Where to celebrate Diwali in the Southland

The Hindu festival is now a state holiday, just in time for this year’s events.

- BY KAREN GARCIA

VOLUNTEER Gunjan Patel tends to a rangoli, a.k.a. colored sand art, as part of a Diwali celebration in 2020.

(ROBERT GAUTHIER Los Angeles Times)

Diwali has been added to California’s official list of statewide holidays, just in time for this year’s festivities.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 268, which places Diwali — also known as Deepavali and the Hindu “Festival of Lights” — on the list of officially observed state holidays. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Diwali falls on Oct. 20, but the date varies each year, similar to Lunar New Year, and is based on the Hindu lunar calendar. Diwali will become the 12th California state holiday.

Others include Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day.

Under the new law, community colleges and public schools can close on Diwali. State employees can also elect to take the day off; certain community colleges and public school employees will get time off with pay on the holiday.