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SALT LAKE CITY — 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."
Fillmore said the idea for the bill came from a constituent who told him people in the Indian community haven't been able to "celebrate in the same way that other cultures celebrate their most important days."
Under SB46, Diwali would be recognized as a commemorative period, not an official state holiday, which means state offices would still be open and state employees would not get time off. Diwali would join other state commemorative periods such as Utah State Flag Day on March 9, Utah Railroad Workers Day on May 10, and Constitution Day on Sept. 17.
Juneteenth was previously commemorated by the state, before the Utah Legislature designated it an official state holiday earlier this year.
Fillmore said there may be pushback by some about the additional days of legal firework use — given the potential for wildfires amidst Utah's yearslong drought — but he thinks the festival's celebration in the fall poses less risk. The bill allows for fireworks use no later than 9 p.m. on weeknights and 10 p.m. on weekends, which is possible because the sun sets much earlier in the fall than it does during the summer.
Fillmore expects his colleagues to be on board with commemorating Diwali, but he said "we'll see what happens around the fireworks issue."
SB46 has yet to be assigned to a committee. The 2023 general session of the Utah Legislature begins on Jan. 17, 2023.
