Diwali, the festival of lights, is perhaps one of the more celebrated festivals in India. Also known as Deepavali, it is celebrated for five days with a different puja each day.

The first day is set aside to worship Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. Houses are thoroughly cleaned and windows are kept open to welcome Lakshmi. On the second day, Kali, the Goddess of strength, is worshipped in hopes of eradicating laziness and evil. The third day would be the last day in the lunar calendar. On this day, houses are decorated with rows of lamps or diyas. The lamps symbolise knowledge to use each day purposefully. The fourth day would be the first day of the lunar year. All old business accounts are settled on this day. New books are opened and worshipped in a special ceremony and a puja for the removal of anger, hatred and jealousy is also performed. The final day is to celebrated in remembrance of an ancient king, Balipratipada, who was known to be very generous. Thus, the focus of this day is to see good in others, including enemies.

On the whole, it symbolises the victory of rightousness over spiritual darkness. This festival also commemorates Lord Rama's return to his kingdom Ayodhya after completing his 14-year exile. Diwali is a time for family get togethers, decorating homes, distributing sweets and bursting fire crackers.