Diwali, one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, lasts for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of Karttika (October- November).
The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning “row of lights." The five-day long festival originated in the Indian subcontinent and is mentioned in early Sanskrit texts.
Diwali is celebrated enthusiastically across the globe and philatelic community around the world contributes in making it more colorful.
On October 7, 2008, India Post issued commemorative stamps to celebrate the Festival of Diwali.
Stamps were also available in miniature sheets and one million such sheets were printed. Each stamp had denomination value of 500 paisa.
Along with this, two more stamps were issued to celebrate the festival of Durga Pooja and Dusshera.
The first ever joint issue of Diwali stamps is a symbol of friendship between India and Canada, as well as a contribution of Indian diaspora to Canada's multicultural fabric.
These stamps were issued on September 21, 2017.
The denomination of stamps is 2500 paisa and 500 paisa.
The US Postal Service (USPS) commemorated the Hindu festival of Diwali by dedicating the Diwali Forever stamp.
The stamp shows a photo of a traditional 'diya' lit against a sparkling gold background and the words 'Forever USA 2016' written below.
The stamps were first issued on October 5, 2016 along with a First-day-issue-of-dedication ceremony, held in New York, NY.
The United Nations Postal Administration issued a special event sheet on October 28,2018 to commemorate the festival of Diwali.
The sheet in the denomination of $1.15 contains ten stamps and tabs featuring festive lights and the symbolic lamp show known as diyas.
The background of the sheet features the United Nations Headquarters building illuminated with the message of "Happy Diwali" to celebrate the spirit of the festival.
On November 5, 2012, a joint issue of Diwali and Hannukah stamps were issued by India and Israel.
The occasion was to commemorate 20 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel.
The denomination of each stamp was 500 paisa.
Sri Lanka Philatelic Bureau Of Department Of Posts issued a stamp to commemorate the festival of Diwali.
The stamps were issued on October 10, 2015, and each stamp had denomination value of 1000 paisa.
Finally, here is a montage of other Diwali postage stamps issued by different countries like Singapore and Fiji, to commemorate the beautiful festival of lights.