Deepavali / Diwali தீபாவளி
Dates in the Tamil calendar, 2025–2028 (Chennai).
Next Deepavali / Diwali
Every year
| 2025 | Monday, 20 October 2025 |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday, 8 November 2026 |
| 2027 | Thursday, 28 October 2027 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, 17 October 2028 |
About the festival
Deepavali, from the Sanskrit for 'row of lamps', is a festival of lights that symbolises the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.1,2,3
In Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in southern India it commemorates Krishna's defeat of the demon Narakasura (with Satyabhama, in the Tamil telling), and it is celebrated on Naraka Chaturdashi, the day before the new-moon night that is the main day in much of northern India.1,2,4,5
The Tamil celebration begins with an oil bath before sunrise, traditionally likened to bathing in the Ganga, after which people wear new clothes, offer puja, enjoy sweets and savouries, and light lamps and firecrackers.2,6
A couple's first Deepavali after marriage is known as Thala Deepavali, an occasion on which the newlyweds receive blessings and gifts.2
When it falls: In Tamil Nadu, Deepavali is observed on Naraka Chaturdashi, the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight (Krishna Chaturdashi) preceding the Amavasya of the lunar month Ashvina in the amanta reckoning (Kartika in the purnimanta reckoning), in October or November.1,4,5