Festival dates · 2027
Magha Krishna Chaturdashi. The date in 21 cities, computed for local sunrise, with the tithi times.
The cities split across Fri, 5 Mar and Sat, 6 Mar this year: the tithi boundary falls between their sunrises. The table shows every city.
| City | Date | Tithi (local time) | Kathmandu date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | |||
| Sydney | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 5:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 7:18 pm | same day |
| Melbourne | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 5:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 7:18 pm | same day |
| Brisbane | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 4:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 6:18 pm | same day |
| Perth | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 2:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 4:18 pm | same day |
| Adelaide | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 5:05 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 6:48 pm | same day |
| Canberra | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 5:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 7:18 pm | same day |
| Hobart | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 5:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 7:18 pm | same day |
| Darwin | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 4:05 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 5:48 pm | same day |
| Auckland | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 7:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 9:18 pm | same day |
| Nepal | |||
| Kathmandu | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 12:20 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 2:03 pm | — |
| United States | |||
| New York | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 1:35 am → Sun, 7 Mar, 3:18 am | same day |
| Dallas–Fort Worth | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 12:35 am → Sun, 7 Mar, 2:18 am | same day |
| Houston | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 12:35 am → Sun, 7 Mar, 2:18 am | same day |
| Chicago | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 12:35 am → Sun, 7 Mar, 2:18 am | same day |
| Washington DC | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 1:35 am → Sun, 7 Mar, 3:18 am | same day |
| Boston | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 1:35 am → Sun, 7 Mar, 3:18 am | same day |
| Atlanta | Saturday 6 March 2027 | Sat, 6 Mar, 1:35 am → Sun, 7 Mar, 3:18 am | same day |
| San Francisco Bay Area | Friday 5 March 2027 | Fri, 5 Mar, 10:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 12:18 am | Sat, 6 Mar |
| Los Angeles | Friday 5 March 2027 | Fri, 5 Mar, 10:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 12:18 am | Sat, 6 Mar |
| Seattle | Friday 5 March 2027 | Fri, 5 Mar, 10:35 pm → Sun, 7 Mar, 12:18 am | Sat, 6 Mar |
Rule: the night the tithi covers midnight (nishita). Amanta Magha Krishna Chaturdashi = purnimanta Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi. Kept on the night the tithi covers midnight.
The great night of Shiva, on the fourteenth night of the dark fortnight before the new moon of Phalguna (purnimanta reckoning; amanta Magha). Pilgrims gather at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu in their hundreds of thousands, and at every Shiva temple a night vigil is kept with offerings of water, milk and bel leaves over the lingam through the four watches of the night.
A fast through the day, the vigil through the night, and the rule that gives the date: the night on which the Chaturdashi tithi covers midnight, which is why it can fall a day apart in different cities.
In the glossary: shiva.
Saturday 6 March 2027. Magha Krishna Chaturdashi; the tithi runs Sat, 6 Mar, 5:35 pm to Sun, 7 Mar, 7:18 pm Sydney time.
Saturday 6 March 2027 in Kathmandu. Magha Krishna Chaturdashi; the tithi runs Sat, 6 Mar, 12:20 pm to Sun, 7 Mar, 2:03 pm Nepal time.
Saturday 6 March 2027 in New York, Friday 5 March 2027 in Los Angeles. US sunrises fall ten to fifteen hours behind Kathmandu's, so when the tithi ends in that gap the US keeps the festival a day earlier than Nepal.
Because the day is decided by which civil day the tithi (lunar day) is current at local sunrise, or for this festival covers midnight. Sydney's sunrise is four to six hours ahead of Kathmandu's and New York's ten hours behind, so a tithi that ends between two sunrises gives a different day. In 2027 the cities split across Fri, 5 Mar and Sat, 6 Mar.
Sun and Moon positions from Meeus' algorithms with the Lahiri ayanamsa, amanta lunar months named by the solar ingress inside them, and the night on which the tithi covers local midnight (nishita). Tithi boundaries are accurate to a few minutes; a boundary within minutes of sunrise is worth checking against your temple's panchang.
Other years: Maha Shivaratri 2026. Nearby: Makar Sankranti · Holika Dahan (Holi eve) · all festivals.
See also: the full-year calendar by city · why festival dates differ between Nepal, India and Australia.
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