--- description: Diwali, one of the biggest holidays in Indian culture, is a five-day festival of lights celebrated worldwide by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains title: What to Know About Diwali, the Festival of Lights image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f80ca839d183f4/6988abc1e20a87258ea92f9c/diwali-festival-lights.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What to Know About Diwali 2016 by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Oct 28, 2016 1:00 PM CUT  Diwali,or Deepawali, (also called Tihar and Swanti in Nepal) is major Indian and Nepalese festive holiday, and a significant festival in Hinduism and some of the other faiths which originated in India. Diwali,or Deepawali, (also called Tihar and Swanti in Nepal) is major Indian and Nepalese festive holiday, and a significant festival in Hinduism and some of the other faiths which originated in India.Subir Basak—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Oct 28, 2016 1:00 PM CUT [Diwali](http://time.com/4106812/inside-diwali-the-festival-of-lights/ "undefined"), one of the biggest holidays in Indian culture, is a five-day festival of lights celebrated worldwide by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. This year, the traditional day of Diwali falls on Oct. 30, though celebrations span the entire week leading up to and following the holiday, which marks the [triumph of good over evil](http://time.com/4108127/diwali-festival-of-light-photos/ "undefined"). Diwali has a host of legends to explain its origin, but the most popular one recounts the tale of Lord Rama and his wife Sita, who [returned to the city of Ayodhya](http://time.com/3535318/diwali-a-row-of-lights/ "undefined") after 14 years in exile. In the Indian epic poem Ramayana, Lord Rama defeats the evil 10-headed king Ravana and rescues Sita, whom Ravana had kidnapped. According to the legend, Lord Rama’s devotees in Ayodhya filled the city with flowers and lit rows of clay lamps to welcome him and Sita back, signifying good vanquishing evil. To celebrate Diwali, Indians across the world light fireworks and candles and decorate their homes with rangoli—patterns made out of colored rice or powder. Families clean their houses, buy new clothes, eat sweets and share presents. Learn more in the video above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4547034/diwali-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4547034/diwali-2016/"},"headline":"What to Know About Diwali 2016","datePublished":"2016-10-28T13:00:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:26:51.210Z","description":"The five-day festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil","url":"https://time.com/4547034/diwali-2016/","keywords":["Holidays","faith"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f80ca839d183f4/6988abc1e20a87258ea92f9c/diwali-festival-lights.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f80ca839d183f4/6988abc1e20a87258ea92f9c/diwali-festival-lights.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Woman hand lighting diva's","caption":"Woman hand lighting diva's","creditText":"Subir Basak—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4547034/diwali-2016/","name":"What to Know About Diwali 2016"}}]}] ```