This year marks the first time families in Harris County will be able to properly celebrate and honor Diwali, the Festival of Lights the traditional way — with fireworks. 

From Oct. 25 to Nov. 1, fireworks can legally be sold for Diwali, the largest and most important Hindu festival of the year in India. 

In a 4-0 vote Sept. 19, Harris County Commissioners approved the sale of fireworks for the Diwali holiday. The move came roughly a year after the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 608, which amended the Occupations Code and allowed counties to approve fireworks sales beginning five days before the first day of Diwali and ending at midnight on the last day of Diwali.

“I am thrilled that we were able to pass here in Harris County the ability to purchase fireworks during Diwali, which I believe is a huge step forward to making Harris County even more inclusive,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said at a Thursday press conference. 

Diwali, which comes from the Sanskrit word deepavali, meaning “row of lights,” is also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. Celebrants light rows of traditional clay oil lamps outside their homes to symbolize the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. Though Diwali traditions vary based on the region and religion, some common ones include lights, fireworks, feasting, new clothes and praying.

The festival typically falls in late October or early November based on the Hindu lunar calendar. It lasts five days with the main celebration occurring on the third day. This year, Diwali will be observed Oct. 31. 

Previously in Harris County, a retail fireworks permit holder could only sell fireworks to the public from June 24 through midnight July 4 for Independence Day and from Dec. 20 through midnight Jan. 1 of the following year for Christmas and New Year’s Day celebrations. 

Similar to Diwali’s symbol of light over darkness, Briones said Harris County is emblematic of the “beacon of light over darkness,” and she wants it to be the example of unity over the division she currently sees throughout the country. 

“I know we’re all proud to live in one of the most diverse places in the nation,” she said. “And it’s not enough to be diverse, we must be the most inclusive place in the country.” 

Ever since Harris County permitted the sale of fireworks during Diwali, other counties including Fort Bend and Waller have recently followed suit. 

Native Houstonian Sandhya Thakkar has celebrated Diwali for the past 35 years and has hosted festivals in the Houston area since 2007, but remembers the struggles her parents faced shortly after they immigrated from India to Houston’s Binz Street in the 1960s to find Indian food, stores and supplies.

“Having this recognized finally here, we’ve come a long way,” she said. “It is just such a good feeling, personally, for our community that it is so well-recognized in this city, state, county.”

Thakkar, who also runs and operates Masala Radio, a Bollywood station on 98.7 FM, said ever since the measure passed in Harris County, several people have been calling into her radio station to express their excitement and gratitude. 

“People calling in saying that, ‘We grew up celebrating as children with handheld fireworks, sparklers, the noisy things and that memory is with us, and now we can finally pass it on to our children in an allowed space,’” she said. 

Harris County resident Karun Sreerama is thankful that, after 36 years, he no longer has to travel to other southern counties like Brazoria County to purchase his fireworks in July and store them in his garage. 

“This definitely makes it a lot safer,” he said at the press conference. 

Throughout discussions in commissioners court, safety was a top concern, particularly among local fire chiefs and public safety officials who raised safety concerns about private sales as opposed to public displays citing firework-related injuries and risks that typically affect children the most. 

“We’re worried about the safety of the children, especially during this particular season. It will be during Halloween,” said Harris County Fire Chief Association President, Bryan Harris at the Sept. 19 commissioners court meeting. 

Harris County Fire Marshal Chief Laurie Christensen said she was surprised to learn that many within the South Asian community were storing fireworks for months at a time in their homes, which became the impetus for advocating for a fireworks retail season in court. Since fireworks are explosives, they can pose greater safety risks and can result in a house fire when they’re stored in a large consumption amount over time near other household items like a lawn mower, as opposed to purchasing them the day before and using them right away, Christensen said. 

She said the main thing that’s needed is education on the use of fireworks. Now, she’s confident Harris County will have a safe upcoming firework season.

“I feel safer now that we’re not having storage in homes,” Christensen said. 

More than 100,000 people celebrate Diwali in Harris County, said Briones, but the move benefits everyone, she said. 

“This is not only a win for our South Asian brothers and sisters, but this is a win for all of us,” Briones said. “Together the more we learn from each other, the more we allow each other to expand on thinking, the more united we become in celebrating the differences, the unique histories and cultures, I believe we all become enriched.”

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