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Diwali
The festival of lights: new clothes, lamps and Lakshmi puja, with silk and zari sarees bought for the season.
What is worn for Diwali
Diwali, the festival of lights, is kept across India and in Indian communities abroad. On the new moon night families light lamps, pray to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and share sweets. New clothes are an old part of the festival, and sarees are bought in the weeks before: silk and zari in the south, Banarasi and other brocades in the north, and bright festive cotton and georgette everywhere. Many women wear a new saree for the evening puja, and families dress up to visit each other. Colours are free, with red, gold, green and deep pink all common, and jewellery is brought out to match.
The sarees
Also part of it, and being written: Kanchipuram sari (The heavy silk of Tamil Nadu, bought and worn for Deepavali in the south.).
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Diwali" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Banarasi sari: Ekabhishek, CC BY-SA 3.0, source