Diwali 2023 the Festival of Lights held November 12 

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – This year Diwali, the Festival of Lights is celebrated on Sunday 12 November.

Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists. It relates to harvest and new year celebrations and represents new beginnings as well as the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.

Diwali for Hindus commemorates the day of the return of the deities Rama and Sita to Ayodhya after a 14-year exile, as well as the day Mother Goddess Durga defeated the demon, Mahisha.

The citizens celebrated with lighting candles; hence why Diwali is also known as the Festival of Lights. There is great celebration through food and firework displays and it is a time where families get together and exchange gifts. Diwali lasts for five days, marking the start of the Hindu New Year. The Hindu Calendar is 57 years ahead of the Gregorian Calendar used in the Western world so the new Hindu year will be 2080.

Sikhs, meanwhile, celebrate Guru Hargobind’s release from a Mughal Empire prison and return to Amritsar, where residents lit divas (oil lamps) throughout the city to celebrate the occasion.

This celebration coincides with Diwali and is called Bandi Chhorr Divas, which translates to ‘Day of Breaking from False Bonds’. Sikhs light up the Golden Temple and light lamps and candles in other places.