 One of the most celebrated and widely popular festivals in India is Diwali. The actual word has its origin from the phrase “rows of lights”, for which the term in Sanskrit language is “Deepavali”. This day is considered to be very auspicious among other Hindu festivals and is a way to appreciate the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana, which is termed as a defeat of evil by good.
Lord Rama defeated Ravana to get back his wife Sita, who was kidnapped by Ravana. As per India’s tradition, this festival is also filled with many rituals, customs and celebrations. It’s a five day long process, which includes Vasu Baras, Dhan Teras, Naraka Chaturdashi, Lakshmi Puja, Bali Pratipada and Govardhan Puja. The popularity of the festival can be estimated by the number of weeks, that people take to prepare ahead of time.
In accordance with the Hindu lunar calendar, the actual festival occurs on the moonless night of the dark half of Kartik. People adorn their houses with lights and lamps from the walls to the doors to the windows, thus presenting a vivid image at night. The lamps used are the traditional clay lamps, which are oiled and fed with cotton to light them. The legend says that Goddess Lakshmi descends on earth that day and honours to enter the house of someone that is the brightest and clean. So people not only clean and illuminate their houses and streets, but also adorn themselves for the event. Both Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi are celebrated this very day, which ends with an exchange of sweets, fruits and other gifts. The illumination is not just limited to lamp lights. Small fireworks are used as children’s favourite pastime. The day ends but the celebration doesn’t. Diwali celebrations continue for next few days still exploring the festivity of the good’s victory over evil.
|
