Diwali: Festival of Lights

Learn about India's biggest holiday of the year.

Diwali, or Dipawali, is India's biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name
from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner
light that protects from spiritual darkness. This festival is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday
is to Christians.

Over the centuries, Diwali has become a national festival that's also enjoyed by non-Hindu communities.
For instance, in Jainism, Diwali marks the nirvana, or spiritual awakening, of Lord Mahavira on October
15, 527 B.C.; in Sikhism, it honors the day that Guru Hargobind Ji, the Sixth Sikh Guru, was freed from
imprisonment. Buddhists in India celebrate Diwali as well.

diwali lord krishna

South India celebrate Diwali as the day that Lord Krishna (depicted above) defeated the demon
Narakasura.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MURALI NATH, DREAMSTIME

In northern India, they celebrate the story of King Rama's return to Ayodhya after he defeated Ravana by
lighting rows of clay lamps.

Southern India celebrates it as the day that Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura.

In western India the festival marks the day that Lord Vishnu, the Preserver (one of the main gods of the
Hindu trinity) sent the demon King Bali to rule the nether world.

DIWALI IS CELEBRATED OVER FIVE DAYS.

DAY ONE: People clean their homes and shop for gold or kitchen utensils to help bring good fortune.

DAY TWO: People decorate their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called rangoli on the
floor using colored powders or sand.

DAY THREE: On the main day of the festival, families gather together for Lakshmi puja, a prayer to
Goddess Lakshmi, followed by mouth-watering feasts and firework festivities.

DAY FOUR: This is the first day of the new year, when friends and relatives visit with gifts and best wishes
for the season.
DAY FIVE: Brothers visit their married sisters, who welcome them with love and a lavish meal.

People create patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powders or sand.

Families celebrate Diwali with sweet treats.

1/2

People create patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powders or sand.

People create patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powders or sand.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CALEE ALLEN, DREAM

3:05

DIWALI: FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

In India, one of the most significant festivals is Diwali, or the Festival of Lights. It's a five-day celebration
that includes good food, fireworks, colored sand, and special candles and lamps.

Hindus interpret the Diwali story based upon where they live. But there's one common theme no matter
where people celebrate: the victory of good over evil.

Learn more about the holiday at National Geographic.

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Diwali

Table of Contents
Introduction & Top Questions

References & Edit History

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Diyas lit for Diwali.Hindu Holidays: Celebrating Gods and Seasons

Why is Diwali called the Festival of Lights?

Rangoli for DiwaliOn This Day: Diwali

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Diyas lit for Diwali.

Diyas lit for Diwali. On Diwali, lighting lamps called diyas are an important part of the celebration.

Diwali

Hindu festival

Also known as: Dīpāvali, Divali

Written and fact-checked by

Last Updated: Nov 17, 2024 • Article History

Also spelled: Divali, Deepavali, or Dipavali

Top Questions

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News • "Darba" celebrates South Asian community at Westford Academy by combining Diwali and Garba
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Diwali, one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, lasting for five days from
the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of the lunar
month Karttika. (The corresponding dates in the Gregorian calendar usually fall in late October and
November.) The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning “row of lights.” The festival
generally symbolizes the victory of light over darkness.

Observances of Diwali differ depending on region and tradition. Among Hindus the most widespread
custom is the lighting of diyas (small earthenware lamps filled with oil) on the night of the new moon to
invite the presence of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. In Bengal the goddess Kali is worshipped. In North
India the festival also celebrates the royal homecoming of Rama (along with Sita, Lakshmana, and
Hanuman) to the city of Ayodhya after defeating Ravana, the 10-headed king of the demons, thus
connecting the festival with the holiday of Dussehra. In South India the festival marks Krishna’s defeat of
the demon Narakasura. Some celebrate Diwali as a commemoration of the marriage of Lakshmi and
Vishnu, while others observe it as the birthday of Lakshmi.

Why is Diwali called the Festival of Lights?

Why is Diwali called the Festival of Lights?Learn about the meaning of the name Diwali and the
significance of the festival in associated religious traditions.

See all videos for this article

During the festival, diyas are lit and placed in rows along the parapets of temples and houses and set
adrift on rivers and streams. Homes are decorated, and floors inside and out are covered with rangolis,
consisting of elaborate designs made of colored rice, sand, or flower petals. The doors and windows of
houses are kept open in the hope that Lakshmi will find her way inside and bless the residents with
wealth and success.

Chandigarh. Statuettes at the Rock Garden of Chandigarh a sculpture park in Chandigarh, India, also
known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden. Created by Nek Chand Saini an Indian self taught artist. visionary
artist, folk artist, environmental art

Britannica Quiz

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Rangoli for Diwali

Rangoli for DiwaliLines and lamps joining together in a rangoli for Diwali, the festival of lights.

The names and events of the individual days of Diwali are as follows:

The first day, known as Dhanteras, is dedicated to cleaning homes and purchasing small items of gold.
Lakshmi is the focus of worship on that day. The second day, called Naraka Chaturdashi or Choti Diwali,
commemorates Krishna’s destruction of Narakasura; prayers are also offered for the souls of ancestors.
On the third day, Lakshmi Puja, families seek blessings from Lakshmi to ensure their prosperity; light
diyas, candles, and fireworks; and visit temples. It is the main day of the Diwali festival. The fourth day,
known as Govardhan Puja, Balipratipada, or Annakut, commemorating Krishna’s feat of lifting up a
mountain, Govardhan Hill, to protect the local cowherds in defiance of Indra, the king of the gods, who
had sent a torrential rain upon them. It is also the first day of Karttika and the start of the new year in the
Vikrama (Hindu) calendar. Merchants perform religious ceremonies and open new account books. The
fifth day, called Bhai Dooj, Bhai Tika, or Bhai Bij, celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters. On
that day sisters pray for the success and well-being of their brothers, similar to the holiday Raksha
Bandhan.

Diwali is generally a time for visiting, exchanging gifts, wearing new clothes, feasting, feeding the poor,
and setting off fireworks (though such displays have been restricted to limit noise and other
environmental pollution). Gambling, especially in the form of card games, is encouraged as a way of
ensuring good luck in the coming year and in remembrance of the games of dice played by Shiva and
Parvati on Mount Kailasa or similar contests between Radha and Krishna. Ritually, in honor of Lakshmi,
the female player always wins.

Diwali is also an important festival in Jainism. For the Jain community, the festival commemorates the
enlightenment and liberation (moksha) of Mahavira, the most recent of the Jain Tirthankaras, from the
cycle of life and death (samsara). The lighting of the lamps celebrates the light of Mahavira’s holy
knowledge.

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Since the 18th century, Diwali has been celebrated in Sikhism as the time of Guru Hargobind’s return to
Amritsar from captivity in Gwalior—an echo of Rama’s return to Ayodhya. Residents of Amritsar light
lamps throughout the city to celebrate the occasion.

Although not a primary festival of Buddhism, Diwali is celebrated by some Buddhists as a

commemoration of the day when Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE. It is
observed by the Vajrayana Buddhist minority among the Newar people of Nepal. They celebrate by
lighting lamps, decorating temples and monasteries, and worshipping the Buddha.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

This article was most recently revised and updated by Charles Preston.
Hinduism

Table of Contents

Introduction

Overview

The history of Hinduism

Sacred texts

Practical Hinduism

Rituals, social practices, and institutions

Hinduism and the world beyond

References & Edit History

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The main Hindu godsHindu Holidays: Festivals of Gods and SeasonsRavanaThe Great BathVishnu and
LakshmiSurya DeulaThe Chariot FestivalRabindranath TagoreMahatma Gandhistone image from 9th
century

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The main Hindu gods

The main Hindu gods Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma (left to right) pay homage to Mahadevi (the great
goddess, in white in the form of Saraswati), attended by the elephant-headed deity Ganesha, in a
painting from c. 1750.

Hinduism

religion

Written by

•All

Fact-checked by

Last Updated: Oct 29, 2024 • Article History

Key People: Shankara Ram Mohan Roy Kabir Suryavarman II Keshab Chunder Sen

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Hinduism, major world religion originating on the Indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied
systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual. Although the name Hinduism is relatively new, having been
coined by British writers in the first decades of the 19th century, it refers to a rich cumulative tradition of
texts and practices, some of which date to the 2nd millennium BCE or possibly earlier. If the Indus valley
civilization (3rd–2nd millennium BCE) was the earliest source of these traditions, as some scholars hold,
then Hinduism is the oldest living religion on Earth. Its many sacred texts in Sanskrit and vernacular
languages served as a vehicle for spreading the religion to other parts of the world, though ritual and the
visual and performing arts also played a significant role in its transmission. From about the 4th century
CE, Hinduism had a dominant presence in Southeast Asia, one that would last for more than 1,000 years.

In the early 21st century, Hinduism had nearly one billion adherents worldwide and was the religion of
about 80 percent of India’s population. Despite its global presence, however, it is best understood
through its many distinctive regional manifestations.

Overview

The term Hinduism

The term Hinduism became familiar as a designator of religious ideas and practices distinctive to India
with the publication of books such as Hinduism (1877) by Sir Monier Monier-Williams, the notable
Oxford scholar and author of an influential Sanskrit dictionary. Initially it was an outsiders’ term, building
on centuries-old usages of the word Hindu. Early travelers to the Indus valley, beginning with the Greeks
and Persians, spoke of its inhabitants as “Hindu” (Greek: ‘indoi), and, in the 16th century, residents of
India themselves began very slowly to employ the term to distinguish themselves from the Turks.
Gradually the distinction became primarily religious rather than ethnic, geographic, or cultural.

Since the late 19th century, Hindus have reacted to the term Hinduism in several ways. Some have
rejected it in favor of indigenous formulations. Others have preferred “Vedic religion,” using the term
Vedic to refer not only to the ancient religious texts known as the Vedas but also to a fluid corpus of
sacred works in multiple languages and an orthoprax (traditionally sanctioned) way of life. Still others
have chosen to call the religion sanatana dharma (“eternal law”), a formulation made popular in the
19th century and emphasizing the timeless elements of the tradition that are perceived to transcend
local interpretations and practice. Finally, others, perhaps the majority, have simply accepted the term
Hinduism or its analogues, especially hindu dharma (Hindu moral and religious law), in various Indic
languages.
Since the early 20th century, textbooks on Hinduism have been written by Hindus themselves, often
under the rubric of sanatana dharma. These efforts at self-explanation add a new layer to an elaborate
tradition of explaining practice and doctrine that dates to the 1st millennium BCE. The roots of Hinduism
can be traced back much farther—both textually, to the schools of commentary and debate preserved in
epic and Vedic writings from the 2nd millennium BCE, and visually, through artistic representations of
yakshas (luminous spirits associated with specific locales and natural phenomena) and nagas (cobralike
divinities), which were worshipped from about 400 BCE. The roots of the tradition are also sometimes
traced back to the female terra-cotta figurines found ubiquitously in excavations of sites associated with
the Indus valley civilization and sometimes interpreted as goddesses.

Omar Ali Saifuddin mosque, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

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