Diwali
The Indian new year festival
Some Facts about Diwali
Diwali is one of the most major religious events in Hinduism. Diwali is like our New Year's eve holiday only earlier. According to the Gregorian Calender Diwali takes place in October or November every year. Diwali celebrates the wife of Vishnu who is Lakshmi.
This picture shows Ganesha who is the god of destroying boundaries happy to celebrate Diwali with his candle which represents Ganesha defeating an evil demon.
More facts about Diwali
In Sanskrit (the native language of India) Diwali is more commonly known as Dipavali which means "row of lights." Diwali lasts about 5 days. Diwali was first practiced in the famous epic the Ramayana. It was said to have light the way for Rama (a form of Vishnu) and his wife Sita (a form of Lakshmi) after a 14 year exile.
The picture above shows the Golden Temple during Diwali
some interesting facts about Diwali
- Diwali is also important for the Jain community and they call Diwali Deva Diwali.
- Diwali is generally made for visiting family members, exchanging gifts and feasting.
Did You Know?
Gambling is a favorite past-time because it symbolizes a game of dice often played by Shiva and his wife Parvati.
the sources of my information are as follows
http://school.eb.com/comptons/article-202044?query=diwali&ct=
http://school.eb.com/comptons/article-9321568?query=diwali&ct=null