𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐊𝐎𝐑𝐀- 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭

🪔 𝑫𝒊𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒊 🪔

~ 🄽🄾🅅🄴🄼🄱🄴🅁 4, 2021 ~

“Deepawali ki mangal bela aayi hai phir ek baar,
saath mein apne sugaatein laayi hai hazaar.
Jholi mein iske hain khushiyan apaar,
mubarak ho aap sabko deepawali ka yeh tyohar”

Diwali, one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, lasts for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of the lunar month Kartika. (The corresponding dates in the Gregorian calendar usually fall in late October and November.) The name is derived from the Sanskrit term Dipavali, meaning “row of lights.” The festival generally symbolizes the victory of light over darkness.

During the festival, diyas are lit and placed in rows along the parapets of temples and houses and set adrift on rivers and streams. Homes are decorated, and floors inside and out are covered with rangoli, consisting of elaborate designs made of coloured rice, sand, or flower petals. The doors and windows of houses are kept open in the hope that Lakshmi will find her way inside and bless the residents with wealth and success.

Diwali is generally a time for visiting relatives and friends, exchanging gifts, wearing new clothes, feasting, feeding the poor, and setting off fireworks (though such displays have been restricted to limit noise and other environmental pollution). Gambling, especially in the form of card games, is encouraged as a way of ensuring good luck in the coming year and in remembrance of the games of dice played by Shiva and Parvati on Mount Kailasa or similar contests between Radha and Krishna. Ritually, in honour of Lakshmi, the female player always wins.