Diwali is an important time in the Hindu calendar. Raj, 14, from Mumbai, celebrates it every year with his family in India. 1 Diwali is a family festival. It's called the 'Festival of Lights'. It's a celebration of the victory of 'good' over 'bad' with special lights or 'diyas', and candles. The family is important in traditional Diwali activities. 2 We usually celebrate Diwali in October or November at the start of the Hindu New Year. The festival is five days of celebrations. 3 It's an international festival, but India's got a bigger Hindu population than any other country, so it's very important there. Other countries with Hindus also celebrate it, for example, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and parts of Europe. 4 It's important for people and their houses to be clean. We also wear the most colourful clothes we can: yellow, red and green. Diwali is a festival of colour! Family is always important to Hindus, but during Diwali it's even more important. People celebrate with their families at home and they eat special meals. It's a wonderful time!