This year, Halloween and Diwali overlap with one another. While both of these celebrations fall on the same day, those of us who celebrate both have a unique opportunity to blend these traditions into one amazing and illuminating holiday.
Diwali is the festival of lights, celebrating light’s triumph over evil, and is one of the most important celebrations in Hindu culture. While Halloween is a fixed holiday, Diwali follows the Hindu calendar and is celebrated based on the darkest day of the lunar month, typically occurring between late October and early November. Though Halloween and Diwali rarely coincide, this year, they do. Admittedly, it may seem strange to combine Halloween and Diwali, but it does not take much effort to incorporate aspects of each holiday in a way that is fun and appropriately maintains the traditions of both.
A great way to start is by incorporating Halloween colors into traditional Diwali activities. Make rangolis — patterns on the floor using colored powders, sand or flour — with Halloween colors like orange, purple or black to decorate the entrance to your home. You can decorate the outside of your home, apartment or dorm with basic Halloween decorations and lights, and you can also opt for diyas, which are clay oil lamps typically lit on Diwali.
Extend the celebration into your foods by making special Diwali treats like barfi or coconut ladoos with Halloween molds — like pumpkins, ghosts or bats — for festive fun.
If you’re looking for something to wear to a Halloween event this weekend, create your own Diwali-inspired Halloween costume that adds to traditional sherwanis for men and lehengas for women.
You can even host your own hybrid Diwali-Halloween party that has traditions from both celebrations. Pumpkin carving is a beloved fall activity and is often done to create jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween. In the spirit of this joint celebration, try carving special Diwali symbols like the lotus, elephant and the sacred syllable, om, into your pumpkin. Place candles inside the pumpkins and leave them outside overnight, similar to the tradition of lighting candles or diyas and placing them outside for Diwali.
If you plan on trick-or-treating, decorate your candy bags with Diwali-inspired designs — like rangoli patterns or lotus flowers — to Diwali-fy your Halloween gear. Prepare some sweets including commercial Halloween candies along with Diwali treats like ladoos, kaju katli or mini gulab jamuns.
There are also many free Diwali celebrations in the city you can take advantage of on Nov. 1. Go to the celebration hosted by NYU in the Third Avenue North courtyard, the Diwali Celebration at the South Street Seaport Museum or Diwali in Manhattan at the Bhakti Center to show off your combined celebratory flare.
Whether you celebrate Halloween, Diwali or both, you shouldn’t have to choose between the tricks and treats of Halloween or the lights and laughter of Diwali. This year is a chance to enjoy the best of both worlds by bringing these two celebrations together to create new memories that embrace the diversity of NYU. At the end of the day, both Halloween and Diwali remind us that celebrations are about community, joy and honoring our traditions.
Contact Alessa Alluin at [email protected].