Candles. Fireworks. Sparklers. Poppers. These are just some of the ways to light up a home and a neighborhood during Diwali. The festival of lights, and the beginning of the fiscal year in India, is embraced by communities worldwide. This year it was celebrated on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.
Pushpinderjeet Kaur, a BHS Universal Ninth Grade physics teacher, spent her first Diwali as a kid in Punjab, India. “Diwali is basically the triumph of good over evil, or darkness versus light. It’s a festival of lights. And in almost all religions, they celebrate Diwali in India. So irrespective of if you’re Hindu, Sikh, whatever your religion is. Most people celebrate Diwali,” Kaur said. During Diwali, she lights earthen lamps, or what are called “diyas” in India, and exchanges gifts and goes to temples.
“The culture overall is a little different here. Everybody has work,” Kaur said. In India, there would usually be one person working, and their family could live comfortably. “But here you know, the cost of living is so high that everyone is busy. And we cannot just have so many Diwali parties,” Kaur said.
Samishka Chitnis, a BHS junior, also celebrated Diwali. “We had a party, where we had some classic Indian food and sparklers,” Chitnis said. She was joined by not only her family, but also her neighbors and friends. “It’s a celebration, rather than a religious thing to us. A celebration of positivity and a good year to come,” Chitnis said.
Some traditions that she practices at her house during Diwali are lighting sparklers, lighting diyas, and placing rangoli outside of her house. “Rangoli is colored sand, and so basically, you take this colored sand and make designs with it outside your house,” Chitnis explained.
This year, the BHS South Asian Student Union (SASU) had a celebration for Diwali. They had rangoli, diyas, sweets, and a Bollywood movie playing. Chitnis, who attended the celebration, said, “They did establish that community that they wanted. You know, people of Indian descent who celebrate Diwali came and connected.”
BHS junior Avisha Taneja, who also attended the SASU Diwali celebration, enjoyed the community she felt there. “In such a big school, it’s hard to see the representation of South Asians. In the club, you see them a lot more,” she said.
Diwali can serve as a mode of connection, joy, and happiness in communities. As Kaur put it, “Everyone who is associated with me, either at my work or my neighbors, can feel the positivity (the holiday) spreads.”