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 When one thinks about Indian festivals, the festival that
instantly comes to mind is DIWALI or DEEPAVALI as called
by some.. This Hindu festival brings excitement and joy to
the hearts of people even before it arrives. Diwali is the
festival of Laxmi, the Goddess of prosperity and wealth.
It is believed that Goddess Laxmi brings peace and
prosperity to all.
Diwali is celebrated all over India. The preparations for
the festival begins well in advance. People start
decorating their homes, preparing sweets and farsans and
buy new clothes & jewellery all this to welcome the
Goddess into their homes who comes to bless all.The
festival of Diwali is celebrated for a period of 5 days
the last day being the 15th day of Ashwin (a month of
Hindu calendar) which falls somewhere in the month of
October and November.
People light up their homes with clay oil lamps and
colorful lights and Rangolis . This new moon night or
Amavasya as it is called is thus turned into a bright and
colourful night.
Diwali is a festival of Hindus, but especially of the
Businessmen, On this day they do puja of Account books and
start writing their new accounts. This is called as "CHOPDA
PUJAN" meaning puja of account books.
The celebration of Diwali can be viewed in all its
splendour at night when all the homes are lit up. Diwali
is incomplete without its fireworks. People especially
children burst crackers of all variety - Sparkles, Flower
Pots, Rockets, from the fancy ones to the loud noise
making Bombs.
Legend of Diwali:-
When Lord Ram
killed Ravan and returned to Ayodhya along with Laxman,
Sita and Hanuman, at that time Diwali was celebrated in
Ayodhya for the 1st time. The people of Ayodhya lit up
their homes with oil lamps and turned the night into a
light festival. From that time onwards Diwali is
celebrated to marks the Victory of Lord Ram over the evil
Ravan.
Celebrated every year in October-November, Diwali is
perhaps the most popular of all Indian festivals. It is a
celebration of light, both literally and
metaphorically. The
origin of this festival can be traced back to the
ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, when Lord Rama returned to
his kingdom Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. The whole
kingdom was lit up with diyas (earthen lamps) to celebrate
his return. To date, on
Diwali day, houses all over India glow with the twinkle
of
innumerable diyas, candles and electric lights. The night
is illuminated with the flaming lights of
fireworks, creating kaleidoscopic designs against the
black canvas of the sky. For Hindu business communities,
Diwali marks the beginning of the New Year. The goddess of
wealth, Laxmi, is worshipped, and new books of accounts
are opened after pooja (worship).More... |
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