire rules.
• Swap sweets with neighbours in your building. It’s the fastest way to stop being strangers.
• Join your housing society’s or a nearby temple’s Lakshmi Puja.
• Video-call home for the aarti, then go out with friends for dinner.
• Keep it green: skip loud crackers, light up the balcony instead and look after pets and older neighbours.

Doing it with MyHomieo

Post a companion plan such as “Diwali potluck for people away from home” with the date, area and how many people can come, and choose whether everyone splits the cost. People who want to join send a request; when you accept them, they’re added to a private group chat for the plan, where you can sort out the menu and the address. You can also say hello in your hometown group — someone from your town may already be hosting.

Chhath Puja away from home

For families from Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chhath is the most important festival of the year — four days of fasting, purity and prayer to Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya. Not being able to go home for Chhath is one of the hardest parts of moving away. But Chhath is now celebrated in almost every big city, from the ghats of the Yamuna in Delhi to Juhu beach in Mumbai, and in lakes, river banks and society ponds across Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and beyond.

• Find the nearest ghat, lake or society pond that is set up for Chhath — local Purvanchal and Bihari associations usually organise these.
• If you are not fasting yourself, offer to help a vrati: carrying the daura and soop, getting fruits and sugarcane, or helping prepare thekua.
• Go to the ghat together for Sandhya Arghya on the evening of the 15th and Usha Arghya before sunrise on the 16th — it’s safer and much more joyful in a group.
• Share a cab or car to the ghat for the early-morning arghya, when transport is hard to find.
• Keep the water clean: no plastic, and take everything you bring back with you.

Doing it with MyHomieo

Join your hometown group in your city — for example, people from Bihar living in Pune — and ask who is going to which ghat. Or post a plan like “Going to the ghat for Sandhya Arghya — join us” with the meeting point and time. When you post a plan you can choose who can join, including women only, which many women prefer for the early-morning arghya.

Christmas in a new city

• Host a Friendsmas — a Christmas potluck with friends instead of family.
• Run a Secret Santa in your group with a small budget, so it’s fun for everyone.
• Go for carols, a Christmas market or a walk to see the lights.
• If you’re Christian, find a church nearby for midnight mass — and invite a friend who has never been.
• Plan a long brunch on the 25th; many people are free and looking for something to do.

Christmas in India is for everyone — you don’t need to be Christian to enjoy a cake-and-carols evening. On MyHomieo, post a “Friendsmas dinner” plan, or start a Secret Santa in a group you’re already in.

How to find people to celebrate with on MyHomieo

1. 1Sign up free and verify your account.
2. 2Add your hometown and the city you live in now.
3. 3Join your hometown group — people from your town who now live in your city — and say hello.
4. 4Browse companion plans in your city, or post your own: give it a title, date and time, place, how many people can come, who pays and who can join (anyone, women only or men only).
5. 5Accept the requests that feel right. Everyone you accept joins one private group chat for the plan.
6. 6If your plan grows big — a whole-society Diwali or a ghat trip for fifty — host it as an event, with registration and QR check-in.

Plan ideas you can copy

• Diwali potluck for people away from home — Saturday 7 November, 7 PM, 6 people, we split the cost.
• Lakshmi Puja and dinner at my flat — Sunday 8 November, people from my hometown welcome.
• Rangoli and diya evening — bring colours, I’ll make chai.
• Ladies going to the ghat for Sandhya Arghya — Sunday 15 November, meeting at 4 PM (women only).
• Shared cab to the ghat for Usha Arghya — Monday 16 November, leaving at 4:30 AM.
• Friendsmas dinner — Thursday 24 December, everyone brings one dish.
• Christmas brunch and a walk to see the lights — Friday 25 December.

Stay safe and be a good guest

• Meet new people in a public place first, or in a group.
• Tell a friend or family member where you’re going and with whom.
• Ghats get very crowded: agree on a meeting point and keep your phone charged.
• Be careful with diyas and crackers, especially in PGs and crowded buildings.
• Respect people who are fasting — don’t eat in front of a vrati at the ghat.
• If anyone makes you uncomfortable, leave, and block or report them in the app.

If you are celebrating alone this year

Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and that’s okay. Light one diya, cook one dish from home, call your family for the aarti or the arghya, and do something kind for yourself. Then, for the next festival, post a small plan early — you’ll be surprised how many people say yes.

Frequently asked questions