10 Interesting Facts About Diwali

Diwali means a festival of light. The festival is celebrated all over India, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mauritius, Suriname, Trinidad, and South Africa.

People wish each other a happy Diwali and distribute sweets. During Diwali, we forget all the miseries of the past and indulge in celebrating the happiness of life. By burning firecrackers, we burn our past problems and start fresh and new.

On the auspicious occasion of Deepawali, everyone loves wearing new clothes, lighting diyas, burning firecrackers, eating sweets. People like to celebrate the festival of Diwali in their own way, someone likes good food, others might love burning firecrackers, then someone enjoys eating sweets.

Lets us look into some interesting facts about Diwali

1. Diwali is one of the most celebrated festivals in India. It is the most famous, biggest, and the brightest festival in India. It is not only limited to Hindus but Sikhs, Jains, and numerous other folk religions celebrate it too.

2. Diwali is the festival of lamps and the victory of good over evil. There are numerous legends associated with the festival and each religion has its own mythological versions of the same tales. It is a five-day-long festival and marks the starting of the Hindu New Year. Its date changes every year and is based on the position of the moon, usually falls in October or November.

3. Lord Rama killed Ravana and left the mark of victory of good over evil. After 14 years of exile, Lord Ram returned to his kingdom Ayodhya with his wife Sita. In north India, Hindus celebrate Diwali for the return of their Lord Rama to the city Ayodhya after defeating the evil king Ravana. The people of Ayodhya illuminated the entire Ayodhya city with lamps of ghee.

4. Goddess Laxmi blesses people with wealth and happiness on Diwali. People illuminate their homes and paths with light for the arrival of Goddess Lakshmi and to remove all the darkness of life.

The cleanliness of the houses, lighting with lamps, and decoration are very important for visiting Goddess Lakshmi’s to your house. It is believed that on this day Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and good fortune, visits the homes of devotees.

5. In Jainism Diwali is the day when the last of the 24 Thirthankaras (Great Teachers), Lord Mahavira attained ‘Nirvana’.

6. Sikhs celebrate Diwali as on this occasion their teacher Guru Hargobind Ji was released from the captivity of Mughal ruler Jahangir in Gwalior along with several Hindu kings.

7. In South India Deepavali is more a festival of lights than crackers, It is not a festival for returning of king Rama to Ayodhya but it is about “Narakasura Vadha“. Narakusara was killed by Krishna and they celebrate Diwali in commemoration of the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Naraka.

8. Dhanteras is celebrated before Diwali, it is believed that Goddess Lakshmi came out of the ocean this day. It is believed purchasing gold or silver on this day brings luck to the family hence it is a day when most of the gold is bought in the world.

9. The festival of Diwali is celebrated on the night of Amavasya and lamps are lit to celebrate the dark night of Amavasya, in the month of Kartik is considered auspicious. Gambling during Diwali is admitted as there is a belief, that it brings good luck and prosperity in the year ahead!

10. The festival of Diwali is a festival of happiness. On this day, people of all Hindu religions share happiness among their relatives, friends, etc. to celebrate the festival of Diwali. Sweet shops start to decorate, in the markets, shops of firecrackers and sparklers are seen decorating.