By Maria Sestito 
This article was originally published in the UC Davis Letters And Science Magazine

California has a new state holiday: Diwali. 

Known as the “Festival of Lights,” the holiday is celebrated by many religious communities in India and across the diasporas, including Hindus and Jains. It marks the end of longer, light-filled days and celebrates the conquering of good over evil. 

“While a lot of other holidays in Hinduism are very serious, Diwali is just about having fun and is pure joy,” said Professor Archana Venkatesan, who teaches in the Department of Religion, Culture and Society in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis.

This year, Diwali fell on Monday, Oct. 20. The date changes every year depending on the position of the moon but typically falls between October and November. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill making Diwali a state holiday into law on Oct. 6. It will go into effect in 2026. 

“I was so happy to see it become a state holiday and, for me, it symbolizes the vitality of California,” Venkatesan said. “It’s one of the reasons why I love California and have called it home for the last 30 years — we value the experience of other people and cultures that contribute to the community.”

“I hope California continues to honor the traditions of other communities this way,” she added.

An estimated 5.2 million people in the U.S. identified as Indian in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Twenty percent of the nation’s Indian population lives in California, according to a recent analysis by the Pew Research Center. Nearly half of those who identify as Indian alone practice Hinduism. 

California is the third state to adopt the holiday. Pennsylvania was the first in 2024, followed by Connecticut this past summer. 

The origin of ‘Diwali’

The word “Diwali” comes from “Deepavali,” which literally means “garland of lights,” Venkatesan said. Typically, oil lamps are placed outside the doors of homes and people celebrate with fireworks, sparklers and, she said, lots and lots of food and sweets. 

There are a few stories related to how Diwali came to be and, just as in Hinduism itself, there are different interpretations and ways to celebrate. 

One popular story is that of Prince Rama, the exiled son of Dashratha, King of Ayodhya. Rama was beloved by the people who believed he was unjustly punished, so they had a period of darkness and mourning over the lost prince. When Rama later rescued his wife, Sita, from a demon, they were able to return home and were welcomed by many lamps lighting their way. 

Venkatesan’s favorite origin story, however, is when Krishna and his wife Satyabhama rescued 16,000 women from years of abuse and captivity at the hands of the demon Narakasura. 

South Indian Diwali traditions embrace family, community

Families celebrating Diwali wake up very early, even the children.

When she was a child in south India, Venkatesan said all the neighbors would compete to see who could put their lights out first by being awake before the others.

Malavika Kannan, a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Religion, Culture and Society, remembers waking up as early as 4 a.m. Her mom would give her a hot-oil head massage then Kannan would wash her own hair and put on new clothing.

After all the washing and praying was done, it was time to eat sweets. The whole neighborhood would cook food and make desserts ahead of time to share with the rest of the community.

Not unlike Halloween, Kannan said, by the end of Diwali, children are “buzzing” on a sugar high. 

There are often many fireworks displays and children playing with sparklers or firecrackers. When she was young, Kannan said, she imagined herself slaying evil with her sparkler.

Candles called "diyas" are also an important part of many celebrations.

"We lay them around our front and backyard as well as inside the house," said Vedansh Sinha, a first-year business major at UC Davis. "This is so the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, can find her way to our house and bless us with wealth and prosperity in the new year."

Many celebrate the day by giving and receiving new clothes, but Kannan’s family has stopped exchanging gifts with each other.

“We decided that it doesn't make sense for all of us to keep gifting each other silk saris and everything within the family. It was like, ‘enough is enough,’” Kannan said. “So, what we do instead is buy new clothes and sweets and share it with all the people in the neighborhood who help us, like the security guards and sanitation workers.”

Diwali celebrates light, Kali Puja honors darkness

In most parts of India, households usually worship the goddess Lakshmi during their Diwali celebrations, but in West Bengal they have Kali Puja, a festival honoring the goddess Kali.

“There's a wide diversity of Hinduism that's in India, so a lot of Hindus understand that it shows up very differently,” said Brent Horning, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Religion, Culture and Society.

Horning remembers walking through the streets of Kolkata alone during Diwali, visiting roadside and household shrines to Kali.

“She is considered a fierce, ferocious incarnation of the Divine Feminine. She's got this necklace of heads, she's got a knife, she's in the graveyard, she's pretty scary looking,” Horning said. “But all of that ferocity is directed towards slaying the ignorance and demons of the devotee.”

“She is actually a loving and, gregarious goddess, but she has this reputation for being very intense and very ferocious,” he added. “Her iconography can look pretty scary, depending on which artist depicts it.”

While Diwali celebrates light, Kali Puja embraces the dark. Both fall on the new moon.