Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday 8 November in the UK, with the five-day festival running from Dhanteras on Friday 6 November to Bhai Dooj on Tuesday 10 November. The trading period opens two weeks earlier: London's Diwali on the Square is on Sunday 25 October, and Leicester's Diwali lights go on at about the same time. That leaves a small business three weeks, and this post sets out what to put live in each of them, the fireworks and pricing rules, and how to handle a Diwali that falls on Remembrance Sunday.
When is Diwali 2026 in the UK, and why does the date move?
Diwali follows the lunar calendar, so it lands anywhere from mid-October to mid-November. The main day, Lakshmi Puja, is set by the new moon: Drik Panchang's listing for London says "the day of Diwali Puja is decided when Amavasya Tithi prevails during Pradosh". If you had October in mind, this year it is November.
The five days, from the same listing, are:
| Day | 2026 date |
|---|---|
| Dhanteras | Friday 6 November |
| Narak Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) | Saturday 7 November |
| Lakshmi Puja (Diwali Day) | Sunday 8 November |
| Govardhan Puja | Monday 9 November |
| Bhai Dooj | Tuesday 10 November |
Two caveats. We found no official UK body that publishes the festival date; the nearest UK primary source is Leicester City Council, which has fixed its Diwali Day celebrations for Sunday 8 November, and secondary listings such as Drik Panchang and Londonist agree. The same listing set to New Delhi puts Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj a day later, so some families will mark those days later. Sikh customers mark Bandi Chhor Divas on the same Sunday, 8 November 2026 according to RE:ONLINE, which matters in a town like Gravesend.
Which Diwali events are confirmed for 2026?
London. Diwali on the Square, organised by the Mayor of London, is on Sunday 25 October 2026 in Trafalgar Square, 1pm to 7pm, free entry, per Londonist's listing updated 7 September 2026. The Mayor of London's official listing gives the same date, time and free entry.
Leicester. The council's 5 May 2026 announcement says Diwali Day celebrations return to Cossington Recreation Ground on Sunday 8 November, the lights "will be switched on without ceremony two weeks before Diwali Day", and "there will be no public fireworks display". Two weeks before 8 November is about 25 October, but that is our arithmetic, not a published date.
Birmingham. We found no confirmed 2026 date for a Soho Road Diwali Mela.
Kent. Gravesham's events page listed Armistice Day on 11 November and the Christmas lights switch-on on 14 November when we checked on 12 October, and nothing for Diwali; the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara's site listed nothing for Diwali or Bandi Chhor Divas. If you trade in Gravesend, ask the nearest temple or gurdwara what is planned; our local SEO guide for Kent shows how to use local events.
What do Diwali customers buy, and when do they start searching?
Google Trends, set to the UK over five years and showing relative interest rather than volumes, had "diwali" peaking in the week containing the festival in each of the last five years (in 2023 the week before tied with it) when we pulled it on 12 October 2026, with "diwali 2026 date" among its rising related queries. Expect the 2026 peak around 8 November.
What people buy follows the five days: sweets and gift boxes for visiting family, new clothes and jewellery, diyas, candles and decorations, and food for Diwali night. For service businesses it is pre-booked hair, beauty and mehndi appointments in the week before, and catering that weekend.
How should a restaurant, takeaway or caterer plan the week of 2 to 8 November?
Treat it as a pre-order week, not a walk-in week. A takeaway in Gravesend might, for example, put a vegetarian Diwali family platter and a mithai box on pre-order with a cut-off of Wednesday 4 November for collection on Saturday 7 or Sunday 8. Bonfire Night is Thursday 5 November in the same week; our Halloween and Bonfire Night post covers that evening.
Three things to set up by Friday 30 October:
- A Google Business Profile Offer post. Google's help page says an Offer post requires a title, dates and a time, and can carry a coupon code, link and terms. Put the real cut-off date in it. If the profile is not set up yet, start with our Google Business Profile guide.
- One message to existing customers. If it carries an offer it is direct marketing: the ICO says a service message with direct marketing elements counts "even if that is not the main purpose", while general branding or logos do not, per its guidance on identifying direct marketing. Send it only to people you may lawfully market to.
- Collection slots and staffing for Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, with a quiet Sunday morning for the reason below.
What can a shop, jeweller or ecommerce starter put live by 25 October?
A Diwali gifting range needs to be visible by Sunday 25 October, when the London festival and Leicester's lights open the period. A small jeweller or gift shop might build one Diwali collection page with a last order date for delivery before Dhanteras on Friday 6 November and the full price, including delivery, on each item. Our ecommerce marketing service covers seasonal ranges for new online shops.
Two rules to check first:
- Gift vouchers. For vouchers issued on or after 1 January 2019, HMRC says a single purpose voucher, where the VAT liability and place of supply are known at issue, has VAT paid "at the point of issue", while for a multi-purpose voucher "any VAT due is only payable when the voucher is redeemed"; discount vouchers and money-off tokens are outside these rules, per GOV.UK. Decide which yours is before you sell any.
- "Diwali offer ends Sunday" must be true. Paragraph 7 of Schedule 20 to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lists "falsely stating that a product will only be available for a limited time" as a practice unfair in all circumstances, in force since 6 April 2025, per legislation.gov.uk. The CMA's CMA207 guidance says these provisions "apply to commercial practices which happen from 6 April 2025 onwards" and that a true statement that an offer will end is "unlikely to be problematic" unless, for example, "a substantially similar offer appears within a short period". The CMA enforces this and, per its April 2025 announcement, can fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover. So when the offer ends on 8 November, end it.
What are the rules on fireworks sales and timings around Diwali?
GOV.UK's fireworks page says you can buy fireworks from registered sellers for private use on three sets of dates: 15 October to 10 November, 26 to 31 December, and "3 days before Diwali and Chinese New Year"; at other times only licensed shops may sell them, and under-18s cannot buy adult fireworks. In 2026 the three days before Diwali are 5 to 7 November, already inside the October to November window, so the Diwali extension adds nothing this year.
The same page says fireworks must not be set off between 11pm and 7am, except on Bonfire Night, when the cut-off is midnight, and on New Year's Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year, when it is 1am.
How do you post about Diwali on a day that is also Remembrance Sunday?
Sunday 8 November 2026 is Remembrance Sunday. GOV.UK's guidance for the National Service of Remembrance, published 8 October 2026, puts the national two-minute silence at 11am. Armistice Day follows on Wednesday 11 November; Gravesham Borough Council's event runs from 10:45 to 11:30 at the Civic Centre in Gravesend. The Poppy Appeal's national launch is on 22 October, this coming Thursday, so the two seasons overlap completely.
The rules we would follow:
- Schedule nothing promotional between 10:30 and 11:30 on Sunday 8 and Wednesday 11 November, including automated ads.
- Never put Diwali and Remembrance in the same post, image or email. Each gets its own post, or Remembrance gets none, which is fine.
- Send the Diwali greeting on the evening of Saturday 7 November, or after 2pm on the Sunday.
- No poppy imagery on anything that sells.
What does a Diwali greeting look like when you are not a Diwali business?
Short, personal and without an offer. A plumber in Dartford or a bookshop in Gravesend might post: "Happy Diwali to our customers and neighbours celebrating this weekend. We are open as usual on Monday." No stock fireworks image, no "Diwali deals", no diya-shaped discount code, and no greeting at all if it would seem odd coming from you.
If you want to do something real, buy the office sweets from a local shop and say which one, put a few unlit diyas in the window, or share a local event listing.
If you would rather not do this yourself
Our social media marketing service plans and writes seasonal posts like these, with the dates, the quiet hours and the offer wording checked before anything goes out. If that would help, email Sales@britbunch.co.uk with your business name and what you sell, and we will say what we would do and what it costs.