Hindus often clean their homes and buy gold on Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali.
Dhanteras falls on the thirteenth lunar day, or Trayodashi, during the dark half of the Hindu month of Kartik. Homes and businesses may be thoroughly cleaned and decorated in preparation for Diwali, with rangoli designs and lamps helping create a welcoming setting.
The day is strongly associated with wealth and prosperity. Many families consider it auspicious to buy gold, silver, utensils, jewelry, or other metal goods. The name Dhanteras combines dhan, meaning wealth, with teras, referring to the thirteenth lunar day.
Dhanteras is also linked with Dhanvantari, the divine physician associated with Ayurveda, and with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. It is not the same as Naraka Chaturdashi, Govardhan Puja, or Bhai Dooj, which occur on other days in the wider Diwali festival sequence.