ST. GEORGE — Utah may have a new holiday on the calendar next year thanks to a proposed bill that would commemorate Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights.
Diwali is generally celebrated as a five-day festival that lands between mid-October and mid-November, based on the Hindu lunisolar calendar, and is traditionally celebrated with firework displays.
SB46, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, would commemorate Diwali annually and allow for the sale and use of fireworks beginning two days before the first day of Diwali and ending on the last day. Currently, fireworks are only allowed around Independence Day, Pioneer Day, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year’s Eve.
“There’s a large and growing Indian and Hindu community in Utah,” Fillmore said. “The India Cultural Center of Utah is in my Senate district, and I just wanted to make sure that we provide recognition for the contributions that that culture makes to the wonderful tapestry that is Utah.”
Read the full story here: KSL News.
Written by BRIDGER BEAL-CVETKO, KSL.com.
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