Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, which is celebrated every Autumn in the northern hemisphere. One of the most popular festival of Hinduism, Diwali symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. During the celebration, temples, shops, homes, and office buildings are brightly illuminated. The preparations, and rituals, for the festival typically last five days, with the climax occuring on the third day coinciding with the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar month kartika. In the gregorian calendar, the festival generally falls between mid-October and mid -november.
In the lead-up to Diwali celebrants will prepare by cleaning, renovating and decorating their homes and workplaces. During the climax, revellers adorn themselves in their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with diyas or candles, offer puja to Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth, light fireworks, partake in family feasts, where sweets and gifts are shared. Diwali is also a major cultural event for the Hindu and Jain diaspora from the Indian subcontinent.