From the place where I come from, Diwali is celebrated for 4 days.
It starts with the ladies of the house taking a ritualistic oil bath - abhyanga snan.
Ladies apply scented oils and wash their hair. Little girls are given a good body massage. A special herbal paste called utana is used for bath. Call it a Spa Day for ladies!
Vasubaras - is celebrated by paying respect to cow and her calf. They are worshipped on this day and are fed specially prepared offerings.
Then comes Dhanatrayodashi or Dhanteras. Wealth is worshipped in this day, and is celebrated prominently by traders and businessmen. Buying gold, silver or even utensils is auspicious.
Next day is Narakachaturdashi. Its a Spa day for the family! People wake up before sunrise and take the elaborate abhyanga snan. Baths are elaborate - first a full body massage with perfumed oils, and then a bath with special herbal utnas.
The most popular day of Diwali is Laxmi Pooja. On this day, Goddess of Wealth is worshipped in the form of gold, silver, money, accounts, balance books, jewellery etc. Colourful rangolis adorn the courtyards of many houses.The lights and fireworks are the brightest on this day.
The next day is Padwa - signifying the bond between husband and wife. The lady of the house receives a generous gift from her husband, mostly an ornament or a piece of jewellery.
The last day is Bhaubij or Bhaiduj. It signifies the bond of love between siblings. Sisters receive gifts from their brothers.
Family shopping trips were quintessential as Diwali approached. Those days, shopping - especially clothes shopping happened on occasions. Festivals, weddings, birthdays. It wasn't the norm to go shopping on the fly, definitely not as a pastime.
Ditto for fireworks. We used to be given a budget - within which we could fit our list. Small temporary stalls would be set up in a huge public ground, where people used to go in the evening to shop for firecrackers. More than the display fireworks, the loud ones that burst with a bang were preferred. While the chunkier items were used up under adult supervision, the harmless ones were used as afternoon pastimes - we used to get a good 10 days off from school. Talking of school, how could we forget the Diwali homework Schools gave reams and and reams ( or so we felt) of homework to be completed - I remember filling several 400 paged notebooks with essays and sums and Q & As.
There used to big family lunches and dinners, where all uncles and aunts and cousins used to gather. After the meals, as elders indulged in general chit chat or a game of cards, kids would build killas - small fort replicas with bricks and mud. A robust arrangement of bricks would be covered with a thin hemp or jute cloth and then plastered with potting soil or mud.Mustard seeds would be sowed to grow 'farms' and foliage on the fort. Great creativity and imagination went into these - caves , wells, water moats, tunnels, steps - anything and everything was included in the structure. Little figurines of Shivaji and his soldiers (mavale) were put on a fort, along side farmers and their cattle, wild animals and ladies carrying water pots up the fort!
Diwali offered great opportunities for community gatherings, and many live performances of dance and music, lectures by dignitaries were arranged.
Diwali offered a special something for everybody - ladies had their pharal preparation afternoons, kids had their killa sessions, menfolk busied themselves setting up lanterns , driving the shopping trips and being at the beck and call for any after-work-hour help. Families visited neighbours for a quick cup of tea and samplings of the pharal. Even domestic helpers were handed packets of home made goodies accompanied by hefty tips or an occasional new saree or dress.
Such were the festivities - that filled peoples' minds with generosity and well being. Diwali not just in the air, but in the minds and spirits.
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