Diwali
Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, which symbolises the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.
It is usually celebrated between mid-September and mid-November, and the 2025 celebrations will take place over 5 or 6 days between Friday 17th October and Wednesday 22nd October.
Diwali is connected to Rama, Sita and Lakshmana successfully returning home after defeating the demon king Ravana, as well as being connected to Lakshmi (the goddess of prosperity) and Ganesha (the god of wisdom and remover of obstacles).
Though Diwali is seen as a primarily Hindu festival, adherents of other faiths also celebrate their own variation of the celebration. During the festival, celebrants illuminate their temples, homes and workspaces with oil lamps called diyas, candles and lanterns. Many Hindus also have a ritual oil bath at dawn on each morning during the festival. Fireworks and rangoli patterns play a large part in the celebrations, with a lot of celebrants chalking rangoli patterns on their doorsteps.
