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One of India’s most visually stunning festivals is being celebrated this week. Diwali , the five day festival of light, is traditionally celebrated on the third day of the festival, which this year falls today.
The festival is celebrated by a range of religions, including Jains, Sikhs and Hindus. Celebrations focus on light using firework displays and decorating houses in traditional rangoli artwork, as well as giving to charity.
The first day of the festival, Tuesday 21 October, was dedicated to wealth, and across India shops were bustling with customers eager to celebrate wealth by purchasing new products, and on the second day demon effigies were burnt across the country. Tomorrow merchants will offer prayers along with the opening of new accounts. On the final day brothers and sisters come together to share food to honour their bond.
Show all 34 1 /34In pictures: Festival of Diwali In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian Sikh devotees gather at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on October 23, 2014
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian Sikh devotees gather in Amritsar on October 23, 2014
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival An Indian Sikh Nihang (traditional religious warrior) poses during Diwali
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival A Bhutanese child plays with a sparkler ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali in Thimphu
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian residents light candles and lamps at the Madan Mohan Malviya stadium on the eve of the Hindu festival Diwali in Allahabad on October 22, 2014
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian Sikh devotees gather on the eve of Bandi Chhor Divas, or Diwali, at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on October 22, 2014
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival A Malaysian Hindu holy man blesses a girl during Diwali or Deepavali celebrations in Kuala Lumpur
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian widows wave sparklers as they participate in a celebration for the Hindu festival Diwali on the banks of the Yamuna river in the northern city of Vrindavan
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival An Indian widow holds a lit earthen lamp on the banks of the Yamuna river during a celebration for the Hindu festival Diwali in the northern city of Vrindavan
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian widows light earthen lamps and use sparklers as they celebrate Diwali at the Mahila ashramon in Vrindavan
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival An Indian child, the daughter of a roadside vendor, sits among statues of Hindu Goddess Lakshmi, who represents wealth, at a stall ahead of Diwali in Hyderabad
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival South Indian film actress Marisa Verma poses during a photoshoot ahead of Diwali in Mumbai
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian shoppers browse decorative items at roadside stalls ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Allahabad
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian women pose with earthen lamps ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Siliguri
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In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian widows wave sparklers as they participate in a celebration for the Hindu festival Diwali on the banks of the Yamuna river in the northern city of Vrindavan
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian residents light candles and lamps at the Madan Mohan Malviya stadium on the eve of the Hindu festival Diwali in Allahabad
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Firecrackers light up the sky as people celebrate Diwali festival in Mumbai, India
AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Widows, who have been abandoned by their families, light sparklers after offering prayers on the banks of the river Yamuna as part of Diwali celebrations organised by non-governmental organisation Sulabh International in Vrindavan, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
REUTERS/Ahmad Masood
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival A man installs a light next to a Sadhu or a Hindu holyman watching widows, who have been abandoned by their families, offering prayers as part of Diwali celebrations organised by non-governmental organisation Sulabh International in Vrindavan, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival A Tamil devotee prays during a religious ceremony to celebrate Diwali at Ponnambalavaneshwaram Hindu temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian vendors await customers at a flower market ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights in Hyderabad, India
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival A woman picks marigold flowers in the fields before sending them to the market to be made into garlands which will be offered during prayers for the Tihar festival, also known as Diwali, in Kathmandu
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival A devotee is kicked in the face as she crawls under a cow during a religious ceremony in Kathmandu. Hindus all over Nepal are celebrating the Tihar festival, also called Diwali, during which they worship cows, which are considered a maternal figure, and other animals. Also known as the festival of lights, devotees also worship the goddess of wealth Laxmi by illuminating and decorating their homes using garlands, oil lamps, candles and colourful light bulbs
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival A police dog licks its face after receiving food during the dog festival, as part of celebrations of Tihar at Nepal Police Academy in Kathmandu
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival A police officer sprinkles colored powder onto a police dog at Nepal's Central Police Dog Training School as part of the Diwali festival, also known as Tihar Festival, in Kathmandu, Nepal
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival An Indian man dressed as monkey god Hanuman blesses bystanders as he participates in a procession on the eve of Diwali in Allahabad, India
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival An Indian vendor arranges colorful laterns at a market ahead of the Diwali festival in Mumbai, India
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Customers shop for lanterns at a roadside Diwali market in Mumbai
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Hindu devotees offer prayers during Diwali, or the Hindu festival of lights, at Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Indian artists from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh state, wait backstage ahead of their performance during the week-long traditional performance of the Ramayana epic, Shri Ramleela Utsav or 'Lord Rama's Play Festival', in Bhopal, India. The event is being organised by the Madhya Pradesh state Cultural Department on the occasion of the Diwali festival
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival Children play at a temple during Diwali or Deepavali celebrations at a temple in Kuala Lumpur
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival An Indian man dips earthen lamps in paint during preparations for the upcoming Diwali festival in New Delhi, India
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival An Indian potter prepares clay lanterns used during Diwali celebrations ahead of the forthcoming Hindu festival in Jalandhar
In pictures: Festival of Diwali Diwali festival 21 October 2013: A worker paints earthen lamps ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali in Kolkata. Earthen lamps are sold in large numbers during Diwali, the annual Hindu festival of lights, as people use them to decorate their homes
Reuters
On Sunday 12 October Trafalgar Square hosted Diwali celebrations in the capital, bringing traditional Diwali sights, sounds and tastes to London. A Diwali street market was set up, selling jewellery, foods, clothes and sweets. Elsewhere, the Diwali Zone sought to provide a history of the festival to Londoners. The Diwali In London Committee, bringing together fourteen different organisations, helped to organise the celebrations in the Capital, while in Leicester’s Golden Mile another Diwali celebration occurred with fireworks and light-based celebrations throughout the night.
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