California has reached a historic milestone by officially declaring Diwali will be a state holiday in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 268 into law, which will take effect on January 1, 2026. The bill was moved by the Indian-American lawmaker Assembly members Ash Kalra a Democrat from San Jose and Darshana Patel an assemblymember from San Diego.
This legislation allows community colleges and public schools across California to close in observance of Diwali. It also authorizes state employees to take paid time off for the holiday and grants public school students excused absences to celebrate.
The bill promotes statewide recognition of Diwali by enabling educational institutions to include activities celebrating its cultural and spiritual significance. Diwali, known as the Festival of Lights, symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. It is celebrated not only by Hindus but also by Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists.
Assembly members Ash Kalra praised this achievement as a significant moment for California’s nearly one million Indian American residents. He said he grew up celebrating the festival with family members, but it was an experience that was isolated from the rest of his life.
“To have South Asian children be able to proudly celebrate and share it with others is a significant moment,” he said.
San Jose, a city in California’s Silicon Valley, has a sizable Indian American population. According to a 2025 Pew survey, 960,000 out of the nation’s Indian population of 4.9 million – or 20% – live in California. Hindu American organizations, including the Hindu American Foundation and the Coalition of Hindus in North America, advocated for the law.
Community leaders have applauded the move as a powerful recognition of the diverse cultural fabric of the state and a way to uplift the festival’s message of unity, peace, and renewal.
“The provisions that allow students to take the day off without repercussion and state employees to take paid leave are important leaps toward making Diwali truly accessible to those who celebrate,” said Samir Kalra, managing director of the Hindu American Foundation.
Sikhs, for example, celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas – a day that overlaps with Diwali – to commemorate the release of Guru Hargobind, a revered figure in the faith, who had been imprisoned for 12 years by the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
Puneet Kaur Sandhu, Sacramento-based senior state policy manager for the Sikh Coalition, said her organization worked with Ash Kalra to make sure the bill’s language included celebrants from other religions whose holidays coincide with Diwali as well.
“It’s so meaningful that all of us in the community can take this day to celebrate,” she said.
The Bill (No. 268 CHAPTER 358) was moved in July 2025 and received Governor’s assent on October 6.
The Bill introduced amendments to Section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Sections 37220.7, 45203, 79020, and 88203 of the Education Code, and Sections 6700, 19853, and 19853.1 of the Government Code, relating to Diwali.
This bill has added “Diwali” to the list of state holidays. It says as below:
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Diwali, a festival of great significance to Indian Americans and South Asian Americans, is celebrated annually by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains throughout the United States and across the globe.
(b) The word “Diwali” is a shortened version of the Sanskrit term “Deepavali,” which means “a row of lamps.”
(c) Diwali, one of the world’s oldest continuing religious holidays, brings together families, friends, and communities here in California, the United States, and around the globe in goodwill, peace, and a shared sense of renewal.
(d) Diwali is a festival of lights during which celebrants light small oil lamps, place them around the home, and pray for health, knowledge, and peace.
(e) Hindu celebrants of Diwali believe that the rows of lamps symbolize the light of knowledge and truth within the individual that signifies the destruction of all negative qualities such as violence, anger, jealousy, ignorance, greed, fear, or suffering; Diwali celebrates the victory of good over evil.
(f) For Sikhs, Diwali coincides with Bandi Chhor Divas, meaning Day of Liberation, marking the day that the sixth founding Sikh Guru, revered teacher Guru Hargobind, was released from captivity by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir after his wrongful imprisonment.
(g) For Jains, Diwali marks the anniversary of the attainment of moksha, or liberation, by Mahavira, the last of the Tirthankaras, the great teachers of Jain Dharma, at the end of his life in 527 B.C.
(h) For Buddhists, especially Newar Buddhists, Diwali is commemorated as Ashok Vijayadashami, the day the great Emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism as his faith.
This milestone makes California the third US state to officially recognize Diwali as a state holiday, reflecting the growing inclusion of the Indian diaspora’s cultural heritage in the United States.
Following Pennsylvania (in 2024), the first American state to declare Diwali as a state holiday and earlier this year, Connecticut became the second American state to have declared Diwali as a state holiday.
Starting January 1, 2026, public schools and community colleges in California can close on Diwali, and state employees may take paid time off.