Some Diwali Rituals And Traditions
Diwali falls on the 15th day of the Kartik month, which is the new moon day often referred to as ‘amavasya ‘ in Hindi. Diwali is celebrated all around the planet with great enthusiasm and gaiety. The five-day long event of Diwali starts in the month of October or November, when this years’ season starts. The day of Diwali is also thought of as the beginning of the New Year in several states.
Diwali is heartily enjoyed by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains alike. The strategy of prayer in every faith is different but the way of celebration is the very similar. The most vital part of Diwali festivities is the lighting of lamps in and around the house. Lamps are treated as a symbol of hope and joy. Light drives away the darkness of the night and brings new belief in to peoples lives.
The overall defeat of darkness by light is celebrated by the interchange of lollies and gifts. Fireworks are used to add more light to the revelry. Each one of the 5 days has a slightly different set of rituals. Here is a high level view of the rituals and practices adhered to during Diwali.
The first (1st) day of Diwali is dedicated to the goddess of wealth. Folks clean and refurbish their residences and office. They buy gold and silver ornaments, worship goddess Laxmi, and pray for good fortune all year-long. Some also believe in acquiring new utensils on this day. The common belief is that spending wealth on this day pulls more wealth.
Narakchaudas is the second day of Diwali. This day folks get up early in the morning and it’s traditional to take a bath with a scrub made of a thick scented mixture of gram flour and fragrant essential oils. Chaudas means the 14th day and thus 14 diya made from wheat flour and ghee are made and placed in each room of the house.
The third (3rd) day of the Diwali festival is the most significant of the five days. The parties start by making rangoli motif’s on the entrances of the dwellings (to welcome the gods and goddess). People prepare sweets and delicacies all day. In the evening a Diwali prayer is performed to delight goddess Laxmi and folks burst firecrackers and light up their place.
The 4th day of Diwali is entirely devoted to work tools. Farmers worship their cattle and farming tools, businessmen their business and they pray for the gods to praise them for what’s left of the year. The fifth and the final day of the celebrations are for brothers and sisters. Bros get gifts for their sisters and sisters prepare delicacies by their hands to feed their bros.
Zane AL-Said started the Diwali Network Blog with the aim of providing event stories, media, articles and Blogs for the community who celebrate Deepavali yearly.
Zane is an IT veteran who enjoys his folks on a day-to-day basis and his Formula 1 bimonthly.
Check out more about the the parts of Diwali celebrations as well as some of the most peculiar and funniest video’s we can find on the Internet…oh and you may find a couple of interesting Blog content.
