A REPORT ON

Submitted By : Purnima Tomar VI B DMA

DAYAWATI MODI INTERNATIONAL

Roorkee Road, Meerut (U.P. ! "#$ %%$

DIWALI Diwali also called the "festival of lights", is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in autumn every year. The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. The festival preparations and rituals typically extend over a five day period, but the main festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar month artik. !n the

"regorian calendar, Diwali night falls between mid#$ctober and mid#%ovember.

&efore Diwali night, people clean, renovate and decorate their homes. $n Diwali night, Hindus dress up in new clothes or their best outfit, light up diyas 'lamps and candles( inside and outside their home, participate in family pu)a typically to Lakshmi # the goddess of wealth and prosperity. *fter pu)a 'prayers(, fireworks follow, then a family feast including mithai 'sweets(, and an exchange of gifts between family members and close friends. Diwali also marks a ma)or shopping period in nations where it is celebrated. Diwali is an important festival for Hindus. The name of festive days as well as the rituals of Diwali vary significantly among Hindus, based on the region of !ndia. !n many parts of !ndia, the

festivities start with Dhanteras, followed by %araka +haturdasi on second day, Diwali on the third day, Diwali ,adva dedicated to wife#husband relationship on the fourth day, and festivities end with &hau#bee) dedicated to sister#brother bond on the fifth day. Dhanteras usually falls eighteen days after Dussehra. $n the same night that Hindus celebrate Diwali, -ains celebrate a festival of lights to mark the attainment of moksha by .ahavira, /ikhs similarly celebrate &andi +hhor Divas, and *rya /ama)ists celebrate /hardiya %av#/hasyeshti.

Diwali is an official holiday in !ndia, %epal, /ri Lanka, .yanmar, .auritius, "uyana, Trinidad and Tobago, /uriname, .alaysia, /ingapore and 0i)i.

&I'TORY O( DIWALI Diwali 'Divali( is derived from the /anskrit fusion word D1p2vali '/anskrit3 , light, lantern, lamp( and '/anskrit3 , series, line, row(, meaning 4row or series of lights5. !t is also called festival of lights, because part of its celebration include millions of lights shining on housetops, outside doors and windows, around temples and other buildings in communities and countries where it is celebrated.

Diwali dates back to ancient times in !ndia, as a festival after the summer harvest, in the Hindu calendar month of artik. The

festival is mentioned in ,adma ,urana, /kanda ,urana and other ancient /anskrit scriptures of Hindus6 the diyas 'lamps( are mentioned in /kanda ,urana to symbolically represent parts of sun, the cosmic giver of light and energy to all life, who seasonally transitions in the Hindu calendar month of artik. 'I)NI(I*AN*E O( DIWALI Diwali is one of the happiest of holidays, with significant preparations. ,eople clean their homes and decorate them for the festivities. Diwali is one of the biggest shopping seasons in !ndia6 people buy new clothes for themselves and their families, gifts, appliances, kitchen utensils, small to big ticket items such as cars and gold )ewelry. ,eople also buy gifts for family members and friends which typically includes sweets, dry fruits and seasonal specialities depending on regional harvest and customs. !t is also the period when little kids hear ancient stories, legends, myths and battle between good and evil, light and darkness from their parents and elders. "irls and women

go shopping, and create rangoli and other creative patterns on floors, near doors and walkways. 7outh and grown ups graduate to helping with lighting and preparing for patakhe 'fireworks(. There is significant variation in regional practices and rituals. Depending on the region, prayers are offered before one or more deities, with most common being Lakshmi # the goddess of wealth and prosperity. $n Diwali night, fireworks light up the neighborhood skies. Later, family members and invited friends celebrate the night over food and sweets. RELI)IOU' 'I)NI(I*AN*E IN &INDUI'M The religious significance of Diwali varies regionally within !ndia, depending on the school of Hindu philosophy, regional myths, legends and beliefs. .any see Diwali honouring the return of the hero 8ama, his wife /ita and his brother Lakshmana from exile, as told in the ancient Hindu epic called the 8amayana. To some, Diwali marks the return of ,andavas after 9: years of ;anvas and one year of agyatavas in the other ancient Hindu epic called the

.ahabharata. .any other Hindus believe Diwali is linked to the celebration of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and wife of deity ;ishnu. The five day festival of Diwali begins on the day Lakshmi was born from the churning of cosmic ocean of milk during the tug of war between the forces of good and forces of evil6 the night of Diwali is the day Lakshmi chose ;ishnu as her husband and then married him. /ome Hindus offer pu)as to additional or alternate deities such as "anesha, /araswati, and ali,

ubera. $ther Hindus believe that

Diwali is the day ;ishnu came back to Lakshmi and their abode in the ;aikuntha6 so those who worship Lakshmi receive the benefit of her good mood, and therefore are blessed with mental, physical and material well#being during the year ahead.

!n !ndia<s eastern region, such as =est &engal, Lakshmi is not worshipped, only deity called ali is worshipped and the festival is

ali ,u)a. !n !ndia<s &ra) and north central regions, deity

rishna is recogni>ed. ,eople mark .ount "ovardhan, and celebrate legends about rishna. !n other regions, the feast of

*nnakoot is celebrated, with ?@ or 9AB different cuisines prepared, offered to rishna, then shared and celebrated by the local community. !n =est, /outh and certain %orthern parts of !ndia, the festival of Diwali marks the start of a new Hindu year. *long with "oddess Lakshmi, offerings are made to "anesha who symboli>es ethical beginnings and fearless remover of

obstacles6 /araswati who symboli>es music, literature and learning6 and ubera who symboli>es book keeping, treasury

and wealth management. RELI)IOU' 'I)NI(I*AN*E IN +AINI'M Diwali has special significance in -ainism. Lord .ahavira, the last of the -ain Tirthankar of this era, attained %irvana or .oksh on this day at ,avapuri on 9? $ctober ?:C &+D, on +haturdashi of artika. *ccording to the alpasutra by *charya &hadrabahu, Erd century &+, many gods were present there, illuminating the darkness. Therefore, -ains celebrate Diwali as a day of remembering .ahavira.

RELI)IOU' 'I)NI(I*AN*E IN 'I,&I'M Diwali, for /ikhs, marks the &andi +hhor Divas, when "uru Har "obind -i freed himself and Hindu ings, from 0ort "walior,

from the prison of !slamic ruler -ahangir, and arrived at the "olden Temple in *mritsar. Dver since then, /ikhs celebrate &andi +hoorh Divas, with the annual lighting up of "olden Temple, fireworks and other festivities. Diwali is one of the biggest festival of Hindus, celebrated with great enthusiasm and happiness in !ndia. The festival is celebrated for five continuous days, where the third days is celebrated as the main Diwali festival or <0estival of lights<. Different colorful varieties of fireworks are always associated with this festival. $n this auspicious day, people light up diyas and candles all around their house. They perform Laxmi ,u)a in the evening and seek divine blessings of "oddess of =ealth. The festival od Diwali is never complete without exchange of gifts. ,eople present diwali gifts to all near and dear ones.