By Justine Sanchez, November 4, 2025
Diwali will become an official holiday in the United States Jan. 1, 2026.
The five-day celebration, also known as the festival of lights, combines a variety of traditions such as lighting diyas, cooking, and dressing up. Depending on the lunar calendar, Diwali typically occurs in late October through early November. This year, the first day of the celebration was on October 20.
Many South Asian communities around the world participate in Diwali celebrations, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.
“To me personally, Diwali means a way to start new beginnings while leaving the past behind,” said technology operations management student Pavish Patel. “Diwali is a time to introduce some light into your heart and start the year with a bang.”
Leading up to the Diwali celebration, people shop for their families, prepare food and desserts, and decorate their houses. Some popular foods include chirote, karanji, and samos. Decorations consist of firecrackers, fairy lights, candles and diyas.
Diyas are small oil lamps traditionally made of clay. They represent enlightenment, hope, and are often used in religious ceremonies.
Houses are decorated with rangolis, which are drawings made of colored rice, sand or flower petals to summon the goddess Lakshmi to bless their home with wealth and success.
A popular Diwali legend is from the Hindu epic Ramayana, which marks the day Rama, Sita and Lakshmana returned to Ayodhya after 14 years in exile. To celebrate their return, the people of Ayodhya clean their houses and place diyas to light their path.
“My favorite part is being able to dress up and meeting family and friends that we meet after a long time, usually around festival times,” Patel said.
People wear gold, red, and green to symbolize the festival’s themes of light, renewal, prosperity and the triumph of good over evil. Gold is said to bring wealth, red stands for power and energy, and green leads to new beginnings.
“If you ever get a chance to visit India, during Diwali would be the best season,” said engineering management student Pearl Baghel. “Everyone is out on the streets, like how you guys have Thanksgiving, and everyone is with their families. Before that, they are shopping for that holiday. It’s the same vibe.”
While Baghel has celebrated Diwali with her family in India before, she kept tradition alive with friends in her dorm this year. Other CPP students have done the same through Cal Poly Pomona clubs and nearby community events.
“I make sure to embody what my parents taught me and keep those habits day to day,” said business administration management and human resources student Shreyas Murugan.
CPP has put together events for students to celebrate Diwali in past years. However, two major festivals clashed this year, so nothing was planned because of the scheduling error.
“It’s a little different over here because not too many people are there to do it,” Baghel said. “It’s a five-day celebration, but we can’t do it for five days over here because it’s working days.”
Patel, who has attended the CPP Diwali celebration in years past, said he celebrated this year by going to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple in Chino Hills where he often volunteers with friends.
“We celebrate the Diwali festival by volunteering at the temple and helping others get introduced to our culture and celebrations,” Patel said.
The word spiritual is what comes to mind when Patel thinks of Diwali. While many forget the true meaning of Diwali and why it’s celebrated, he said it’s important to understand what the festival truly is.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about being together with the people who matter most and how you celebrate that as a family or as friends,” Patel said.