Where can you celebrate Diwali or Durga Puja in Germany this year?

October 9th-13th: Durga Puja

The Durga Puja festival, which celebrates Durga, one of the aspects of the Hindu mother goddess Mahadevi, is the most important festival of the year for India's Bengali community and sees the entire city of Kolkata shut down for a ten-day carnival.

In 2021, it was declared part of the "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" by the UN's cultural agency UNESCO. 

As the size of Indian communities in Germany have grown, so has the scale of celebrations for festivals like Durga Puja and Diwali. 

READ ALSO: Indians in Germany: Who are they and where do they live?

Cologne has a big Durga Puja celebration – known to be among Europe’s biggest pujas – organised by the city’s Indischer Kulturverein. According to information on the event website, celebrations are taking place from October 9th to the 13th at Bezirksrathaus in the Chorweiler suburb of Cologne. Guests are requested to make a €15 donation per adult per day, which includes Darshan, Aarti, Prasad, lunch and dinner. You can register here.

Düsseldorf also has its own Durga Puja event which you can find here.

Frankfurt’s Rhein-Main Bengali Cultural Association also puts on Durga Puja celebrations which start each day at 11am from October 9th to 11th.

In Berlin, the Berliner Bengalis invite you to partake in daily Durga Puja activities this week. Cultural programs begin at 10:00 am with a morning puja, and end with prasad at 8:00 pm. More information on the Berliner Bengalis website.

And in Munich, you can freely join Durga Puja festivities arranged by the Indo-German Cultural Association each day from October 10th to the 13th. Attendance is free, but you are asked to register in advance. Event organisers note that the venue has changed from previous years – you’ll find this year’s puja at Anton-Böck-Straße 31, 81249 Munich. 

And in Baden-Württemberg, you can find information on Stuttgart’s celebration here.

October 31st: Diwali

Diwali is the five-day long festival of lights celebrated in autumn in India and by Hindus, Sikhs, and some Buddhists around the world. In 2024, Diwali Day, the final day of the celebration, falls on October 31st.

Diwali takes its name from the clay lamps, or deepa, that are traditionally placed in a line outside of homes during the holiday. The holiday is also sometimes called Deepavali. 

It’s also marked by ornate rangoli decorations laid on the floor, fireworks, and of course plenty of dance and food.

The festival lasts five days, with specific rituals and activities assigned to each day, beginning with cleaning the house on the first day and decorating it, usually with clay lamps and patterns of coloured sand, on the second. The third day is when families meet for prayer and food, and the fourth day is seen as the start of the new year, with friends and relatives visiting each other with gifts. On the fifth and final day, it's traditional for brothers to visit their married sisters and for the sisters' family to welcome them with a meal.

As the days shorten in Germany, Diwali reminds those who celebrate that light triumphs over darkness – as does good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair.

Diwali celebrations start on October 27th in Düsseldorf this year, with a dinner hosted by the Bihar Fraternity. More information, including a phone number for registration, is found here.

This year’s Diwali Mela party takes place in Cologne on November 2nd. The event lasts through the night – from 6pm to 4am – and includes a number of music acts as well as acrobatics and Bollywood dance shows. Tickets are €15.

The Indian Students Association of Bonn-Cologne is also hosting an event on November 2nd, which is to include cultural performances, games, music and food.

In Berlin, you can celebrate the Indian festival of lights in the heart of the city at Sage Beach on Saturday November 2nd. 

Additionally, on Sunday November 3rd, from 3:00 to 8:00 pm, there will be public celebrations at the Sri Ganesha Hindi Temple by Hasenheide Park. The evening will be filled with traditional live music, dance, snacks and a lights display. 

In Munich, there will be a Diwali Bollywood Night which includes food as well of an abundance of music and dance, on October 26th from 6:30 pm until late.

Then, after the other celebrations have ended, there is one last chance to celebrate Diwali with the 4D (Diwali, Dandiya, DJ, Dhamaka) dance party on November 9th. This event, hosted by the Indo-German Cultural Association, starts at 4:30 pm and costs €12.

And for those living further north, there is the Navratri & Diwali Fest in Bremen scheduled for Saturday, November 2nd from 5:00 pm.

READ ALSO:

• How Indians can protect their residency rights in India after becoming German
• The five most common challenges Indians face in Germany