Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is one of the most popular holidays in India and in Hindu communities around the world. The festival of Diwali is celebrated over five consecutive days during the month of Kartika in the Hindu lunar calendar, and usually falls on October or November.

The word Diwali comes from the Sanskrit word Deepavali, which means “rows of lights”. Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Rama from his exile in the island of Lanka, where he travelled to rescue his beloved Sita from captivity by Lanka’s evil demon king Ravana. As Rama and Sita returned home to the north Indian town of Ayodhya, the townspeople lit small oil lamps, or diyas, to welcome them home. The tradition continues to this day, as Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness and of good over evil. But Diwali could also be called the Festival of Fireworks.

Fireworks and firecrackers are one of the most popular ways of celebrating Diwali, especially in India. People of all ages, from children to senior citizens, join in setting off fireworks and firecrackers during Diwali. The louder the fireworks are, the better, and there is little in terms of noise limits in India.

India does have regulations regarding the selling of fireworks, but these are rarely respected, and as the selling of fireworks is not monitored, young children can buy fireworks that would be banned from under-18’s in many Western countries. Attitude towards firework safety is extremely relaxed in India, so much so that every year Diwali celebrations are accompanied by newspaper headlines about people having been severely injured in firework-related accidents. The injured are often women and children, as many accidents happen at home.

To Western visitors in India Diwali can be a trying time. Sleeping becomes impossible as fireworks go off throughout the night, and city streets are covered with a thick smoke that can make breathing a challenge to those who suffer from respiratory problems. To a Westerner, used to strict safety regulations and age limits regarding fireworks, it can be a shock to see a small Indian child playing with firecrackers in the middle of the street, happily encouraged by his mother.

Illegal firework factories spring up in India before Diwali, and they often employ children from poor families to work long hours in dangerous conditions for little money. In the run-up to last year’s Diwali celebrations at least 27 people, including 12 children, died in an explosion at an illegal fireworks factory in India’s Rajasthan. According to the Frontline Magazine, 43 people died and several were injured in explosions at different firework-producing factories in Tamil Nadu, South India, during July and August this year.

The annual tradition of spending large sums of money on fireworks in India, a country that still suffers from widespread poverty despite of recent economic growth, is also sometimes criticized, but without much effect to the popularity of fireworks during Diwali.

Sky News: Indian Firework Factory Blows Up (23/10/2008)

ThaIndian News: This Diwali, a 24-hour Helpline for Burn Injuries (07/10/2009

Danger Zone. Frontline, 18/2009