How Diwali can affect religious and nonreligious?
Answers
Diwali is celebrated with a variety of rituals, which depend in large part on one's location, but they center on the lighting of candles, electric lights and fireworks.
Throughout the five-day festival, small earthenware lampsfilled with oil are lighted and placed in rows along the tops of temples and houses and set adrift on rivers and streams. Gamblingis encouraged during the Diwali season as a way of ensuring good luck for the coming year and in remembrance of the games of dice played by the Lord Shiva and Parvati on Mount Kailasa or between Radha and Krishna. In honour of Lakshmi, the female player always wins during Diwali. The fourth day— the main day of Diwali and the beginning of the lunar month of Karttika — marks the beginning of the new year according to the Vikrama calendar. On this day, merchantsperform religious ceremonies and open new account books. It is generally a time for visiting, exchanging gifts, cleaning and decorating houses, feasting, setting off fireworks displays, and wearing new clothes. ## Regional Variations of Diwali
In South India, which uses the Shalivahana calendar, Diwali does not coincide with the beginning of a new year. In South India, the new year (Ugadi), is followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Vishu and Varsha Pirappu are celebrated in Kerala and Tamil Nadu respectively. These festivals occur at about the same time, generally during April.[1][2] In England, the days are Dhanteras, Narak Chatrudashi, Lakshmi-Puja, the most important day, Padwa or Varshapratipanda and Bhaiya Dooj or the Teeka Ceremony [3]. In Trinidad and Tobago, the day of Divali is a public holiday and celebrations precede the Lakshmi-Puja day for almost two weeks. This event is one of the foremost religious observances for the country. ## References
- Tamil New Year Celebrations - hindutemple.org - Saja.org - City of Leicester website - "festivals." John Bowker, ed., Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions(Oxford UP, 2000), p. 193. - Hindu Festivals 2031. - Diwali - Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2007)
Answer:
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is the most popular of all the festivals from South Asia. It is also an occasion for celebration by Jains and Sikhs.
The festival of Diwali extends over five days. Because of the lights, fireworks and sweets involved, it's a great favourite with children.
The festival celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance, although the actual legends that go with the festival are different in different parts of India.
The Times of India summed up the modern meaning of Diwali:
Regardless of the mythological explanation one prefers, what the festival of lights really stands for today is a reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill, and a religiously sanctioned celebration of the simple - and some not so simple - joys of life.
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