Diwali

Diwali, or Dipawali, is India’s biggest and most important festival. The word Diwali means “rows of lighted lamps,” and Diwali is known as the Festival of Lights because houses, shops, and public places are decorated with small lamps called diyas. These clay lamps are lit to signify the victory of the light of knowledge over ignorance, of hope over despair, and of good over evil.

The main festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest night of autumn, which marks the beginning of Kartika, the eighth month of the Hindu calendar. The Diwali celebration typically extends over a five-day period.

Indians celebrate with family gatherings, glittering clay lamps, festive fireworks, strings of electric lights, bonfires, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. People clean and decorate their homes and buy new clothes and gifts for family members and friends. Girls and women create rangoli and other creative patterns on floors, near doors and walkways. There is significant variation in regional practices and rituals. In some traditions, prayers are offered before one or more deities, the most common being Lakshmi. On Diwali night, fireworks light up the neighborhood skies while families and their guests celebrate with a meal of special foods and sweets.

Over the centuries, Diwali has become a national festival that is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith: Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Many Hindus recognize Diwali as a day celebrating the return of the avatar Lord Rama (the incarnation of Lord Vishnu), His wife Sita, and brother Lakshman to their capital, Ayodhya, after 14 years of exile. The residents of Ayodhya, overjoyed at the return of their beloved King, lit lamps in His honor. Other Hindus commemorate Diwali as the day Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura. Sikhs celebrate the release of the Sixth Guru, Hargobind Jee, from captivity by the Mughal, and Jains commemorate Diwali as the day Lord Mahavira, the last of the Tirthankaras, attained Nirvana, or liberation, after his death in 527 B.C.E. In all of these traditions, the night of Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.

While the reasons for the celebration vary, Diwali is a time for dana (charitable giving) and seva (selfless service). The alleviation of tangible forms of suffering, such as hunger, disease, and poverty, is an essential component of the Hindu tradition. Service is worship, no less than performing a puja (prayer) or practicing meditation or studying scripture.