According to the Hindu calendar, Diwali or Deepawali falls on the 15th day of the month of Kartik and this year festival Lights will be celebrated in India on October 24. While diyas, magic lamps, lamps, firecrackers and rangoli are popular attractions in Deepawali, Hindu festivals are celebrated in different ways in different regions. different regions of the country.
For the Hindus of Northern India, Diwali symbolizes the return of Ram with his wife Sita and brother Laxman to Ayodhya after being exiled for 14 years. Upon his return, Ram was welcomed home with diyas and fireworks were lit throughout the kingdom as it was a new moon day in the month of Kartik and it was already dark around.
Therefore, the light of diya signifies the victory of good over evil as people unite together during Diwali and there are celebrations going on around. The tradition of lighting diyas and fireworks continues to this day in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and surrounding areas while in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab, people also participate in the fighting. silver on Diwali night as it is considered auspicious.
The gurdwaras in Punjab are illuminated on Diwali night although Sikhs do not celebrate Diwali but they are part of the celebration and light up their homes with candles and diyas. In Delhi, UP and other neighboring states of India, houses are decorated with candles, lights, diyas, bandhanwars and rangolis with Laxmi puja performed at night.
Devotees in some houses even put a silver coin in a cup of milk, which is then sprinkled in all rooms as a tradition along with shopping, cleaning, gambling, redecorating. , whitewash, decorate the house, exchange gifts and sweets. part and parcel of celebration.
The history of Diwali can be traced back to ancient India, with several legends attached to it. Many believe that Diwali is the celebration marking Lakshmi’s wedding to Vishnu while others suggest it is the celebration of Lakshmi’s birth, as it is believed that she was born on the new moon day of Kartik. .
In Bengal, Goddess of Power Kali is worshiped during Diwali. In some homes, Ganesha is worshiped because he is a symbol of auspiciousness. In Eastern India, the rituals of lighting lamps, candles, diyas and firecrackers are still preserved but additionally, some devotees still open the doors of their lighted houses for Lakshmi to enter because it is believed that Gods do not enter the dark house. .
West Bengal celebrates Diwali as Kali Puja, where late night worship of Kali is performed on Diwali night, there are Kali Puja vandals in various areas, rangoli are painted and Diwali night is said to be the night of ancestors or Pitripurus where diyas are lit on long poles to guide their souls on their way to heaven – a practice followed in rural Bengal even in modern times.
The Hindu community in Odisha also pays homage to their ancestors on Diwali while the festival in West India is mainly related to business and commerce where new business practices, the purchase of wealth, and the purchase of wealth. Property, opening offices, shops and special occasions like marriage are considered auspicious. A few days before Diwali, the markets of West India are packed with Diwali shoppers while rangoli making and the painting of footprints to welcome Laxmi are an integral part of Diwali, the Gujaratis New Year. .
A very nice Diwali custom in Gujarat is to keep a diya lit with buffalo buttermilk and burn it all night then collect the flame from this diya the next morning and use it to make kajal, which is enjoyed by women. put on their eyes. is believed to bring prosperity for the whole year. Hindus in Maharashtra celebrate Diwali for four days with Vasubaras as the first day and marked by the Aarti performance of cows and calves to signify love between mother and child.
Dhanteras or Dhanatrayodashi is celebrated on the 2nd day while the third day is Narakchaturdashi, where people bathe in aromatic oils early in the morning and visit a temple, then enjoy a special Diwali preparation called Faral which includes food. delicious sweets like “karanji” and “ladoo” and spicy dishes like “chakli” and “sev” and the fourth day is the main Diwali day when Lakshmi Puja is performed by worshiping Lakshmi and wealth items like money and jewelry.
Southern India celebrates Diwali in the Tamil month of Aipasi, where Naraka Chaturdashi is the main day of celebration. The day before Naraka Chaturdashi, the furnace is cleaned, then limed, painted with religious symbols on it, filled with water and then used on the main day for an oil bath.
Instead of rangolis, like in North India, Hindus in South India decorate their homes with kolam designs. After an oil bath, new clothes are put on and firecrackers are set off along with the observation of Thalai Deepavali, another unique ritual where newlyweds spend their first Diwali at the bride’s parents’ home.
Andhra Pradesh celebrates Diwali with Harikatha or musical account of Hari’s story as it is believed that Krishna’s consort Satyabhama killed the demon Narakasura, so prayers are offered to earthly idols special lightning of Satyabhama. In Karnataka too, the day of Diwali or Ashwija Krishna Chaturdashi begins when people take an oil bath because it is believed that Krishna took an oil bath to remove blood stains from his body after killing Narakasura.
In Karnataka, Bali Padyami is the third day of Diwali, marked by women sketching colorful rangolis in their homes, building forts out of cow dung, and retelling stories related to the King of Bali. .
