India
From lifekafunda
Almost everyone says his or her early memories of Diwali revolve around preparations: like refurbishing their homes and preparing sweets in anticipation of Diwali.
Each state has theirown particular way of celebrating...
in Uttar Pradesh, the special Diwali menu at home is Penthewali kachori and lapsi, a sweet Halwa made of daliya (broken wheat) in Karnataka, it's Kajjaya and Wadas... In Kerala, it's Appams and Muruku... In Maharashtra it's Boondi laadu and Chiwda... And so on...
But no matter which state, the oil massage, easrly morning shower and new clothes are an absolute must to begin the celebrations.
For the men who will be boys, firecrackers and being allowed to play outside after dark were the dominant memories of childhood Diwalis.
And thenthere are the Diwali Melas -- with food, lots of goodies to buy and rides.
In fact, an Army Mela -- while they were both students at the Delhi College of Eng
Celebrating Diwali in India is very different from celebrating it abroad. But there are marked differences between how people celebrate Diwali in the US based on whether they have children or not, whether there is a sizeable population of Indians where they live and how long it has been since they returned to India. Of course the level of celebration increases when they have children.
From lifekafunda
Diwali
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is the most popular of all the festivals from South Asia, and is also the occasion for celebrations by Jains and Sikhs as well as Hindus.
The festival of Diwali extends over five days. Because of the lights, fireworks, and sweets involved, it's a great favourite with children.
The festival celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance, although the actual legends that go with the festival are different in different parts of India.
The modern meaning of Diwali
Regardless of the mythological explanation one prefers, what the festival of lights really stands for today is a reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill, and a religiously sanctioned celebration of the simple - and some not so simple - joys of life.
Diwali datesThe date of Diwali is set by the Hindu calendar and so it varies in the Western calendar. It usually falls in October or November.
Diwali is a New Year festival in the Vikrama calendar, where it falls on the night of the new moon in the month of Kartika.
Business people regard it as a favourable day to start a new accounting year because of the festival's association with the goddess of wealth.
Diwali is also used to celebrate a successful harvest.
A row of lights The name of the festival comes from the Sanskrit word dipavali, meaning row of lights.
Diwali is known as the 'festival of lights' because houses, shops, and public places are decorated with small earthenware oil lamps called diyas. These lamps, which are traditionally fueled by mustard oil, are placed in rows in windows, doors and outside buildings to decorate them.
The lamps are lit to help the goddess Lakshmi find her way into people's homes. They also celebrate one of the Diwali legends, which tells of the return of Rama and Sita to Rama's kingdom after fourteen years of exile.
In towns (and in Britain) electric lights are often used in Diwali displays.
In India oil lamps are often floated across the river Ganges - it is regarded as a good omen if the lamp manages to get all the way across.
FireworksFireworks are also a big part of the Diwali celebrations, although in recent years there has been a move against them because of noise and atmospheric pollution and the number of accidental deaths and injuries.
Goddesses Two Goddesses in particular are celebrated at Diwali: Lakshmi and Kali.
Lakshmi, wealth and prosperity For many Indians the festival honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
People start the new business year at Diwali, and some Hindus will say prayers to the goddess for a successful year.
Some people build a small altar to the goddess and decorate it with money and with pictures of the rewards of wealth, such as cars and houses.
Celebrating LakshmiHindus will leave the windows and doors of their houses open so that Lakshmi can come in. Rangoli are drawn on the floors - rangoli are patterns and the most popular subject is the lotus flower. This because images of Lakshmi traditionally show her either holding a lotus or sitting on one.
There is much feasting and celebration, and the Diwali lamps are regarded as making it easy for Lakshmi to find her way to favoured houses.
Kali The goddess Kali is celebrated at Diwali in the Bengali and Oriya areas of India.
GamblingThe downside of the festival is that many Indians see it as an occasion to gamble. This comes from a legend that the that goddess Parvati played dice with her husband on this day and she said that anyone who gambled on Diwali night would do well.
Gifts Like Christmas in the West, Diwali is very much a time for buying and exchanging gifts.
Traditional Indian sweetsTraditionally sweets and dried fruit were very common gifts to exchange, but the festival has become a time for serious shopping, leading to anxiety that commercialism is eroding the spiritual side of the festival.
In most years shopkeepers expect sales to rise substantially in the weeks before the festival.
Diwali is also a traditional time to redecorate homes and buy new clothes.
Some Diwali legendsThe night is black Kindle the lamp of love With thy life and devotion. Two of the legends of Diwali show the triumph of Good over Evil, and tell of the destruction of two monsters that preyed on humanity.
The killing of the demon NarakaasuraThe demon was the evil king of Pragjyotishpur, near Nepal. He ruled with a reign of terror, abducted 16,000 daughters of the gods, and stole the earings of Aditi, mother of the gods.
The gods asked Lord Krishna for help, and after a mighty battle he killed the demon, freed the girls, and recovered the earrings.
The rescue of the 16,000 girls is said to be the origin of the story that Krishna had 16,000 wives. After his victory Krishna returned very early in the morning and was bathed and massaged with scented oils. Taking an early morning bath with oil is still a Diwali tradition.
The killing of the demon RavanaRavana, who had ten arms and ten heads, was the wicked king of the island of Sri Lanka, who kidnapped the wife of Rama. Rama had been in exile for 14 years because of a disagreement as to whether he or his brother should be the next king in Ayodhya.
After a great battle Rama killed the demon and recovered his wife. Rama's return with his wife Sita to Ayodhya and his subsequent coronation as king is celebrated at Diwali.
When Rama and Sita first returned to Ayodhya it was a dark moonless night and they couldn't see where they were going. Their people put little lamps outside their houses so that the new king and queen could find their way, thus beginning the tradition of the festival of lights.
Look for references at Wikipedia.com [1]
From lifekafunda
Due to India's varied cultural diversity there are many manifestations of the Diwali festival. The festival begins with Dhanteras, a day set aside to worship the goddess of prosperity, Goddess Lakshmi. On this day, homes are cleaned and paintings are done. There are various legends associated with the celebration of Diwali. But people mostly associate the celebration with the legend of Lord Ram returning to his kingdom of Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile and defeating Ravana, the demon king. In Bengal, the celebration is marked with the worship of Goddess Kali. People celebrate Kali puja with great fervor and enthusiasm. Joy and festivity reins every corner of the nation during the Diwali season. Diwali festival is the one Hindu festival that unites the whole of India. The exchange of sweets and the explosion of fireworks customarily accompany the celebration of the festival. Diwali is an occasion for cheerfulness and togetherness. This is that time of the year when people of all age and all class take part in its celebration.
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