If you’ve noticed a lot more colourful lights at night in your neighbourhood lately, it’s likely due to them celebrating Diwali, the annual Hindu festival of lights.
You might be seeing a bit more of it. There are growing calls from Australia’s Indian community to make Diwali, the annual Hindu festival of lights, a public holiday in Australia.
The date it falls on changes each year as it follows what’s known as the lunisolar calendar, which combines the positions of the moon and the sun.
Hindu Council of Australia president Sai Paravastu told 9news he believes Diwali should be made a national holiday, as thousands of Australians from many different backgrounds celebrate it.
“Hindus have come from 32 plus countries to Australia and call Australia home,” he said.
“This would give [others] an opportunity to use the one day off to understand what these people are doing and they can visit our temples to see what we do.
“It gives them the opportunity to understand us more.”
The move would not be totally unprecedented in the Western world, after New York City declared Diwali a public holiday last year.
What do you think? Does this sound like a good idea, or would it create more problems than it solves?
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