This year, Diwali falls on Sunday, Nov. 8. Three weeks later, on Nov. 29, many churches will light the first candle of Advent. Both seasons set a small flame against the long nights of late autumn, each by its own calendar.
I write from Kathmandu, where the festival is called Tihar. What follows is a plain description of what a Hindu household does on Diwali night and why. I will leave the comparisons to you.
The darkest night of the month
The Hindu calendar follows the moon. Each lunar month has a bright half, when the moon grows toward full, and a dark half, when it shrinks toward the new moon. Diwali is kept on the new moon night in the autumn, when no moon rises at all.
The choice is deliberate. Many Hindu festivals are set on a full moon, when the night already is bright. Diwali falls on the one night of the month with no moonlight, so each household lights its own lamps.
The date moves from year to year because it follows the moon. In 2026, it falls on Nov. 8 in both North America and India. In 2027, the two split by a day: Oct. 28 in New York and Oct. 29 in Pune. Each city’s almanac follows its own local sky.
What the lamp is
The traditional Diwali lamp is a diya, a small cl...