What Is Diwali, the Festival of Lights?
By the BrainSnail editorial team. How these articles are written and checked, and how to tell us when one is wrong.
Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in the world, marked with rows of small lamps, family gatherings and sweets. It is celebrated by Hindus, and also by Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists, each for their own reasons. Here is what it involves and why it matters.
What the lights celebrate
The name comes from a word meaning a row of lamps, and the lighting of small oil lamps called diyas is the central image of the festival. The general theme is light overcoming darkness and knowledge overcoming ignorance.
There is no single story behind Diwali. In many Hindu communities it celebrates the return of Rama to Ayodhya after years of exile, welcomed home by lamps lining the streets. In others it honours the goddess Lakshmi, or celebrates Krishna's victory over a demon. Which story is central depends on region and tradition.
The five days
Diwali is usually spread over five days, each with its own character:
- •Homes are cleaned and decorated, and metal or household goods are bought
- •Lamps and rangoli patterns are set out at doorways
- •The main night of Diwali, with lamps, prayers and fireworks
- •A day marking family and community bonds
- •A day celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters
How it is celebrated
Homes are cleaned thoroughly beforehand, which is both practical and symbolic. Coloured rangoli patterns are made on floors and doorsteps, often with rice flour or petals. Lamps are placed along walls and windows.
Food is central, particularly sweets shared with neighbours and relatives. New clothes are common, gifts are exchanged, and in many places fireworks are set off, though several cities have restricted these because of air quality concerns.
Diwali beyond Hinduism
Sikhs mark Bandi Chhor Divas at the same time, remembering the release of Guru Hargobind and other prisoners from imprisonment. Jains commemorate the liberation of Mahavira. Some Buddhist communities also observe the period.
This overlap is worth knowing. Diwali, the festival of lights, is not a single event with one meaning but a shared season observed by several traditions, each holding onto its own story while sharing the lamps.
Diwali around the world
Diwali is a public holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius and several other countries, reflecting where Indian communities settled over the last two centuries.
Large celebrations now take place in cities including London, Toronto, Sydney and New York, often organised publicly and attended well beyond the Hindu community. As with many religious festivals that travel, this raises ongoing questions within those communities about the balance between a religious observance and a broader cultural event, and different families answer it differently.
The takeaway
Diwali, the festival of lights, spans five days and several religious traditions, and its shared image of small lamps pushing back the dark is what makes it recognisable around the world.