About Festival of Diwali

As with other Indian festivals Diwali has many legends and religious accounts to it. Celebrated 20 days after Dusherra, on the 15th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Ashwin (October-November), Diwali in northern India signifies the home coming of the legendary figure Ram after defeating the evil Ravana and his coronation as king. In Gujarat and in parts of northern and southern India, the festival honors Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Houses and business places are renovated and decorated, entrances are made colorful with lovely traditional motifs of Rangoli designs to welcome the goddess.

Festivals and Fairs in India

Religious ceremony that celebrates good over evil
Festival of lights
Houses are decorated with colorful motifs and designs

The ceremony of Diwali begins with the invocation of Lord Ganesha, who is considered as the God who clears all obstacles.

To the eastern part of the country, in Bengal the festival is associated with Kali, the fearful and ferocious form of the mother goddess Durga. Kali Puja is an intense invocation to the fearsome goddess, to seek help for destroying evil - both in the outside world and the world within us.

It is also said that Diwali signifies a harvest festival, as it coincides the end of a cropping season, when farmers offer prayers and express their gratitude to the Almighty for the bounty they received.

Regardless of the many explanations, the festival of lights really stands as a reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship, a new beginning of life cleared of all vices and a religiously sanctioned celebration of the simple yet not so simple joys of life.