Festival of lights
Diwali 2026: Sunday, 8 November 2026
Dates and venues checked against the organisers’ own pages on .
Diwali 2026 in the Netherlands is on Sunday, 8 November 2026. The biggest public celebration is the Diwali Festival Amstelveen on 31 October.
The Netherlands has two Diwali traditions. The older is Divali, kept by the Surinamese-Hindustani community — the largest Hindu community in the country — in the temples and community centres of The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam Zuidoost. The newer is the Indian expat community’s, whose biggest day is the free Diwali Festival Amstelveen on the Stadsplein: on Saturday 31 October 2026, a week before Diwali itself on Sunday 8 November.
Around The Hague, the Maitri Foundation’s free Diwali Festival at De Broodfabriek in Rijswijk runs from noon to seven with ceremonies, music, dance and food. Consumer fireworks may only be set off around New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands, so Diwali here is lit with diyas, candles and lanterns.
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 31 October | Diwali Festival Amstelveen | Stadsplein, Amstelveen |
| Sunday, 8 November | Diwali itself | Homes, temples and community dinners across the country |
Friday, 6 November
Dhanteras
Saturday, 7 November
Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali)
Sunday, 8 November
Diwali — Lakshmi Puja
Monday, 9 November
Govardhan Puja and Annakut
Tuesday, 10 November
Bhai Dooj
The Indian expat community’s biggest Diwali in the Netherlands, now in its second decade: a large tent on the city square with food from the best-known Indian restaurants around Amsterdam, market stalls, and dance and music from across India.
Visit Amstelveen ↗A family day from noon to seven with traditional ceremonies, lanterns, music, dance and Indian food, organised by the Maitri Foundation.
De Broodfabriek ↗Amstelveen is the heart of the Indian expat community and its Diwali Festival on the Stadsplein (31 October 2026) is the big day. In Amsterdam Zuidoost the Surinamese-Hindustani mandirs keep Divali on the date itself.
The Hague has the largest Hindustani community in the Netherlands and keeps Divali in its temples and community centres; the free festival at De Broodfabriek in neighbouring Rijswijk is the biggest public celebration in the area.
The Hindustani temples in Rotterdam, and the Indian associations and tech-company communities in Utrecht and Eindhoven, hold Diwali evenings on the weekends around 8 November.
Once a week, and only when something new is on within 10 km of where you live — garba nights, Diwali melas, meetups, concerts. Free, and one click switches it off.
The Namaste Community app finds everything around you in the Netherlands and in every other country — free.
The biggest night of the Indian year: lamps, sweets, new clothes and fireworks. Abroad it is celebrated over the surrounding weekends, with one large public event in most big cities.
Diwali marks the return of Rama to Ayodhya and the victory of light over darkness; for many families it is also the day of Lakshmi Puja and the start of a new business year. Homes are cleaned and lit with diyas, sweets are exchanged, and the evening ends with fireworks.
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