Diwali...The Festival of Light

The rich Indian cultural heritage has many festivals and all are celebrated in different ways but "Diwali" or "Deepawali" is the festival which is celebrated with much too fervor. Diwali is commonly known as "the festival of lights" which is not only celebrated in India but also in many other countries with great enthusiasm. The celebration of "Diwali" is according to Hindu lunar Calendar, so the date keeps on changing that's why it was celebrated on October 23 in 2014 and this year it is celebrated on November 11.

Reason of celebrating Diwali

Lightning in the Diwali is a symbol to show the victory of light over dark. Actually people celebrate the extermination of evil, from the world and in the night entire family gathers and do the special prayer for prosperity and fortune.

Religious stories about Diwali

There are different famous stories in Hindu's culture about Diwali. North Indians celebrate the story of King Rama's when he had defeated Ravana and returned to Ayodhy. South Indians celebrate Diwali keeping in mind that this day refers to the victory of "Lord Krishna" over "Narakasura". In the western part of India, people take this event as the day when "Lord Vishnu" sent "King Bali" to rule the netherworld.

Whatever the exact story is behind this holy event, the common thing in all these stories is "victory of goodness over evil".

Some of the eminent features of this bright event are;

Shopping

The lightning event "Diwali" also brings a reason to buy new outfits and jewelry. People buy unique traditional clothes to look beautiful on this holy event. They believe that spending wealth on this holy occasion will cause more wealth and prosperity in their life. Children look stunning, wearing new clothes and enjoy this occasion at their peak. All family gathers in the night of Diwali, glittering in new clothes, to offer prayer and it also causes harmony among themselves.

Lights...

Light is a symbol of hope and happiness and it shows that eventually goodness will remain and evil will eradicated from this world. Different types of lights glitter in the homes, streets and in the whole country. Traditional lights (called Diyas) are used to light each and every room. Beautiful lamps and candles are also used to add more light. In some areas, there are also "Best Lightening Competitions" and people beautify their homes with a variety of lights to win this competition. Lights are considered as one of the important elements of Diwali's event.

Firecrackers

The discussion on "Diwali" is incomplete without talking about firecrackers, firepots, and sparklers. Firecrackers are first demand of kids even before clothes and sweets. The sound and fumes of firecrackers look amazing. Religiously, it has significance as they believe that evil burns in the fumes of firecrackers and also the sound of firecrackers scares evil.

The smoke spreading from firecrackers kills mosquitoes and other harmful insects, so it has also an environmental significance.

Sweets

Gulab jamun, Rasgullas, Kheer, and Burfies are considered Diwali's special sweets. In every home, sweet are prepared and are exchanged to neighbors, relatives and friends. They believe the sweetness of sweet is due to the success of goodness and end of evil. After prayer, the gods are also offered with different sweets, called as "Parashaad" which is then distributed in the whole family.

Gifts

Exchanging gifts to the loved ones is a very popular tradition of "Diwali". This tradition increases love, affection and creates an environment of harmony among people. People select beautiful and expensive gifts to show their love and respect to their loved ones, however, the selection of gifts is sometimes difficult, as the large-hearted Indians want to give every good thing. The most common Diwali gifts are watches, decorative pieces, perfumes, and chocolates.