Diwali Falls on Sunday 8th November, and After Storms Cancelled Trafalgar Square, London Celebrates at Home

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, falls on Sunday 8th November for Hindu, Sikh and Jain families across London. In most years the city marks it in public weeks in advance, with a free celebration in Trafalgar Square. This year that celebration never happened, so the light belongs to homes, temples and neighbourhoods.

Storms closed Trafalgar Square before the stage was built

Diwali on the Square was due to take place on Sunday 25th October. The Mayor of London stages it each year with the Diwali in London committee, a volunteer group of 13 organisations, and this year's programme opened with 200 dancers in the centre of the square, followed by music, storytelling, yoga and craft workshops.

On Saturday 24th October the committee called it off. Independent health and safety advisers warned that the storms forecast for that weekend made it unsafe for crews to build the site, as Storm Boelo, the second named storm of the season, brought gales across much of the UK. The committee asked visitors to stay away and said it was particularly sorry for the young performers and volunteers who had spent months rehearsing.

One night, three faiths and many stories

For many Hindu families, Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Rama to the city of Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile, when people lined the streets with lamps to light his way home. It also honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune, who families welcome into clean, bright homes. The festival spans five days, beginning with Dhanteras on Friday 6th November, and the main night of Lakshmi Puja falls on Sunday 8th November.

Sikhs celebrate the same night as Bandi Chhor Divas, the Day of Liberation. It marks the release of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, from Gwalior Fort in 1619, and the 52 imprisoned kings he insisted be freed with him. At the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the celebration lights up the whole complex.

For Jains, Diwali marks the final liberation of Mahavira, the last of their great spiritual teachers, and many spend the days around it in prayer and fasting.

Lamps, colour and sweets on Sunday night

In the days before Diwali, families clean and decorate their homes. On the night, small clay oil lamps and candles fill windows and doorsteps, and many households draw rangoli, bright patterns of coloured powder, at the front door to welcome good fortune. People dress in new clothes, share large family meals and carry boxes of sweets to friends and neighbours. Fireworks follow after dark, and the law in England allows them until 1am on Diwali night.

Neasden, Southall and Wembley shine brightest

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, a Hindu temple carved from limestone and marble and opened in 1995, draws thousands of visitors over Diwali and the Hindu New Year that follows, when the temple lays out a vast offering of vegetarian dishes. In Southall, the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha on Havelock Road, one of the largest Sikh temples outside India, marks Bandi Chhor Divas with hymns and a free community meal served to anyone who walks through the door. Ealing Road in Wembley and The Broadway in Southall fill with shoppers buying sweets, lamps and gifts in the days before.

Visitors are welcome at both temples, though opening times change over the festival, so check before you travel. In a gurdwara you cover your head and remove your shoes, and in a mandir you remove your shoes before entering.

A two-word greeting that means a great deal

If a neighbour or colleague is celebrating, wish them a happy Diwali. It costs you nothing and it means a great deal. For Sikh friends, a happy Bandi Chhor Divas shows you know the day carries its own story.

Diwali in London at a glance

• Dhanteras: Friday 6th November
• Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas: Sunday 8th November
• Fireworks curfew in England on Diwali night: 1am
• Trafalgar Square celebration: cancelled this year