From a temple pond near Houston to the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia and a lake in Fremont, California, the Indian diaspora across North America is observing Chhath Puja this year with the same devotion that marks the festival back home — gathering at water's edge to offer prayers to the sun. The celebrations, spanning communities across the United States and Canada, reflect a growing effort to preserve a tradition rooted in the heartland of Bihar and Jharkhand, thousands of kilometres from where it was born.

Houston to the Potomac: Where the Prayers Are Held

Near Houston, the pond at the Jagannath Hindu Temple of Rosenberg has become the focal point for a tightly organised community effort. Organisers note that six scientists are sponsoring, cooking and serving food for attending families, while other volunteers handle setup, parking, cleanup and community welcome duties. The event's invitation is explicitly inclusive: 'Open to every family that celebrates.'

In the Washington DC national capital region, Chhath has been celebrated on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia for nearly two decades. The tradition dates to 2006, when Kripa Shankar Singh and his wife, Anita Singh, sought a place to observe the festival away from home. 'This is our attempt to keep our culture alive in a foreign land,' Anita Singh said in an interview, adding that what began as a family affair now draws hundreds of community members from across the region every year.

New Jersey, Silicon Valley and Southern California

In New Jersey, the Bihar-Jharkhand Association of North America has framed its community invitation around cultural continuity, asking participants to 'help us keep our traditions alive, far from home but never apart.' The gathering welcomes both fasting devotees and those coming simply to offer support, making it a shared occasion for families and friends alike.

On the West Coast, the Bay Area celebration includes a gathering organised by Quarry Lakes Chhath in Fremont, near Silicon Valley. Its registration covers both the ritual evening offering and the practical requirements of using a public recreation space, including advance parking arrangements. Farther south, the Bihar Jharkhand Bandhu Association is hosting families at Oso Lake Scout Camp in Rancho Santa Margarita, where the natural lakeside setting is central to the group's vision of passing the tradition to younger generations.

Celebrations Spread Across the Eastern Seaboard and the Pacific Northwest

The festival's reach extends to Hindu Buddha Mandir in Maryland and the Shiv Mandir of Atlanta in Sugar Hill, Georgia. Near Seattle, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center in Bothell is accepting registrations for collective Chhath worship, extending the festival's geographic footprint to the Pacific Northwest.

Canada: Three-Day Programme with Free Meals and Prasad

Across the border in Canada, the Vaishno Devi Temple in Oakville, Ontario is a central gathering point. The Bihar and Jharkhand Association of Canada has organised a three-day programme in which donations and sponsorships will make meals, puja and prasad available free of charge to all attendees. The initiative is described as a community effort to maintain the traditions of Bihar and Jharkhand for the diaspora settled in Canada.

A Tradition Finding New Roots

What connects these geographically scattered celebrations is a common impulse: ensuring that the rituals do not fade in the spaces between generations and continents. Organisers across cities have emphasised the involvement of children, the inclusion of extended family and the shared labour of community volunteers as essential to the festival's survival abroad. Notably, the festival has grown from a handful of household observations two decades ago to multi-venue, multi-city events requiring formal registration, logistics and cross-community sponsorship. As the diaspora from Bihar and Jharkhand grows in North America, so does the institutional scaffolding that keeps these traditions alive — suggesting Chhath abroad is no longer simply a nostalgic ritual, but an evolving community institution.