Diwali 2026 in Poland: what to buy and how to celebrate away from home

Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November, the evening of Lakshmi Puja. In Poland you can find almost everything for the festival in Indian shops: clay diyas, lamp oil and wicks, rangoli colours, pooja items and boxed sweets. This list gives each item with the name you will see on a Polish label.

Plan your Diwali week

The festival runs over several days around 8 November: Dhanteras, Choti Diwali, the main Lakshmi Puja evening, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj. Your family may follow a different order or give more weight to another day, especially if you are from South India or Nepal, where Tihar is celebrated over the same period.

Two practical points for Poland:

• 8 November 2026 is a Sunday. Most Polish shops are closed on Sundays, except on trading Sundays. Do your shopping in the week before.
• Fireworks are not part of a normal Polish November. Keep your celebration to lamps and candles at home, and never leave a flame unattended in a flat.

Your Diwali shopping list

Light: diyas, wicks and lamp oil

• Clay diyas ("gliniane lampki diya" or "lampki terakotowe"). The shop sells small terracotta diyas in sets.
• Cotton wicks ("knoty bawełniane", sold as rui batti). Roll them yourself or buy them ready-made.
• Lamp oil. Many families use ghee or sesame oil; others use a blended pooja oil such as Pooja Pancha Deepam oil ("olej do lampek").
• Candles and fairy lights for windows and balconies, if you live in a rented flat and open flames are a worry.

Pooja items

• Incense sticks ("kadzidełka") and dhoop cones.
• Camphor ("kamfora") for aarti. Keep it away from children; it is not for eating.
• Kumkum, turmeric and rice for the tilak and the thali.
• An aarti stand or a small brass lamp, and a lota for water.
• Fresh flowers: marigolds are "aksamitki" in Polish. Florists rarely sell them in November, so many people use chrysanthemums ("chryzantemy") instead.

Rangoli

Rangoli colours ("proszek do rangoli") come in small packs. If you want to keep the floor of a rented flat clean, draw the pattern on a large sheet of card, or use rice, lentils and flower petals instead of powder.

Sweets and snacks

Boxed mithai is the usual Diwali gift. Look for kaju katli, laddu, soan papdi and gulab jamun. If you want to make your own, gulab jamun mix, besan, ghee, cashews and cardamom are all on the shelf. Savoury namkeen such as bhujia and chivda goes on the table next to the sweets.

For the meal

Diwali food differs from family to family, but most lists need basmati rice, paneer, ghee, besan, maida, dried fruits and nuts, and fresh coriander and green chillies. Paneer is "ser paneer" in Polish, and ghee is "masło klarowane".

Celebrating Diwali with Polish friends and colleagues

Many Indians in Poland invite Polish friends or colleagues for a Diwali dinner. A short explanation helps: Diwali is the festival of lights, families light lamps, pray to Lakshmi and Ganesha, share sweets and visit each other. A box of sweets at the office is a common way to mark the day at work. This guide also has a Polish version that you can share with them.

Where to buy Diwali items in Poland

Little India has a Diwali & Pooja category and a section of pooja and worship items. It has shops in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk, and it ships across Poland from the online shop; addresses are on the local shops page. For an overview of what the shops carry, read our guide to the Indian shop in Poland, or the Indian store in Warsaw guide if you live in the capital.