Indians across the world celebrated the Diwali festival amid the ongoing concerns over the Covid pandemic and air pollution.

Celebrated typically by social gatherings, plus sharing food gifts with family and friends, many lit oil lamps or candles to symbolize the victory of light over darkness, as well as fireworks, which was set off as part of the celebrations.

One of the most popular holidays in the Indian calendar, the five-day festival of lights was highlighted with prayers to the Hindu goddess of wealth, with celebrations centring on the return of Rama and Sita, two deities, to Ayodhya, an ancient city in India, after being exiled. Sikhs, Jains and even Buddhists have their own lore surrounding the holiday.  

The main activities during the holy holiday include cleaning house, buying new furnishings and exchanging gifts with loved ones. It also centres on traditions such as buying new kitchen utensils to help bring good fortune, as well as other practices to attract the goodwill of spirits.

Diwali, or Deepawali, gets its name from the Sanskrit word deepavali, which means "row of clay lamps." Many people in India will light these lamps outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects them from spiritual darkness, in tune with a holiday that is an ode to the triumph of good over evil.

The Diwali holiday overlaps with the Hindu New Year and as a result, it is associated with a chance to reset and start anew.