This year, we will celebrate Diwali on 20 October. Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the most colourful and joyful festivals in India. It marks the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.
In this article, Matthew Olili, MHM, shares his personal experience of celebrating Diwali with a Hindu family in Pune, India. He describes the beauty of the lights, the warmth of the people, and the deeper meaning of the festival. As he reflects on the celebrations, he draws thoughtful connections between Diwali and Christmas, showing how both festivals express light, family, and unity. Through his story, we are reminded that, beyond our differences, there is much that brings us together as one human family.
One thing that fascinates me in India is how they play with lights. These people’s mastery of the art of light is at a different level…a higher one. I gather that it is an old tradition. And the best time when the display of light is at its brightest is during Diwali festival, which is the festival of light.
I had an opportunity to celebrate Diwali with the family of Minal and Kiran, a Hindu family in Pune. In their house, they had a statue of a goddess called Kalubai placed on the altar in a special room. They explained to me that she is the 12 kuldevi (ancestral deity) worshiped by their family and by many clans in Maharashtra, the Indian State in which Pune is located. Surrounding her, there were statues of about fifty more gods, including Tuljabhavani, another community deity. Every morning, they would make offerings to the gods and ask for blessings for the day.
As dark descended, the light decorations on the walls, doors and even the interior of houses started stealing the show. And fireworks of various sizes, sounds, colours and patterns lit the sky till about midnight. There were shouts of joy everywhere. It was a celebration of the victory of light over darkness.
I watched in awe, and suddenly a thought struck me: Could there be a similarity between Diwali and Christmas? Are not both of them a celebration of the victory of light over darkness? Isn’t the baby Jesus the light of the world, who is, as Simeon says in Luke 2:32, “a light to enlighten the Gentiles”? And was 25th December not chosen as the day to celebrate Christmas so as to emphasise the same point, as it coincides with the return of longer daylight hours, after the darkest days of winter?
The similarity, however, does not stop at the victory of light over darkness. Both celebrations further reveal that we are a family. On the fifth day of Diwali, there is a ritual to celebrate the bond between brothers and sisters. It is known as Bhai Dooj. Likewise, Christmas reminds us of the invitation to become part of God’s family – a family which includes not only Mary and Joseph but also the shepherds, the animals and the Magi, the latter who were in fact foreigners and outsiders. In other words, it is a family where there is no distinction between classes of people; a family where even the last, the least and the lost are made to feel a sense of belonging. That God is ‘Family’ is the deeper meaning of Trinity.
As Diwali is not complete without gifts and a visit to the temple, my hosts gifted me with a traditional tunic known as Kurta, and insisted that I wear it on our visit to the nearby temple: Bhairavnath temple. This beautiful temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who, in Hinduism, is a manifestation of God. I learned that within the Trimurti, or the Hindu Trinity, God manifests himself as God the Creator in Brahma, God the preserver in Vishnu and God the destroyer in Shiva.
It was soon time to return to the formation house. As I set out on my journey back, I could not but ponder the fact that there is more that unites us than divides us.
Republished from Saint Joseph’s Advocate, Ireland. Originally published in the Autumn 2025 edition.
