Here’s how India is celebrating Diwali

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People watch a laser show on the banks of the river Sarayu during Deepotsav celebrations on the eve of the Hindu festival of Diwali in Ayodhya on Wednesday. The five-day festival celebrates the victory of light over darkness.

Sanjay Kanojia/AFP via Getty Images

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Sanjay Kanojia/AFP via Getty Images

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People celebrate Diwali by lighting little earthen oil lamps to mark the victory of light over darkness.

What the holiday signifies

Diwali, or Dipawali, gets its name from the Sanskrit word «deepavali,» which means «row of clay lamps.» Many people in India will light these lamps outside of their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects them from spiritual darkness, in tune with a holiday that is an ode to the triumph of good over evil.

Hindu celebrations center around the return of Rama and Sita, two deities, to Ayodyha, an ancient city in India, after being exiled. Sikhs, Jains, and even Buddhists have their own lore surrounding the holiday — you can read about it here.

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People light oil earthen lamps on the eve of Diwali at the Akshardham Hindu temple in Gandhinagar, India, on Wednesday.

Sam Panthaky/AFP via Getty Images

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Sam Panthaky/AFP via Getty Images

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What the festivities look like in India

In the northern Indian temple town of Ayodhya, authorities lit about a million such lamps, along the banks of a river.

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People light earthen lamps on the banks of the river Sarayu during Deepotsav celebrations on the eve of the Hindu festival of Diwali in Ayodhya.

Sanjay Kanojia/AFP via Getty Images

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Sanjay Kanojia/AFP via Getty Images

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Laborers transport an idol of the Hindu goddess Kali to a place of worship on the eve of Diwali at Kumortuli, the traditional potters’ quarter in northern Kolkata on Wednesday.

Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images

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Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images

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Visitors walk along the Raisina Hills at Rajpath amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi on Thursday.

Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

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Visitors walk along the Raisina Hills at Rajpath amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi on Thursday.

Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

Sushmita Pathak reported from Mumbai; Manuela López Restrepo is based in Brooklyn.

Separate versions of this story appeared on the Morning Edition live blog.