Diwali, the vibrant festival of lights celebrated in Hinduism and other religions, will become an official state holiday in California next year.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new law on Monday as South Asian Americans in the Bay Area prepare to celebrate Diwali later this month. Throngs of celebrants are expected to participate in community festivals and offer prayers at Hindu temples.

The new law was sponsored by Democratic state Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who represents part of San Jose. Starting in 2026, public schools and community colleges will be able to close on Diwali, and state employees can choose to take the day off with pay.

The new state holiday “will uplift its message to the hundreds of thousands of Californians that celebrate and help introduce it to many throughout our diverse state,” Kalra said in a September statement. “Diwali brings communities together with the message of goodwill, peace and shared sense of renewal. California should embrace Diwali and its diversity, not keep it hidden in darkness.”

California has the largest Indian American population among the states at nearly 900,000. This year’s Diwali starts on Oct. 20. The holiday begins on the 15th day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu lunar calendar, which usually falls in October or November.

Gopala Ajjarapu, president of Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Devasthanam, a Hindu temple in Milpitas, said the new state law makes him “proud and happy.” It’s a sign the U.S., a “country of immigrants,” is becoming “even more inclusive,” he said.

In the Bay Area, Diwali is an important holiday for South Asian Americans. Celebrants exchange gifts and light lamps that symbolize the triumph of good over evil. Adherents of Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism also celebrate variations on Diwali. A billion people worldwide celebrate each year, and it’s the most important festival of the year in India.

The Milpitas temple is already adorned with lights, Ajjarapu said. For Diwali, thousands will cycle through the temple during a pooja, he said. Observers will offer prayers to the goddess Lakshmi, believed to be an incarnation of divine powers, Ajjarapu said.

Next year, parents with kids in public schools will have to wait and see if school boards take advantage of the new holiday.

Public schools are required to shutter for some holidays including New Year’s Day, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. The new state law gives school boards the ability to give teachers and students the day off for Diwali as well, but it doesn’t require them to. School boards can already make that choice for Genocide Remembrance Day in April and Native American Day in September.

“I think this is a great way of recognizing a global festival,” Fremont resident Ramesh Konda, of the Association of Indo Americans, said of the new law.

The group is behind the Bay Area Diwali festival, which takes place Saturday at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. That’s slated to include dancing, fireworks, games and the ceremonial burning of a 40-foot effigy of Ravana, a villain in Hindu mythology.

Konda said all are welcome.

“We consider this an opportunity to bring every community together,” he said.

California follows Pennsylvania last year in U.S. states declaring Diwali a state holiday. Connecticut adopted legislation in August officially observing Diwali.

According to a state Senate legislative analyst’s report, existing California law recognizes more than a dozen other holidays in some form, with dates aligned with celebrations of: New Year’s Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln Day, Washington Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Genocide Remembrance Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Admission Day, Native American Day, Indigenous People’s Day (Columbus Day),  Veterans Day, Christmas and Good Friday.

Originally Published: October 8, 2025 at 12:14 PM PDT