The ultimate guide to Deepavali in Singapore

Now, let’s get this cleared up once and for all – Deepavali is not ‘Indian new year’. Deepavali is the Hindu festival of lights, which celebrates the triumph of good over evil, or light over darkness. There are different tales surrounding the origins of Deepavali, but across the board, it involves the defeat of a demon by a deity. For South Indians, the story surrounds the battle between Lord Krishna and demon king Naraka, while for North Indians, it’s Lord Rama who defeated the evil Ravana.

The exact date of Deepavali changes every year, as it is determined by the Hindu lunar calendar, which follows the position of the moon. Generally, Deepavali tends to take place in October, November, or December every year, and has been a gazetted Public Holiday in Singapore since 1929. This year, it falls on November 12 2023, a Sunday, so November 13 has been declared a Public Holiday in lieu of that.

In Singapore, Deepavali is most commonly known as a Hindu festival, though it is also celebrated by the Sikhs and Jains. As Deepavali is a religious festival rather than a cultural one, it is not celebrated by all Indians (as opposed to Chinese New Year, which is observed by all Chinese in Singapore regardless of spiritual belief). Remember that there are also non-Hindu Indians in Singapore – for example, Indian Christians – so do ensure you’re appropriately well-informed before wishing your Indian friends 'Happy Deepavali'.

Those who celebrate Deepavali start preparing for the occasion beforehand by shopping for new clothes, stocking up on festival snacks, and spring-cleaning. Homes are adorned with festive decorations, including clay lamps and kolam rangoli – intricate geometric floor art arrangements made from coloured uncooked rice. These days, some families might opt for kolam stickers instead of creating everything out of scratch using rice just because it’s easier. Usually done right outside the entrance of one’s house, kolam is meant to ward off evil and bring in good luck.

Devotees start off Deepavali morning with prayer rituals, followed by a visit to the temple. Then begins the visits to homes of friends and relatives, where there’s plenty of merrymaking over food.

Little India is most abuzz with activity in the weeks leading up to Deepavali, and the fanfare usually starts with the annual light-up stretching across its streets. 2023’s light-up started on September 30, and will run all the way until December 3. There’s also a Deepavali Food Bazaar this year that’s open from September 25 to November 11, with a plethora of booths hawking Indian delicacies.

Another highlight is a vibrant Deepavali Festival Village with stalls of traditional clothing, tidbits, and crafts, along with music and dance performances. The Festival Village will be open from 10am to 10pm from September 30 to November 9, but hours will be specially extended all the way till 1am on November 10 and 11.

You don’t have to travel all the way to Little India just to immerse yourself in the festive vibes, though. Various neighbourhoods across the island will also have their own Deepavali celebrations with performances, hands-on rangoli workshops, and other cultural immersion activities organised by their respective Community Clubs (CCs).

‘Deepavali’ and ‘Diwali’ basically refer to the same festival, and it’s all just a matter of vernacular. The former is the Tamil term, which is more widely used in Singapore due to the demographic of the Indian population here, of which a majority are of South Indian descent. ‘Diwali’, on the other hand, is a Hindi term more commonly used by North Indians. Both names originate from the Sanskrit phrase for ‘a row of lights’.