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Why Do We Celebrate Diwali?\n<\/strong>The Diwali festival marks the start of a new year within the Hindu calendar in India. It celebrates the return of Lord Ram from his fourteen years of exile in the forests after defeating the ten-headed King Ravana who had abducted his wife Sita. Hanuman (the god) and Laxman (Ram\u2019s younger brother) are other important characters in Ramayana, the ancient epic story about Ram and Sita.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Diwali is\u00a0called the festival of lights.\u00a0More than anything, it symbolizes the light over darkness, good over evil and hope over despair. Hindus primarily light the night on this festivity. It is deeply tied in with religious scriptures and ancient legends.<\/p>\n
Where and When is the Diwali Festival?<\/strong> How is this Festival Celebrated?<\/strong> The third day is Diwali and also the most important day where families and friends come together, exchange gifts and lit up diyas and oil lamps that last for the whole night. Later at night, people go out onto the streets and light the fireworks and crackers to celebrate New Year\u2019s Eve. On the following day, relatives and good friends visit each other and exchange sweets and gifts. The fifth day and last day is called \u2018Bhai Dooj\u2019 (the second day of the New Year, dedicated to brothers), when sisters cook for their brothers, put \u2018teekas\u2019 (red dots) on their foreheads and take their blessings and bond. This symbolizes the brother\u2019s duty to protect his sister, and the sister\u2019s blessings and gratitude for the brother(s) in her life.<\/p>\n As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies different things to people of different religions, across the country and is celebrated in a very unique manner. North India celebrates Diwali as Lord Rama\u2019s homecoming to Ayodhya after defeating the Rakshasa King of Lanka, Ravana. One can witness the exuberance and splendor of this festival across the nation.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Western India celebrates this festival for over a fortnight and honors Goddess Lakshmi, harbinger of wealth. Bengal and East India does it differently, as Diwali is associated with Goddess Kali and diyas are lit to commemorate the souls of departed ancestors. Typically, Southern India celebrates the festival of lights for three days with festive exuberance, eclectic garbs and music.<\/p>\n Diwali All Over the World\u00a0<\/strong> Commemorating the victory of good over evil, it is also an opportunity for people to move on, let go of past grudges, and make merry.<\/p>\n May Diwali bring you luck, Joy, happiness and success. We wish you a very happy, prosperous and safe Diwali!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The most prominent and awaited festivals in the Hindu culture \u2013 Diwali is celebrated with much fanfare and galore throughout various communities in India. Popularly known as the \u201cfestival of lights\u201d, Diwali or \u201cDeepavali\u201d (Sanskrit), literally translated as \u201ca series of lights\u201d, is generally a five-day celebration wherein families and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":513,"featured_media":802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-management"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/513"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions\/826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDiwali is celebrated on\u00a0Amavasya or \u2018no moon\u2019\u00a0day and heralds the dawn of a New Year as per Hindus. It also foretells of fresh starts as we open new checkbooks and diaries as well as cleans our homes.
\nThe day of Diwali is between the end of October and the beginning of November where the celebrations are for five days with Diwali being the third and most important day.<\/p>\n
\nThe celebrations start on Day 1 with Dhanteras. On this auspicious day, Indians clean and beautify their homes and prepare for the rituals and celebrations. They also buy new clothes and gifts for their friends\u2019 and family. The second day is also spent in preparations but small pujas (rituals) starts on the first day of rituals. Rangolis, art patterns made of coloured powder and flours, adorn the front doors of people\u2019s homes to welcome their guests for Diwali.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_blog_089.jpg\")
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\nNot just in India, Deepavali is also celebrated by Indians all over the world with great enthusiasm. Every year the White House observes the sanctity of this occasion as the \u201cIndians Christmas\u201d with great honor and respect. Australia and New Zealand embrace this glorious celebration with a carnival mood including fairs, great performances and cultural shows. Diwali, a diminution on its Sanskrit name of\u00a0Deepavali,<\/em>\u00a0is also popularly celebrated in other corners of the world as well.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rmsi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/pexels-photo-574328-300x200.jpeg\")
It’s About Lights<\/strong>
\nThe very essence of Diwali is to bring light in, to experience the triumph of good over evil forces. The Festival of Lights does just that: It lights up the homes and hearts of communities all over the world. It celebrates everything that is good, kind and positive. It is also a time to share with those in need and give freely to members of the community who have little.<\/p>\n