Diwali special: Not just India, these foreign countries also celebrate the festival

The festival of lights, Diwali, is here! One of the biggest festivals in India, where people belonging to Hinduism celebrate the belief in the homecoming of Lord Rama with his wife Sita after 14 years in exile. The festival is marked by decorations, delicious dishes, and many other festivities. However, did you know that apart from India, there are a few countries that celebrate the festival with the same enthusiasm and fervour?

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In Nepal, Diwali is known as ‘Tihar’ and lasts for a period of 5 days. In this festival, people not only worship gods but also the animals.

Each year, on the second day of the five-day Diwali celebrations in Nepal, the country celebrates Kukur Tihar or "day of the dogs" by worshipping man's four-legged friend. On this day, dogs are worshipped early in the morning and adorned with flowers and vermillion tikka.

Indonesia does not have a fair share of the Indian population, but the island of Bali is famous for celebrating the festival of Diwali. The majority of the population here is of Indian descent and follows the same rituals as India, where people burn crackers, release lanterns and perform other rituals.

Deepavali, which means the festival of lights, is one of the most important Hindu festivals celebrated in Singapore. Several Hindus reside in the sovereign island city.

In fact, there is a region called ‘Little India’ where all people of Indian descent come together to celebrate the festival of lights, however, without crackers.

In Malaysia, Diwali is popularly called ‘Hari Diwali’, meaning ‘Green Diwali’, due to the ban on fireworks in the country. Though crackers are an integral part of the festivity, the brightly-lit diyas and lamps compensate for it and complete the missing piece.

Diwali in Malaysia is a public holiday and is the most prominently celebrated festival of the Hindus, who constitute about 8% of its population. Although Islam is the official religion here.

Diwali is one of the prominent festivals in Sri Lanka. They celebrate Diwali for five days just like in India. The festival of lights is famously celebrated by the Hindu Tamil communities residing in the country.

The celebrations include fireworks, the lighting of oil lamps, rituals, and the distribution of sweets.

Diwali is celebrated as a public holiday in Fiji. With a huge population of Hindus living in the country, the island country, which lies about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand, celebrates the festival of light with the same passion and zeal as it is celebrated in India.

Celebrated all over the country, people enjoy its joyful and cultural aspects with traditional goodwill and rituals