What is the Diwali festival and how is it celebrated?

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES
By Ismat Sarah Mangla
Hindu devotees light oil lamps during the Diwali festival, on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern Indian city of Allahabad on November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
INDIA---Diwali, also known as Deepawali, is the five-day Indian festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists around the world. While the holiday is observed by people of different faiths for different reasons, they all acknowledge its underlying theme: the victory of good over evil and the triumph of light over darkness. People clean and decorate their homes with oil lamps and strings of lights, light fireworks, give each other gifts and sweets and construct elaborate rangolis, a type of folk art created on the floor with colored sand, rice or flower petals. This year, Diwali starts on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and ends the following Sunday. [link]