Today marks the first day of Diwali (there are 5 days), it's called Dhanteras and it's the day that is marked as auspicious for buying gold and silver jewellery or coins as well as metal good for your home such as pots and pans.
For the occasion, I uploaded a free Diwali phone wallpaper set in the freebie zone today.
This year there is a bit of a division over when Diwali's main day is (the 3rd day), the one that is all about the Lakshmi puja.
The government has marked it as a public Holiday on November 1st, but according to the lunar calendar it starts on the 31st and end at around 6.15pm on the 1st which for those living on the west coast means the puja can't take place on the 1st because the sun would set after the end time for the auspicious moon. Lakshmi Puja always take place after sunset and the sun set much later in Mumbai than it does in central India, leave alone the east coast.
Some people refer to this as a "split Diwali" with some communities celebrating it on one day and the others on the second date. All in all that will mean more fireworks and crackers being burst in Mumbai as people tend to follow the tradition from their community and regions regardless of the sunset and auspicious moon dates and times. For me, it marks the culmination of the first wave of the festive season since I am in an intercultural marriage with my husband being Indian and Hindu, and me being Swiss. I'm not religious at all but Christmas holds a special, secular and cultural spot in my heart and December will mark the start of all things festive from my culture. I usually take November as a kind of breather between the two festive seasons and to wrap things us before we ring in the new year. Right now, that means finishing the 2025 calendar design which will go for sale on Patreon in a few weeks and reflecting on my 2024 achievements in order to plan the next year's worth of goals.
Wishing you all a Happy Diwali
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