An interesting festival in India is the festival of light which is called “Diwali”, it is considered one of the major festivals in India and Indians celebrate this festival starting at a varying date of November, always with a huge amount of enthusiasm. Diwali is celebrated over the course of 4 days.
Originally
this festival was meant to celebrate a successful harvest, however, for others
there are different legends and myths for this event. Some believe that it
represents the marriage of Lakshmi with Vishnu, others believe that it is to
honor the goddess Kali, another belief is that it is to celebrate the return of
Rama after he left for 14 years to defeat the demon king Ravana. To celebrate
this, the people of Ayodhya (capital of Rama) lit up the palace with lamps and
lit firecrackers.
Each
of the four days tell their own legend:
Day One
“Naraka
Chaturdasi”: It marks the victory of Krishna and his wife Satyabhama over the
demon Naraka.
Day Two
“Amayasya”:
It marks the devotion to the Lakshmi goddess of riches, whom for the occasion
grants the wishes of those that worship her. This day also tells of the victory
of Vishnu that, in his dwarf form defeated the tyrant Bali and sent him to
hell. Once a year Bali is allowed to walk the earth to light up millions of
lamps to chase away darkness and ignorance, as well as spread love and wisdom.
Day Three
“Kartika
Shudda Padyami” Bali leaves hell to come back to earth with the permission of
Vishnu.
Day Four
“Yama
Dvitiya” On this day, sisters pray for their brother to have long healthy
lives, while brothers offer gifts to their sisters.
Significance of the fireworks
The
fireworks are believed to represent happiness, peace and wealth to the gods.
According to beliefs the sound of fireworks and firecrackers tell the gods of
the situation on earth. A rather funny fact regarding this festival is that,
the smoke from the explosions kills large amounts of mosquitoes that appear
right after the monsoon season.
Practical tip: If you wish to play with fire and join in to the fireworks display, you can purchase these at improvised shops on the side of the road.
Do not go into these shops with a cigarette, and remember that the later you go to buy these, the higher the discount will be, with nearly 80% discount before the end of the celebrations.
Practical tip: If you wish to play with fire and join in to the fireworks display, you can purchase these at improvised shops on the side of the road.
Do not go into these shops with a cigarette, and remember that the later you go to buy these, the higher the discount will be, with nearly 80% discount before the end of the celebrations.
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