Diwali in South Africa

South Africa, officially known as the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north; Mozambique and Swaziland to the east; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.

Diwali Celebrations in South Africa

South Africa has three capital cities: Cape Town is the legislative capital; Pretoria is the administrative capital and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital, while Johannesburg is the largest city of the nation.

South Africa is a multi-ethnic society and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognized in the constitution of the country.

About 80% of the South African population is of black African ancestry. South Africa also contains the largest communities of European, Asian, and racially mixed ancestry in Africa.

South Africa has a large number of immigrant Indian community which today account for almost one million in the country. These ethinic Indians are mainy located in KwaZulu, Natal, Transvaal and Gauteng provinces.

Of these, approximately 65% are Hindus, 15% are Muslims and 20% are Christians. Hence Diwali is celebrated in South Africa.

Diwali celebrations are noticeable in cities like Durban, Soweto, Umlazi, Katlehong, Tembisa, etc.

Diwali in South Africa :

Diwali in South Africa

Indians in South Africa celebrate Diwali in the similar way as it is celebrated in India. Most of the Hindus here are from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and hence they celebrate Diwali the way it is celebrated in those regions.

Just like in India, Hindu’s in South Africa clean their homes prior to Diwali. During Diwali they decorate their homes with lights and diya’s, eat lots of sweets and delicious foods, make beautiful rangoli’s outside their homes, burst crackers and spend time with friends and family members.

Here also people celebrate all five days of Diwali.

In some cities like Durban and Capetown, Diwali fairs are setup where people get all the stuff related to Diwali.
