Diwali
Diwali (also: Deepawali)[2] is one of India's biggest festivals. The word 'Deepawali' means rows of lighted lamps. It is a Festival of Lights, and Hindus celebrate it with joy.[3] It marks the beginning of a new year.
| Diwali / Dipavali /Deepavali | |
|---|---|
 Rangoli decorations, made using coloured powder, are popular during Diwali | |
| Observed by | Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists[1] |
| Type | Indian, Cultural, Seasonal |
| Begins | Dhanteras, 2 days before Diwali |
| Ends | Bhai Dooj, 2 days after Diwali |
| Date | Kartik Amavasya (Varies per Hindu Lunisolar calendar) |
| Celebrations | Diya and lighting, home decoration, shopping, fireworks, puja (prayers), gifts, performing religious rituals, feast and sweets |
| Related to | Kali Puja, Diwali (Jainism), Bandi Chhor Divas |
Diwali is one of the most important festivals in Hinduism. It comes on Amavasya in the month of Kartik.
Dipavali (IAST: Dīpāvalī),[a] commonly known as Diwali (/dɪˈwɑːliː/),[4] is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism.[b] It symbolises the spiritual victory of Dharma over Adharma, light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.[5][6][7][page needed][8] Diwali is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar months of Ashvin (according to the amanta tradition) and Kārtika – between around mid-September and mid-November.[9][10][11][12][13] The celebrations generally last five or six days.[14][15][4]
Celebrations
During this festival, people light up their houses and shops with small cup-shaped oil lamps made of baked clay. They worship the Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi for welfare and prosperity. People clean and decorate their houses before the festival. They make colorful rangoli art on floors with rice and flowers.
Deepawali is celebrated in India and is a public holiday there. Shops, school, offices and temples are thoroughly cleaned, whitewashed and decorated with lights, flowers and oil lamps. Hindus believe that, on this day, Lakshmi enters houses which are neat and tidy. They leave the lights on in their homes to welcome Lakshmi with happiness.
At night, buildings are illuminated with earthen lamps, candles and lights.
On the day of Deepawali, people wear new clothes and exchange greetings, gifts and sweets with their loved ones. People buy sweets for their families and also send them as presents to their friends and relatives. Others prepare lots of sweets with their oil. People light diyas and burn crackers.
The Goddess Lakshmi is also worshiped in the form of silver coins. People offer prayers for their own health, wealth and prosperity.
Diwali Media
Radha and Krishna celebrating Diwali by Sitaram. Kishangarh, late 18th-century. National Museum, New Delhi
William Simpson labelled his chromolithograph of 1867 as "Dewali, feast of lamps". It showed streets lit up at dusk, with a girl and her mother lighting a street corner lamp.
Diwali is commonly celebrated in the honour of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
A picture of Lakshmi and Ganesha worship during Diwali
Diwali Ganesh Laxmi Puja
A hukamnama from the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, requesting all of the Sikh congregation to convene in his presence on the occasion of Diwali
Chandua lanterns on display for Diwali.
References
- ↑ Charles M Townsend, The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199699308, page 440
- ↑ Mead, Jean. How and why Do Hindus Celebrate Divali? (in en) (February 2008)Evans Brothers. ISBN 978-0-237-53412-7.
- ↑ Ramnarine, Tina K.. Musical Performance in the Diaspora (in en) (2013-10-18)Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-96956-3.
- ↑ Enzensberger, Horst. Vom Universitäts-Professor zum Wikipedia-Administrator. Wie ich zu Wikipedia kam …. Wikipedia und Geschichtswissenschaft. Berlin, München, Boston: DE GRUYTER. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
- ↑ Bahadur 2006, pp. 92–93.
- ↑ Kinsley 1988, pp. 33–34.
Other websites
Diwali Holds A Special Place In The Hearts Of Millions, Transcending Boundaries Of Region, Culture, And Religion. Archived 2023-11-19 at the Wayback Machine
- The Ancient Origins of Diwali, India’s Biggest Holiday, Becky Little (2017)