Diwali reaches its main day on Sunday, 8 November 2026. Also known as Deepavali, the festival is celebrated over five days, with dates that shift each year. The Melbourne Cricket Ground lists this year’s observance from Friday, 6 November, to Tuesday, 10 November.

The name Deepavali refers to a row of lamps. Clay oil lamps, called diyas, are a familiar sight during the festival and symbolise light overcoming darkness. Different communities and families mark the occasion in their own ways, so the customs a visitor sees can vary from one celebration to the next.

At home, rangoli patterns can turn a doorway or floor into a colourful welcome. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art notes that the designs, also known as koolam in Tamil, are associated with good luck.

Food is another part of the celebration. Families may exchange mithai, a broad term for sweets. Food & Wine’s collection for the festival also includes savoury dishes such as pani puri, with crisp shells and a spicy mint-water filling.

In Melbourne, the MCG has a Diwali photo display at Gate 3 and is offering free masala chai there from 10 am to noon on 7–9 November, while stocks last. The Old Treasury Building’s Diwali lighting display runs through 8 November.