Diwali - The Hindu festival of lights captured in Copenhagen.

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The Diwali festival of lights is generally regarded to be as important to the Hindus as Christmas is to Christians. The word Diwali has its roots in the Sanskrit word Deepavali, meaning "rows of lighted lamps". These lamps, that people celebrating this festival light up are called diyas. Hindus celebrate the return of the deities Rama and Sita to Ayodhya following their long, 14-year exile. Another reason for celebration is the day Mother Goddess Durga managed to destroy a demon that is referred to as Mahisha. Sikhs in particular celebrate the sixth guru's, Hargobind Singh, release from prison in 1619. But Sikhs have been celebrating this festival before 1619. (Source: BBC)

This event marks the Hindu New Year, it represents new beginnings and is seen as a sort of metaphor for self-improvement. It started off as a harvest festival, when people would celebrate the last harvest of the year, in autumn at the end of the season before winter sets in. You can read more about it in this National Geographic article.

The event I attended and decided to share these shots of, was of Indians living in Copenhagen that were celebrating the festival of lights. It was quite a lively affair and there were nice colorful dresses everywhere. There was a lot of music and different performances like the ones I am sharing here with dancers, singers and others.

I captured these using my Nikon D700 and a Nikkor 50 mm 1.8 D & a Nikkor 24-85mm 3.5-4.5G ED lens. The lighting conditions were quite challenging for the 24-85 so I was struggling a bit to use that one. Made me want a faster lens in that range but here they are:

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