Diwali Festival

Diwali is a time for fun and revelry. During Diwali, India comes to a standstill except for family life and feasts. Diwali means decorating the house with tiny earthen lamps, wearing crisp new clothes, bursting firecrackers, meeting family and friends and of course enjoying the scrumptious sweets and savories prepared specially for this occasion. Fun, frolic, frenzied buying. Diwali Festival imparts an unprecedented fun, hope, value, a whole platter of creativity in form of making colorful rangoli patterns, special Diwali recepies, playing cards and making greeting cards. Regardless of its origin and local interpretations, Diwali is a day of fun, festivities and joy for people of all ages, throughout India. Weeks before Diwali, every Hindu family is busy painting and decorating their homes, and shopping for gifts. On the diwali day, shops are packed with people buying freshly made sweets and fire crackers; mothers are busy preparing special dishes for the family feasts. Late evening is the time for a special Pooja ( worship) at home, and illuminating the exterior of their houses with the rows of oil lamps, candles and colourful lanterns. Streets, stores and buildings are lit with electric lights and neon signs in such a way that the dark amavasya night and every street echoes with the laughter of children. People dressed in new clothes, visit relatives and friends to exchange greetings and gifts.

more details www.hindufestivals.org

Diwali, or Deepavali, is the Hindu festival of lights

Diwali festival is a 5 day Hindu festival in India which occurs on the fifteenth day of Kartika. Diwali when translated means "rows of lighted lamps" and the occasion is also referred to as the Festival of Lights. During Diwali, Indian homes are cleaned and windows are opened to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Lamps, lights and candles are lit as a greeting to Goddess Laksmi. more details www.hindufestivals.org
Gifts are exchanged and sweets, festive meals are prepared during Diwali. Because there are many castes and regions in India, there are myriad manifestations of the Diwali festival.
In some places, the festival begins with Dhanteras, a day set aside to worship Laksmi. In the Indian culture, wealth is not viewed as a corruptive power. Instead, a wealthy person is considered to have been rewarded for good deeds of a past life, i.e karma.
On the second day of the festival, Kali, the goddess of Strength, is worshipped.
On the 3rd day ( the last day of the year in the lunar calendar), lamps are lighted and shine brightly in homes. The lamp symbolizes knowledge. more details www.hindufestivals.org
The fourth day of Diwali falls on the first day of the lunar New Year. At this time, old business accounts are settled and new books are opened. The books are worshipped in a special ceremony by Indian priests and participants are encouraged to remove anger, hate, and jealousy from their lives.
On the last day (Balipratipada) of the festival, Bali, an ancient Indian king, is recalled and remembered. Bali destroyed the centuries old philosophies of the society. However, in addition to this, he is remembered for being a generous and kind person. Hence, the significance of this day is to see the good in others, including enemies.
The Jain communities of India celebrate Diwali as a New Year's Day. Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, attained his Nirvana on the day of Diwali. Sikhs celebrate Diwali to express joy at the return of the sixth Guru to Amritsar in 1620; Emperor Jahangir had imprisoned him along with 52 Hindu kings.
The Guru was granted freedom but refused to leave until the kings were also released.
Diwali is by far the most enthusiastically enjoyed festival in India. People of different nationalities, races, religions and backgrounds come together to share their joys generating a feeling of universal brotherhood and inter-religious harmony. more details www.hindufestivals.org

Diwali Calendar / Deepawali Date

Diwali date changes every year as the day is calculated according to the position of the moon. Find out when is Diwali 2009 in this exclusive Diwali Calendar!! The detailed calendar page clearly points out Diwali Date 2009. Also find out Diwali Date for the past and coming year in the Diwali Calendar 2008 and Diwali Calendar 2010.
According to Hindu reckoning, the date of Diwali falls on 15th day of the dark fortnight in the auspicious Hindu month of Kartik or the month of October/November in English calendar. This Diwali day falls on the amavasya or the no moon day. Diwali date comes 20 days after the popular festival of Dussehra or Vijaya Dashmi.
So go ahead, mark the Diwali Date 2009 in your personal calendar and start planning for celebrations!! more details www.hindufestivals.org