Transcript Diwali -- An Introduction

Time: Oct. 26, 2006 from Noon to 1:00 PM
Location: Middletown, Room A2-7Y06 (Multi-Purpose)
Presention by
Vijaya Keshari; [email protected]
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Navaratri-Durgapuja
•Nine day Celebration
•Falls on September/ October
Dussara/Vijayadashmi
•10th Day of Navaratri
Diwali/Deepawali
•20 Days after Dussara
•5 Days of Celebrations
•Falls on October/November (New Moon day)
•Diwali Celebration Worldwide
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Navaratri & Dussehra - Festivity for 9-10 days
• Nine days in 7th month of Hindu calendar (falls in
September or October).
• Different significance in different regions of India.
• Some "fast" for a day or for all the nine days.
• The eighth and ninth day, perform "Yagna" or Havana
(Holy fire - purification and symbolic burning Evils) to
honor "Divine Mother" and bid her farewell.
• The tenth day, also known as Vijaya Dashami (day of
Victory of Good over Evil)
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Navaratri
Navaratri Celebration
Garbha/Dandia Dance
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Effigy of Ravana & Meghnath are burned on the Day of
Dussara
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Diwali – Festival of Light
Introduction
The festival of Diwali has been celebrated for ages and grows in attraction by the year.
Everyone enjoys the goodies, the shine, glamour, and the endless enthusiasm for living
that suddenly grips people around this time. But there is much more to Diwali than
feasting and merrymaking. Diwali is a holy tradition, not to be put in the shade by the
lights. Deepawali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. Celebrated joyously all
over the country, it is a festival of wealth and prosperity. Deepawali is essentially a
festival for householders. The preparations, the rituals, the entire celebration focuses on
the home and family, spanning out to cover the community as a natural extension. Diwali
is a festival synonymous with celebrations in India and among Indians all over the
world, is an occasion for jubilation and togetherness. This is an occasion for young
and the old, men and women, rich and poor - for everyone. Irrespective of their
religious and economic background, the festival is celebrated throughout the country
to ward off the darkness and welcome the light into their lives. At a metaphysical
level, Deepawali is a festival signifying the victory of good over evil; the latter is
destroyed and reduced to ashes by fireworks is the belief of the people. This festival is
celebrated on a grand scale in almost all the regions of India and is looked upon mainly as
the beginning of New Year.
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Diwali – Festival of Light
•Diwali is the most beautiful and the grandest festival. It is observed by the majority
of people in India.
•The term Diwali or Deepavali meaning cluster of lamps. Deep meaning lamp, `Avali'
meaning `line or row' of lamps.
•This Diwali which leads us into Truth and Light is celebrated on a nation-wide scale
on the new moon day of the Hindu month of Ashwin falls on (October / November)
every year.
•Diwali comes exactly 20 days after Dussehra. It is also celebrated as Welcome home
(Ayodhya) of Shri Ram, Sitaji, Lakshmanji and Hanumanji after 14 years exile and
Killing of Ravana (the Evil King).
•Diwali is one the most holiest day for Jains, along with Mahavir Jayanti and
Samvatsari. On Diwali, Lord Mahavir attained nirvana, 2533 years ago. .
During this period devotees observe fasting and chant Sutra, which contain the
final pravachans of Lord Mahavir, and meditate upon him.
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5 Days of Diwali
•The First day is called DHANTERAS which falls on the thirteenth day of
the month of Ashwin. The word "Dhan" means wealth.
•The Second day is called "NARKA-CHATURDASHI" or "CHOTI DIWAL"
which falls on the fourteenth day of the month of Ashwin.
•The Third Day is the main Diwali Day: This day is sacred to Goddess
Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth. This is a day of celebration, feast and joy.
Young and elders, poor or rich, everyone enjoys alike.
• This "festival of lights", for the common practice is to light small oil
lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, and also on the roof
tops
•Day 4 of Diwali is "Nutan Varsh' the Hindu New Year's day for many
regions of India. It is also observed as Annakoot, meaning mountain of
food.
• The Fifth and final day of Diwali Festival is known as Bhai-Duj. Love and
Good wishes between brother and Sister.
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Diwali Celebrations
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How are these events done in India?
Fireworks
Exchange of Gifts
Lighting of Diyas
Food!
Worship to Goddess Lakshmi (of Wealth)
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Diwali Celebrations
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In your home, how do you celebrate Diwali?
Share with us how it’s done in India and US…
How Diwali is celebrated in other part of World
Diwali in Nepal:
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Nepal is a landlocked country nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. Nepal,
a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society is the only Hindu Kingdom of the world
Diwali in Nepal is known as Tihar. Is like in India, Diwali is celebrated here
to honor the goddess of wealth and god of prosperity Lakshmi and Ganesh
respectively.
The second day is for Dogs as the Vahana of Bhairava. Preparation of delicious
food especially meant for the dog is a typical characteristic of the day. Lights
and lamps are lit to illuminate the entire surrounding and some of the specialty
items are prepared to mark the third day of the festival. Fireworks, Lamps and
crackers are widely used.
The fourth day is dedicated to Yama, the Hindu God of Death.
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Diwali in Malaysia
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Fascinating in its diversity, Malaysia has many mesmerizing charms and
attractions. It is comprising of a harmonious multi-ethnic mix of Malays,
Malaysia promises a colorful potpourri of culture traditions
Hindu community of Malaysia celebrates Diwali as a symbol of triumph of
good over evil. The Malaysian people call Diwali as Hari Diwali.
The south Indian traditional of oil bath precedes the festivities. The
celebration includes visits to temples and prayers at household altars. Small
lamps made from clay and filled with coconut oil and wicks are a common
sight to signify the victory of Lord Rama, the hero of the Hindu epic
Ramayana, over the demon king Ravana. Diwali is celebrated almost all over
the Malaysia except in Sarawak & Federal Territory of Labuan.
Diwali in Indonesia
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The name Indonesia came from two Greek words: "Indos" meaning Indian and
"Nesos" meaning islands. The majority of population follows Islam. Hindus of
Indonesian island of Bali is famous for celebrating the festival of Diwali, as a
majority of the population here are Indians. The celebration and rituals of the
festival is mostly similar to that celebrated by their counterparts in India.
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Celebrating Diwali in Myanmar
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Sharing the eastern boarder of India, Myanmar has a good number of Hindus.
The day is celebrated by worshipping of God. A good number of lights or traditional
lamps are lit to illuminate the home inside and out side. Delicious foods are cooked and
new garments are worn. Traditional dancing and music follow to mark the occasion.
Diwali in Singapore
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Diwali celebration holds a significant place in the calendar of festivals of Singapore.
The festival of light Diwali is popularly known in Singapore as Deepavali.
The celebration process of the festival is also a lot similar to that of southern India.
Marking the importance of the festival day, most of the offices and commercial
institutions / organizations remain closed on this day.
Diwali in SriLanka
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Sri Lanka is on the extreme southeastern point of India. Related to the epic of
Ramayana.
The festival is marked by illumination, making of toys of enamel and making of
figures out of crystal sugar popularly known as Misiri. The sugar crystals take the
place of sweets.
Burning of crackers in the evening of the festival is a common practice of this festival.
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Diwali in Japan
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Japan, the land of the rising sun also celebrates Diwali (Deepawali) as the
day, which awards happiness, progress, prosperity and longevity in life.
The festival here is celebrated in a unique way which is not common in
India.
People go out into the orchards and gardens and hang lanterns and paper
made hanging structures on the branches of trees. Dance and music
continues throughout the night.
Putting on new clothes and going for boating and broom cleaning of the house
are also some of the other related activities. The places of worship are
decorated with beautiful wallpapers to bring in the festive mood and the
auspicious beliefs related to the festival.
Diwali in Thailand
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Loy Krathong is a "Festival of Lights" similar to Diwali and is celebrated in
Thailand in the Oct-Nov period. A small raft (krathong) made of banana
leaves, and decorated with flowers and topped by a candle flame, is set
adrift on the waterways (of Thailand), under a full moon, by many at the
same time. There is fireworks too. Deities thanked include Mae Kongka
(known as Mother Ganga (Ganges) in the Indian subcontinent)."
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Diwali in South Africa
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The South African culture is a mix of variety of cultures.
It had the largest immigrant Indian community in the world a decade prior to
the colonization by the United States of America. The immigrant Indians are
concentrated in the eastern regions of Natal and Transvaal of the country.
Diwali also holds an important place in the festival calendar of the region.
Most of the Hindus here are from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and continue to
follow their regional variations of Hinduism.
Diwali in Kenya and Tanzania
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They also celebrate the major Indian or Hindu festivals of the Hindu calendar.
The significance, customs and belief related to the festival of light, therefore is
almost same like that of India. Illumination, worshipping of God and Goddess
of wealth and prosperity are some of the common practice.
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Diwali is also declared as a National holiday in Kenya.
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• Diwali in Britain
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The occasion is marked by visit to the local temple to worship the shrine to Lakshmi,
which they have made for Diwali.
Eating special sweets, burning of incense sticks, lighting the home and surroundings and
the blowing of the conch shell follows the prayer session in the Lakshmi temple.
The festival here is celebrated is in one of the cold, damp and windy months in
Britain. The enthusiasm of the festival celebration makes the task of leaving
small lamps on windowsills or by open doorways possible ignoring the chill.
Diwali in Australia
• Australia the wonderful island country on Indian Ocean.
• For Hindu here Diwali is one of the festivals that is celebrated with
enthusiasm.
• The lightening of lamps and Diyas is a common practice. However, the
non-availability of the appropriate material of or some other reason
have influenced and given in the touch of modernity in the celebration
of the festival of light
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Diwali in Trinidad and Tobago
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Trinidad is the most southern of the Caribbean, colorful islands of the West Indies. The Diwali
celebration has a unique flavor here in the Caribbean island nation.
The Diwali celebrations are usually marked as an occasion to unify the nation that consists of Hindus,
Muslims, Christians, Indo-Trinidadians and Afro-Trinidadians.
The festival day is regarded as a National holiday. The functions and celebrations also have an
official imprint as the Ministers of the Government also participate in the celebrations sometimes.
The celebrations continue for over a week and the headquarters of the National Council of Indian
Culture at Diwali Nagar becomes the focal point.
Diwali celebrations in Guyana
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The Co-operative Republic of Guyana in Southern America celebrates Diwali according
to the Hindu calendar and declared as a national holiday in the official calendar of
Guyana
The celebration of the festival includes, distribution of sweets, illuminating the inside and
out side of the house, exchange of greetings, cleaning of houses and wearing of new
clothes. The celebrations hold special significance for the people of Guyana
The distribution of sweet signifies the importance of serving and sharing whereas
exchange of greeting cards denotes the goodwill of each other.
They believe that wearing new cloth is the symbol of healthy souls in healthy bodies.
Cleaning of their homes and keeping them well illuminated in and outside is a practice
meant to illuminate the road for Goddess Lakshmi so that while goddess Lakshmi visits
their home she faces no problem of light as the diwali night is regarded as the darkest
night of the year.
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Diwali- festival of light –
conclusion
Nobel Poet, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore has so
aptly put forth the true significance of Diwali in
these beautiful lines:
“The night is black
Kindle the lamp of LOVE
With thy life and devotion."
WISH YOU ALL VERY HAPPY & PROSPURAS
DIWALI & NEW YEAR
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Diya – Made of Clay
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Rangoli - Decoration
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Ganesh-Lakshmi
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Annkoot & Bhai-Duj
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Have Fun!
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References
• http://webdunia.com/occasion/vijayadashmi/ravan_dahan.h
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• http://www.theholidayspot.com/diwali/around_the_world.h
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• http://www.diwalicelebrations.net/diwali-all-india/similarcelebration-world.html
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