Deepawali or Diwali, the Hindu new year’s day, is the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. It is the festival of lights. The festival usually lasts five days and celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika.
One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance”.
The festival is widely associated with many other regional traditions connecting the holiday to Sita and Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Yama, Yami, Durga, Kali, Hanuman, Ganesha, Kubera, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman after defeating Ravana in Lanka and serving 14 years of exile.
Header image by Jyoti Singh