I was waiting for the cold weather. Surprised?? Well me too. If you know me, I am a kind of person who feels nervous when the temperature drops below 70F. All my friends make fun of me all the time as for me even Phoenix is cold. But nonetheless I was waiting for the winter to begin. I could gladly take some time off from heat and sweat. Winter for me is Diwali. Festival of lights. Now with colder nights and Diwali just round the corner, I could not help missing home.
Diwali generally is celebrated in November. But this year according to Hindu calender it begins of October 25th. There are many stories attached to Diwali. The first day "Narak Chaturdashi" is about celebrating victory of good over evil. It's the day when Lord Krishna killed Narak Asura, and freed 16,000 women from his prison. Traditionally every one gets up before dawn takes a holy bath and prays. There are amazing treats during the four days of Diwali. Chakali, Ladoo,Chiwada, Anarase hmmmm...yummy. We would meet friends and family and share the joy of lights. My sister would put Rangoli in front of house and many diyas. We would hunt for the best colorful diyas days before Diwali.
The evening of the first day is "LaxmiPujan". Laxmi is the goddess of wealth. So we pray to her. We believe that if you pray to goddess this evening, you will never be short of money during the year. This ritual is particularly important for business people and you would find amazing fireworks in the evening.
The second day is BaliPratipada. It is the day to take blessings for the married couples. Husband would give gift to wife. Just thinking and understanding how important is to be together as a couple.
Last day is Bhaubeej. To celebrate love of brother and sister. Sister invites her brother/s over for lunch and they just spend together whole day.
I always thought Diwali is celebration of humanity. Just to know how important is to do good, love each other and think about how blessed we are with all the good things in our life. Lit a diya and think about all the good in the world. I am sure every culture has some way or the other to celebrate the goodness in the world. Festival is the time to meet the loved ones and just spend time together. Now a days with all the communication we are still lacking the human contact. I think just being together itself brings great happiness. I am planning to celebrate this Diwali with my friends and with family over the phone. May this festival bring light of happiness in you life...
Happy Diwali!!
2 comments:
Hey Rhucha,
Happy Diwali! Didn't know you had a blog :) Thanks for dropping by.
dear good summary. i think u missed out vasu baras- puja of cow and it's calf on 12 aswin- the first day of diwali,followed by dhan teras the auspicious day for traditional business community the gujjus for their vahi pujan and the rest as u stated with 1 addition of laxmi pujan is done on amavaysa after narak chaturdashi.
good keep writting we will follow the lead
Post a Comment