Deepavali

Deepavali (aka Diwali), the festival of lights, is one of Singapore’s most important Hindu festivals.

It celebrates hope over despair, good over evil, and light over darkness. The Deepavali festival has been celebrated for hundreds of years in India and continues to be celebrated by Singaporeans today.

Preparations for the festival last five days, but the main festival celebrations are on the darkest night of the Kartik, the Hindu Lunisolar month. Before the Deepavali night, Singaporeans clean, decorate and renovate their houses and dress up in their best clothes during the hour of celebration. They also light up diyas, candles or lamps inside or outside their houses, exchange gifts, and give away sweets to children.

Another traditional way to celebrate Deepavali is to paint your hands with henna art, a temporary tattoo made from the henna plant.

This festival is intensely celebrated in Little India. During the festival, the streets of Little India are decorated in many different colours and lit up with thousands of lights. Numerous traditional and cultural activities are also held in Little India, such as street parades, Indian craft and heritage exhibitions, and countdown concerts.

Stalls and stores in the streets are decorated with fragrant flowers, traditional oil lamps, garlands, glittering gems and beautiful saris. You can also find traditional Indian outfits, costume jewellery, crafts, and arts for sale.

If you are into rich Indian culture, come to Little India, take your place in any of the coffee shops, and order yourself a teh tarik, a frothy milk tea. Sit and enjoy the colourful celebration and the lively crowd filling the streets.