Ask most people when Diwali is and they will name one night. Ask their grandmother and she will name five days, each with its own name, its own story and its own list of jobs. The one night is the third; the other four are how the festival builds up and winds down.
This guide takes the five days in order. For each: what it is called, the story behind it, what is done, what is eaten, and the practical tasks for that day. A schedule at the end puts it all on one page.
The calendar
Diwali is set by the lunar calendar, in the month of Kartik (October–November). The five days run from the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight (Dhanteras) through the new moon (Lakshmi Puja) to the second day of the bright fortnight (Bhai Dooj). In 2026 the sequence falls in the second week of November. Because lunar days do not map neatly to calendar days, some years have a gap of a day in the middle, and the exact dates differ slightly by city; a panchang gives the tithi for where you are.
Day 1: Dhanteras
Name: Dhanteras, Dhantrayodashi, Dhanvantari Jayanti.
Story: the physician of the gods, Dhanvantari, emerged from the churning of the ocean on this day carrying the pot of nectar. Lakshmi is welcomed from today. A folk story about a prince saved from death by lamps and a pile of gold explains the evening lamp for Yama.
What is done: a new metal item is bought and brought home: gold, silver, a steel utensil, a coin. A new broom in many homes. In the evening, a short Lakshmi-Kuber puja and a single diya lit facing south at the door for Yama.
Eaten: nothing specific; the cooking of festival sweets and snacks often begins today.
Practical: the cleaning is finished, the lamps are bought or brought out, the decorating begins. A puja thali or brass lamp bought today is used on day three. Full guide: Dhanteras.
Day 2: Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali)
Name: Naraka Chaturdashi, Choti Diwali (small Diwali), Roop Chaudas, Kali Chaudas in Gujarat, Bhoot Chaturdashi in Bengal.
Story: Krishna (with his wife Satyabhama, in most tellings) killed the demon Narakasura, who had imprisoned sixteen thousand women, and freed them on this day. The demon’s dying wish was that his death be celebrated with lights.
What is done: in south India, especially Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra, this is the Deepavali day: the family rises before dawn, has an oil bath (abhyanga snan, with sesame oil and a herbal scrub), wears new clothes and lights lamps and, where permitted, fireworks in the early morning. In the north it is a rehearsal for the next day: some diyas are lit in the evening, a few sweets are exchanged, and homes are decorated. In Bengal, fourteen lamps are lit for fourteen ancestors and fourteen greens are eaten.
Eaten: the first sweets of the festival; in the south, a full festive breakfast after the oil bath.
Practical: finish the rangoli, hang the toran, place all the diyas with wicks ready. Prepare the puja space for tomorrow. In the south, this is the main day; everything is done by morning.
Day 3: Lakshmi Puja (Diwali)
Name: Diwali, Deepavali, Lakshmi Puja, Kali Puja in Bengal.
Story: Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, emerged from the churning of the ocean on this day, and visits homes on the new-moon night, entering the ones that are clean and lit. In the north, this is also the day Rama returned to Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile, and the city lit lamps to welcome him. In Bengal, the night is for Kali.
What is done: the house is at its cleanest and brightest. In the evening, within the muhurat after sunset, the family performs Lakshmi-Ganesh puja at home; business families bless their account books. After the aarti, every diya in the house is lit from the puja lamp: the doorway, the windows, the balcony, the roof. Sweets are distributed. Doors are left open for a while. Fireworks follow where they are permitted.
Eaten: the full spread of sweets and savouries; a festive dinner; prasad from the puja.
Practical: the preparation checklist covers the morning and afternoon; the step-by-step puja guide covers the evening. The lamp that burns through the night should be a stable brass one, ideally with a glass cover such as the brass akhand diya, on a stone or steel surface with nothing near it.
Day 4: Govardhan Puja / New Year / Padwa
Name: Govardhan Puja, Annakut (north); Bestu Varas, Gujarati New Year (Gujarat); Diwali Padwa, Bali Pratipada (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa); Vishwakarma Puja (Punjab, artisan communities).
Story: Krishna lifted Govardhan hill to shelter the people of Braj from Indra’s storm, after persuading them to offer their feast to the hill and the cows rather than to Indra. In Gujarat, the Vikram Samvat year begins. In the west and south, the generous demon king Bali returns to visit his people.
What is done: a hill of cow dung or clay is worshipped, and a mountain of food (Annakut) is offered and shared. Gujarati families visit temples and elders and open the new account books. Maharashtrian wives perform an aarti for their husbands. Punjabi artisans clean and worship their tools.
Eaten: the Annakut meal; in Gujarat, an open house of sweets and farsan for visitors all day.
Practical: a family meal cooked with care; visits. Full guide: Govardhan Puja and Annakut.
Day 5: Bhai Dooj
Name: Bhai Dooj, Bhau Beej, Bhai Phonta, Bhai Tika, Yama Dwitiya.
Story: Yama visited his sister Yamuna on this day; she welcomed him with a tilak and a meal, and he granted protection to every brother who receives a sister’s tilak on this day. In the west, Krishna visited his sister Subhadra after killing Narakasura.
What is done: the sister applies a tilak to the brother’s forehead, performs an aarti, offers a sweet and feeds him a meal; he gives her a gift. Siblings apart do it by post and video call.
Eaten: the meal the sister cooks, and the last of the Diwali sweets.
Practical: the ceremony takes ten minutes and the thali from Lakshmi puja is reused. Full guide: Bhai Dooj. The lamps are lit one last time in the evening; decorations come down the next day.
A five-day schedule
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Dhanteras | Finish cleaning | Buy metal item, broom, coins; set out lamps | Short Lakshmi-Kuber puja; Yama diya facing south at the door |
| 2 Naraka Chaturdashi | (South) oil bath before dawn, new clothes, lamps, main celebration | Hang toran, draw rangoli, place all diyas with wicks | (North) light some diyas; exchange first sweets; prepare puja space |
| 3 Lakshmi Puja | Bathe, fresh cloth on altar, buy flowers and fruit | Set kalash, idols, thali; fill lamps | Lakshmi-Ganesh puja at muhurat; light every diya from the puja lamp; prasad; doors open |
| 4 Govardhan / New Year | Temple, elders, new account books (Gujarat); aarti for husband (Maharashtra) | Cook and offer the Annakut meal; worship the hill | Visits; lamps lit again |
| 5 Bhai Dooj | Sister prepares thali | Tilak, aarti, gift, meal | Last lighting of lamps |
Regional emphasis
The five-day pattern above is the north Indian one. The emphasis shifts by region:
- South India celebrates mainly on day 2, before dawn, and often does not observe days 4 and 5 in the same way.
- Bengal worships Kali on the night of day 3 and lights lamps for ancestors on day 2.
- Gujarat treats day 4 as New Year and day 3 as the end of the old year, with account books central.
- Maharashtra starts with Vasu Baras (a day for cows) before Dhanteras, making six days, and gives day 4 to couples.
- Nepal celebrates Tihar over the same five days, with days for crows, dogs, cows and Lakshmi before Bhai Tika.
Diwali across India goes through these in detail.
What you need across the five days
Lamps every evening (30 or more clay diyas plus one brass lamp), wicks and oil for five nights, a rangoli at the door from day 2, a toran, the puja kit and thali for day 3, and enough sweets and savouries for visitors from day 2 to day 5. The Diwali budget planner prices this out, and the cleaning and preparation timeline schedules the four weeks before Dhanteras. Lamps and decor are in Diyas & Lights and Home Decor; the puja kit and thali in Puja Essentials.