'Diwaleen': How to do Diwali and Halloween together

For the first time this century, Diwali and Halloween are falling on the same day

What happens when the festival of light meets the night of spooks and scares? Diwaleen, of course.

The name's been given to Thursday's festivities as for the first time this century Diwali and Halloween are falling on the same day.

While Halloween is typically observed by carving pumpkins, watching horror films, and going trick-or-treating, Diwali involves lighting lamps, praying, eating good food and spending time with family.

For a lot of families, it will be their first time marking Diwaleen and they've been discussing how to mark Diwali on Thursday with a Halloween twist.

One family, the Bhatias from Smethwick, told BBC WM it was a "nice coincidence", and "the more celebrations, the better".

Grandfather Harmohinder Upashak Bhatia, who is 82, plans to fuse the festivals in the tastiest way - with sweets.

When his granddaughters carve pumpkins, he saves the pulp and cooks halwa - a traditional Indian dessert.

"It's amazing," said his daughter-in-law, Bal.

"If you're on any sort of diet or calorie counting, you can't count the calories - you’ve just got to eat it and enjoy. It’s made with love."

Several generations of the Bhatia family will celebrate both Halloween and Diwali on the same day

Mr Bhatia came to the UK in 1965 and said his life goal was to bring communities together.

"Every festival, we should be able to unite the community," he said.

When he first arrived, he said there were not many Diwali celebrations. But over the years, he started celebrating all the biggest festivals, including Halloween.

He now joins in with Halloween celebrations because of his grandchildren.

"Diwali teaches us family values togetherness and sacrifice," he said. "To keep our youngsters together, we should modernise ourselves."

Light over darkness

Diwali, also known as the festival of light, is celebrated by Sikhs, Hindus and Jains around the world.

A major religious festival, it symbolises the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

Halloween is also celebrated across the world and usually involves celebrating all things spooky and scary.

The origins of Halloween can be traced back to the pagan festival of Samhain, celebrated by the Celts of ancient Europe to mark the end of the harvest season and the start of winter.

Due to the two holidays coinciding, #Diwaleen has has been trending on social media.

Posts and videos have been shared about how people will celebrate both occasions at the same time.

There are also tutorials on crafting items that symbolise both of the festivals.

Halloween dates back to the pagan festival of Samhain

Despite its ancient origins, Halloween is not something that Bal, 47, celebrated until recently.

"There was no such thing as Halloween," she said.

"I think we only did it for the first time last year - and only because the kids kept saying," she said, laughing.

Bal's children, 14-year-old Pritika and Aradhya, 10, are excited to celebrate both Halloween and Diwali.

"We don’t really go trick or treating," Pritika said.

"We’ve done pumpkin carving, and we’ll probably do it this year too. But I’m a bit scared of scary movies."

Members of the Bhatia family only started celebrating Halloween in recent years

The sisters and their cousin plan to have a Halloween sleepover together, but they will also celebrate Diwali with the family.

"I’m also excited for Diwali, because we might have fireworks and sparklers, and that’s really fun," Pritika said. "One time we had the diyas."

Diyas are oil lamps that are lit during the festival.

Though not celebrating, Pritika is dressing up for a Halloween-themed non-uniform day at her school.

As for Halloween night itself, she plans to celebrate part of the night with a friend.

"My plan is to go to my best friend's house and do Halloween games with their family and have dinner there," she says.

Diwaleen has inspired a social media trend, fusing the two festivals

The Bhatias plan to celebrate Diwaleen at home with relatives.

It's the latest change to their Diwali traditions, which have evolved a lot in recent years, Bal said.

"My niece, because she works in sustainability… has taught us all not to do fireworks and sparklers, because of the environmental impact," she said.

"The last few years we haven’t done fireworks, so instead we light candles."