Monday, 16 March 2020

Diwali 2020


Diwali 2020

                                          (https://images.app.goo.gl/SKJbTp97vrXNeX3G8)
What
Diwali, Divali, Deepavali is the Hindu festival of lights, usually lasting five days and celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance". The festival is widely associated with Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, but regional traditions connect it to Sita and Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Durga, Kali, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman.

In the lead-up to Diwali, celebrants will prepare by cleaning, renovating, and decorating their homes and workplaces. During the Diwali people wear their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with diyas (oil lamps or candles), offer puja (worship) to Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth, light fireworks, and partake in family feasts, where mithai (sweets) and gifts are shared. Diwali is also a major cultural event for the Hindu and Jain diaspora from the Indian subcontinent.

In northern India, they celebrate the story of King Rama's return to Ayodhya after he defeated Ravana by lighting rows of clay lamps.
Southern India celebrates it as the day that Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura.
In western India the festival marks the day that Lord Vishnu, the Preserver (one of the main gods of the Hindu trinity) sent the demon King Bali to rule the nether world.

When
The festival is usually between October and November, with the date changing each year.

This year, it begins on Saturday 14 November and lasts for five days, with the main day of celebrations taking place on Monday.

How
People clean their homes and shop for gold or kitchen utensils to help bring good fortune.
People decorate their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powders or sand.
On the main day of the festival, families gather together for Lakshmi puja, a prayer to Goddess Lakshmi, followed by mouth-watering feasts and firework festivities.
This is the first day of the new year when friends and relatives visit with gifts and best wishes for the season.
Brothers visit their married sisters, who welcome them with love and a lavish meal.

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