Gold, Foretold

A closer look at the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, and why the five-day celebration traditionally begins with an investment in gold

By Amrita Katara

People all around the world buy jewellery when celebrating Diwali, the festival of light. The first day of Diwali, observed on the 13th day of the eighth month of the Hindu calendar, has long been considered an auspicious time to buy gold in particular, thanks to an ancient legend, but new trends are emerging among younger South Asians who are stepping away from tradition. As the story goes, there was once a young prince whose death by snakebite was augured to take place four days after his wedding day. Upon learning of her husband’s predicament, his new bride forbade the prince from getting any rest the night before the prophesied death by decorating their sleeping chamber with jewellery, gold coins and silver items, and flooding the palace with lamplight and singing. The…

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Tatler Hong Kong (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2022

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