WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service is marking Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, with a new Forever stamp featuring a rangoli, the vibrant floor art traditionally made for the holiday.
The stamp will have its first-day-of-issue ceremony October 21 at the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C., with retail sales and cancellations running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET and a ceremonial unveiling and reception at 6 p.m. Shibani Gambhir, USPS’s vice president of sales intelligence and support, will serve as the dedicating official. Attendees must register in advance at usps.com/diwalistamp, and USPS is promoting the release under the hashtag #DiwaliStamp.
Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is one of the most significant annual Hindu observances, typically celebrated over five days and marking the triumph of good over evil. It falls on the new moon between mid-October and mid-November each year; in 2026, the festival’s main day lands on November 8. This is only the second Diwali stamp USPS has issued — the first came in 2016, featuring a diya, or oil lamp.
The new design centers on a rangoli, a floor pattern traditionally made from materials like colored rice powder, chalk, and flower petals that people create in and around their homes during Diwali to bring good fortune. The stamp reproduces photographer Bijay Dixit’s image of a rangoli created by artist Sangita Bhutada, who has been making the intricate designs for nearly 30 years. Bhutada’s pattern for the stamp uses blue, orange, green, red, and white starch-based colored powder and colored sand set against a purple background.
William J. Gicker served as the stamp’s art director, and Jennifer Arnold designed it. The Diwali stamp will be sold in panes of 20 and, as a Forever stamp, will always be valid at the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate regardless of future postage increases.
