96 Fun Facts About Diwali

In the Diwali story, Rama came home from exile with his wife Sita and which brother?

Lakshmana followed Rama and Sita into the forest for the whole exile and fought beside him in the war to rescue her; the lamps recall the welcome the three received.

What are the sweets shared and gifted at Diwali collectively called?

Mithai is the umbrella word for Indian sweets; sweet shops stack up gift boxes of them before Diwali because families hand them to relatives, neighbours and colleagues.

Which treasurer of the gods do merchant families honour beside the wealth goddess at Diwali?

Kubera stands for book-keeping and the careful management of wealth, so traders set their ink and account books before the altar and pray to him as well.

Besides Hindus, Jains and Sikhs, Newar followers of which religion also celebrate Diwali?

Buddhism: most Buddhists do not keep Diwali, but Newar Buddhists do, praying to the wealth goddess over the same days as their Hindu neighbours.

Which colorful floor art patterns are traditionally created during Diwali?

Rangoli are decorative patterns made on floors using colored powders, rice, flower petals, and sand. They are created at the entrance of homes during Diwali to welcome guests and deities.

Diwali celebrates Lord Rama's return from exile to which city, his kingdom's capital?

Ayodhya, capital of the Kosala kingdom, welcomed Rama and Sita home from their long forest exile; lamps lit their way, the origin story behind Diwali's lights.

Diwali is a public holiday in which Pacific island nation, home to many people of Indian descent?

Fiji's Hindus once kept Holi as their principal festival; Diwali overtook it during the 20th century and is now a public holiday for the whole country.

What do people traditionally wear during Diwali celebrations?

New clothes mark Diwali's fresh start: families shop for outfits in the days before, then dress up at dusk for the evening prayers and visits.

In a Diwali legend, which game does Parvati win against Shiva?

Dice: in the legend Parvati beat Shiva at dice and declared that whoever gambles on Diwali night would prosper all year, the origin of the festival's card and dice games.

What is the first day of the five-day Diwali festival called?

Dhanteras opens the festival: families clean their homes and shops, then set out the first lamps beside images of the wealth goddess.

Rama's Diwali homecoming followed his defeat of which demon king?

Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, had abducted Sita; Rama's victory over him with an army of vanaras is the climax of the Ramayana, and Rama's homecoming afterwards is what Diwali celebrates.

Which Diwali sweet comes in besan, motichoor and boondi varieties?

Ladoo are rolled by hand: chickpea flour fried in ghee, or tiny fried drops of batter, is mixed with sugar and pressed into balls.

What does 'Deepavali' literally mean?

Row of lights: the Sanskrit name joins 'dipa' (lamp or light) and 'avali' (row), after the lines of oil lamps set along ledges and doorways.

Besides India, Diwali is a public holiday in which of these Southeast Asian countries?

Malaysia calls the day Hari Deepavali and gives nearly the whole country a public holiday; Hindu families hold open houses, light oil lamps and stage cultural performances.

On Diwali's second night, which deity of strength is worshipped to keep roaming spirits at bay?

Hanuman Puja on that night is especially common in Gujarat, and the same day is called Roop Chaudas by those who mark it with a ritual oil bath at dawn.

Which fudge-like sweet, made by cooking khoa (milk solids) with sugar, is a Diwali staple?

Barfi (or burfi) is made by cooking milk solids down with sugar until the mix sets firm enough to cut; pistachio and coconut versions are Diwali favourites.

What is the fifth and final day of Diwali called?

Bhai Dooj (also known as Bhai Tika or Bhau Beej) is the fifth and final day of Diwali. Sisters perform a tilak ceremony for their brothers, praying for their long life, similar to the Raksha Bandhan festival.

The small oil lamps lit at Diwali are traditionally made from what material?

Clay is the traditional material: potters shape the little earthenware bowls before the festival, and each is filled with oil or ghee and given a cotton wick.

For Jains, Diwali marks the final liberation (moksha) of which teacher?

For Jains, Diwali commemorates the attainment of moksha (liberation) by Lord Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara; they mark it as Mahavira Nirvana Divas with lamps and recitation of his final teachings.

Which Sikh leader's release from Gwalior Fort, alongside 52 imprisoned rajas, is commemorated on Diwali?

Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, is said to have walked out of Gwalior Fort with 52 rajas each holding a tassel of his cloak; the Golden Temple is illuminated on the anniversary.

The asura king honoured on Diwali's fourth day is also welcomed home at which festival of Kerala?

Onam welcomes the same generous king back to his old realm each year with flower carpets and a great feast, about two months before his Diwali day.

Govardhan Puja recalls a hill lifted to shelter villagers from storms sent by which angry god?

Indra, god of rain and storm, was angry that the cowherds had stopped his autumn worship; the hill sheltered them for seven days until he gave up.

What deep-fried, syrup-soaked sweet shaped like a pretzel or spiral is popular during Diwali?

Jalebi are coils of plain-flour batter fried crisp and steeped in sugar syrup; in North India they are eaten with curd or with rabri, a thickened sweet milk.

Which 7th-century emperor's Sanskrit play Nagananda refers to Deepavali as 'Dipapratipadotsava'?

Harsha, the 7th-century ruler of Kannauj, wrote the Sanskrit play Nagananda, which calls the festival Dipapratipadotsava and describes lamps being lit and gifts given to newly engaged couples.

Which son of Shiva and Parvati is worshipped beside Lakshmi in the main Diwali puja?

Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and god of new beginnings, is honoured at the start of Hindu rites, so his image sits beside Lakshmi's at the Diwali puja.

What is the name of the demon killed by Lord Krishna on the day before Diwali?

Narakasura, king of Pragjyotishapura, held 16,000 women captive until Krishna, riding Garuda with his wife Satyabhama, slew him and freed them on the eve of Diwali.

Where is Diwali called 'Tihar', a five-day festival with one day set aside for dogs?

Nepal celebrates Tihar over five days; on Kukur Tihar dogs are garlanded and given tika as messengers of Yama, and the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley calls the festival Swanti.

Dhanvantari, honoured on Diwali's first day, is the god of which Indian discipline?

Ayurveda: Dhanvantari is the divine physician of the gods, said to have emerged from the churning of the ocean, and the day is kept as his birthday with prayers for health.

Which Diwali sweet is a deep-fried ball of reduced milk solids soaked in cardamom-scented sugar syrup?

Gulab Jamun dough is fried at a low temperature in ghee or oil, then left to soak in the syrup; the warm balls are sometimes served with kulfi or ice cream.

Diwali falls on the new moon of which month in the Hindu calendar?

Kartik: North India's calendar puts Diwali on Kartik's new-moon night, the darkest of the month, while calendars that end each month at the new moon count the same night as the last of Ashvin.

What do Sikhs call the festival they celebrate on Diwali day?

Bandi Chhor Divas, 'prisoner release day', marks the sixth Guru's release from Gwalior Fort; the Golden Temple in Amritsar is lit with lamps and fireworks for it.

Which diamond-cut sweet, a classic of Diwali gift boxes, is usually finished with edible silver leaf?

Kaju Katli is made by boiling sugar syrup to the single-thread stage, stirring in ground cashew paste, rolling the slab thin and cutting it into diamonds once it sets.

Which Mughal emperor's orders of 1665 curbed public Diwali and Holi celebrations?

Aurangzeb curbed public celebration of Diwali and Holi in 1665; one historian traces it partly to the gambling and drinking that went with them.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, a special one-hour trading session held on Diwali is called what?

Muhurat Trading is a one-hour evening session that the Bombay and National stock exchanges open on Diwali, a day when the markets are otherwise shut.

In Bengal, which fierce goddess takes Lakshmi's place at Diwali?

Diwali in West Bengal coincides with Kali Puja: elaborate idols of the goddess of war, late-night rituals and fireworks, with Lakshmi sidelined.

What is the edible silver foil on Diwali sweets called?

Vark (varak) is silver beaten into edible leaf so thin it is sold pressed between sheets of paper and transferred straight onto sweets, where it is purely decorative and tasteless.

Craftsmen service their tools during Diwali in honour of which deity?

Vishvakarma, the divine architect and engineer, is honoured by artisans during Diwali, when factories, garages and workshops are cleaned and their tools and machines blessed rather than used.

Divali Nagar, a yearly 'City of Divali' exposition, is a fixture of which Caribbean island?

Trinidad and Tobago's Divali Nagar began in a shopping-mall car park and now fills its own site in Chaguanas with stalls and stage shows before the public holiday.

Which US state was first to make Diwali an official state holiday, in 2024?

Pennsylvania made Diwali an official state holiday in 2024; Connecticut and California followed in 2025, the latter letting schools close and state workers take the day off.

Which ancient Indian text contains one of the earliest references to the Diwali festival?

The Padma Purana mentions the festival, as does the Skanda Purana, and tells the ocean-churning legend of the wealth goddess's birth, which some say Diwali's first day marks.

Which flower is a favourite motif of the floor art drawn for Diwali?

The lotus is what Lakshmi is shown sitting on or holding, so it is a favourite subject for the patterns drawn on floors to welcome her.

In the Ramayana, how long an exile did Kaikeyi demand for Rama?

14 years: Kaikeyi used an old boon from King Dasharatha to demand Rama's exile for 14 years, and Sita insisted on accompanying her husband into the forest for the full term.

What do 'Shubh' and 'Labh', painted on doorways at Diwali, mean?

Auspiciousness and profit: Shubh means auspicious and Labh means profit, and the two words flank doorways and account books at Diwali to bless the trade ahead.

Which English city's 'Golden Mile' on Belgrave Road hosts what are billed as the largest Diwali celebrations outside the Indian subcontinent?

Leicester drew many Asians expelled from Uganda in 1972, even though the city council ran adverts urging them to settle elsewhere; the community around Belgrave Road dates from those years.

Which Tamil Nadu town makes most of India's firecrackers?

Sivakasi's hot, dry climate suits the trade: the town makes most of India's firecrackers and matches and is a major printing centre as well.

Which US president was the first to attend a Diwali celebration at the White House?

Barack Obama lit a ceremonial lamp at the White House in October 2009; Diwali had been marked there since 2003, in George W. Bush's time, without the president attending.

What treatment did the Sanskrit poet Rajasekhara say homes were given for Deepavali?

Whitewashing: Rajasekhara's Kavyamimamsa says homes were whitewashed for the festival he called Dipamalika, a 'garland of lamps', with oil lamps lighting homes, streets and markets through the night.

In Gujarat, the day after Diwali is also celebrated as what?

New Year's Day: Gujaratis mark it by buying 'sabras', everyday essentials such as salt, and children go door to door wishing neighbours a happy new year in return for treats.

Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes described Diwali lamps in which 16th-century Hindu empire?

Vijayanagara: Domingo Paes, who visited the empire's capital around 1520, wrote of householders lighting their homes and temples with lamps for the festival in October.

On the first day of Tihar, food is set out on rooftops for which birds?

Crows: on Kaag Tihar food is set out on rooftops for them as messengers of Yama, the god of death, so that grief and bad news stay away for the coming year.

On the morning of Tihar's third day, which animal receives tika and garlands?

Cow: on Gai Tihar Hindus thank the animal that gives them milk, ghee and dung for the fields by feeding it treats and worshipping it with tika and garlands.

Because of ahimsa, most Jains skip which common Diwali custom?

Fireworks: because ahimsa forbids harming the insects and animals that crackers kill, most Jains keep Diwali quiet and austere, with hymns and scripture recitation instead of bangs.

Dev Deepawali, held 15 days after Diwali, lines which river's ghats with oil lamps?

The Ganges: on the full moon fifteen nights after Diwali the ghats of Varanasi are lined with lamps for Dev Deepawali, the 'Diwali of the Gods', when the gods are believed to descend to bathe in the river.

Indian border guards traditionally exchange Diwali sweets with which neighbouring country's troops?

Pakistan: at the Attari-Wagah crossing the Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers trade boxes of sweets on Diwali and again on Eid, each side marking the other's festival.

Deepavali is a national holiday in which South American country?

Guyana, where descendants of Indian indentured workers are the largest ethnic group, keeps Deepavali as a national holiday, as it does Phagwah, the Holi festival.

In the ocean-churning myth retold at Diwali, the gods' physician emerged holding a pot of what?

Amrita, the nectar of immortality, filled the pot the divine physician carried when he rose from the Samudra Manthan; the gods and asuras had churned the ocean to obtain it.

Which bird sometimes sits beside the wealth goddess in art, as one of her mounts?

The owl: she is more often flanked by elephants, but an owl sometimes sits beside her as a warning to stay watchful in the dark and not be blinded by greed once wealth arrives.

Diwali usually arrives about 20 days after which other Hindu festival?

Dussehra falls on the tenth day of a bright fortnight and Diwali on the new moon 20 days later, the span in which homes are cleaned, repainted and decorated.

As a shopping season, Diwali in India is most often compared to which Western holiday?

Christmas is the usual comparison: households time home refurbishments, gifts and other large purchases for Diwali because buying then is considered auspicious.

Historians think Diwali grew out of ancient Indian festivals celebrating what?

The harvest: in India's early farming society Diwali fell at the last harvest before winter, a time to pray to the wealth goddess for good fortune.

In the Govardhan legend, the hill was lifted on which part of the hand?

The little finger: Krishna held Govardhan Hill aloft on the little finger of one hand through seven days of storms, until the rain god behind them admitted defeat.

During the Diwali season, rural townships and villages host 'melas', which are what?

Fairs: at a mela local producers and artisans sell their goods alongside entertainers, and women have their hands patterned with henna for the occasion.

In Tihar, doorways are dressed for the wealth-goddess night with garlands of which flower?

Marigolds: garlands of them frame doors and windows for the goddess's night in Tihar, and lamps are left burning at every opening because she is said to pass by dark homes.

In a first-day Diwali legend, King Hima's son was fated to die how on his marriage's fourth day?

By snakebite: the prince's bride piled gold and lamps at the door and sang all night, so Yama, arriving as a serpent, was dazzled and slipped away at dawn; the tale underlies the first day's lamp for Yama.

Yama Deepam lamps, lit behind homes at Diwali to ward off untimely death, face which way?

South: Yama, lord of death, rules the southern direction, so the Yama Deepam, ideally a lamp of wheat-flour dough, is set facing south outside the house; some families light it on the second night instead.

The pre-dawn abhyanga oil massage on Diwali's second day traditionally uses which oil?

Sesame oil is worked into the whole body and head before an ubtan application and a ritual bath, taken while the moon is still up but before sunrise.

On Diwali's second morning, some women bathe before dawn with a lamp lit nearby to enhance what?

Beauty: in some North Indian homes the day is Roop Chaudas, when women rub on a cleansing herbal paste before the pre-dawn bath beside a lit lamp.

Ubtan, the cleansing paste applied on Diwali's second day, is made from which flour?

Gram flour (besan) is the base of ubtan, mixed with herbs and rubbed on after the oil massage, just before the ritual bath.

London's free 'Diwali on the Square' festival fills which landmark each year?

Trafalgar Square hosts the Mayor of London's Diwali on the Square, a free afternoon that opens with a massed dance sequence before the stage acts and food stalls take over.

In one origin tale of Diwali's sibling day, which sister gave a demon-slayer a tilaka?

Subhadra: after slaying a demon, Krishna visited his sister Subhadra, who welcomed him with sweets, flowers and a tilaka on his forehead, the model for the sibling-day rite.

Which farm animal is honoured on the fourth day of the Tihar festival?

The ox is worshipped at Goru Puja for its work in farming and heavy labour; many Vaishnava families keep Govardhan Puja on the same day.

Children singing Deusi/Bhailo door to door in Tihar are given money and which food?

Sel roti, a ring of sweet rice-flour dough fried for the festival, is handed to the singers along with money; in return they bless the household with prosperity.

The Newar ritual Mha Puja, performed on Tihar's fourth day, is the worship of what?

The self: Mha Puja, 'worship of the self', purifies and strengthens each person's own body and spirit for the year ahead, with a mandala drawn on the floor for every family member.

Tihar's dog day recalls which Mahabharata prince refusing to enter heaven without his dog?

Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava, refused to enter heaven without the dog that had followed him up the Himalayas; the dog then revealed itself as a god who had been testing him.

Diwali's fourth day marks the annual return to earth of which asura king?

Bali, the asura king pushed into the netherworld by an avatar of Vishnu, was granted a boon to return to earth once a year, on the day called Balipratipada.

Which avatar of Vishnu, victor over an asura king by three steps, is honoured on Diwali's fourth day?

Vamana, the dwarf Brahmin avatar, asked the asura king for three paces of land, then grew to cover earth and sky in two steps; the king offered his own head for the third and earned the day's honours.

Chappan bhog, a spread of 56 dishes, is offered to Krishna at which Diwali-season feast?

Annakut means a mountain of food: the dishes are heaped before the deity like the hill of the Govardhan legend, then shared out among the worshippers.

Which Mughal emperor imprisoned the sixth Sikh Guru, whose release Sikhs mark at Diwali?

Jahangir had the sixth Guru held in Gwalior Fort; he had earlier ordered the execution of the Guru's father, whose death Sikhs revere as a martyrdom.

In Bengal's Diwali-night goddess puja, which red flowers are the prescribed offering?

Red hibiscus is the goddess's prescribed flower, offered at the night-long Diwali puja in Bengal alongside rice, lentils and sweets, while worshippers meditate until dawn.

Jains hold that their 24th Tirthankara attained liberation on Diwali at which place in Bihar?

Pawapuri, in Bihar's Nalanda district, is where Jains hold that the 24th Tirthankara attained moksha; pilgrims gather at its Jal Mandir water temple on Diwali to offer prayers and light lamps.

In October 2025 a Guinness record display on Diwali eve lit roughly how many oil lamps?

About 2.6 million: the riverbank display in Uttar Pradesh keeps raising its own record, which stood at 1.6 million lamps in 2022 and 2.2 million in 2023.

Which 11th-century Persian scholar noted Deepavali's new-moon date in a memoir on India?

Al-Biruni, who travelled with Mahmud of Ghazni's campaigns, recorded in his 11th-century Tarikh al-Hind that Hindus celebrated Deepavali on a new moon; later Venetian and Portuguese travellers described the lamps.

In Maharashtra on Diwali's first day, coriander seeds are pounded with what to offer?

Jaggery: in Maharashtra dried coriander seeds are lightly pounded with jaggery and the mixture is set before the wealth goddess as naivedya, a food offering.

In Goa on Diwali's second day, what is crushed underfoot to symbolise killing the demon?

A bitter berry called kareet is crushed underfoot on Goa's second Diwali morning to symbolise killing the demon, and paper effigies stuffed with grass and firecrackers are burnt at dawn.

On Bengal's Bhoot Chaturdashi, 14 lamps are lit to guide home whom?

Ancestors: 14 forefathers are said to visit the family that night, so a lamp is set out for each and every dark corner is lit to chase away less welcome spirits.

Diwali's fourth day, known as Padwa in western India, traditionally celebrates the bond between whom?

Husband and wife exchange gifts on Padwa, and in some regions parents invite a newly married daughter or son home with their spouse for a festive meal.

Which Sikh Guru built an 84-step well at Goindwal and invited Sikhs to bathe there at Diwali?

Guru Amar Das, the third Guru, made the gatherings at his Goindwal well a custom decades before the sixth Guru's release gave Sikhs their own reason to mark the day.

Serangoon Road's Little India, known locally as Tekka, lights up for Deepavali in which country?

Singapore's Little India, home to Tekka Market, hosts the island's Deepavali festivities; the government and the Hindu Endowments Board organise cultural events for it every year.

Which 15th-century Venetian traveller described Indian temples lit by countless oil lamps?

Niccolò de' Conti, a Venetian merchant who travelled in India in the early 15th century, wrote of temples and rooftops hung with innumerable oil lamps and of families gathering to sing, dance and feast.

The fierce goddess of Bengal's Diwali-night puja is usually shown standing on the chest of which god?

Shiva, her consort, lies calmly beneath her feet in the usual image; unlike most deities, who are worshipped by day, she receives her puja at night.

In the ocean-churning legend retold at Diwali, Vishnu bore the churning mountain on his back as which animal?

Tortoise: Vishnu became the tortoise Kurma and took the mountain on his shell, giving the gods and demons a steady pivot for their churning rod.

Which Sun-god festival, kept mainly around Bihar, comes less than a week after Diwali?

Chhath worshippers fast, then wade into rivers and ponds at dusk to make offerings to the setting sun, and return at dawn to greet it as it rises.

Which chief disciple of the last Tirthankara gained omniscience on Diwali, say Jains?

Gautam Swami, Indrabhuti Gautama, chief disciple of the last Tirthankara, attained kevala jnana (omniscience) the same night his master reached nirvana, which is why the day ranks among the most important in the Jain calendar.

Which philologist described Diwali's days in his paper 'The Lunar Year of the Hindus'?

William Jones, a judge in Calcutta, noted four of the festival's five days in 'The Lunar Year of the Hindus', describing the main night's illuminations on trees and houses.

For the Diwali-night goddess puja, Bengal's neighbourhoods build temporary themed shrines called what?

Pandals go up just for the festival: the goddess's image is worshipped inside, and crowds tour the themed ones through the night.

In 2003 Sikh leaders listed their Diwali-time festival in which calendar?

Nanakshahi: listing it under its own name was meant partly to stress the Sikh faith's independence from Hinduism, though the festival's date is still set by the older traditional calendar.