Indians of PS: What are you doing for Diwali?

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I will be going back to india for Diwali after a long time and I’m excited Diwali is my favourite time of the year!

Curious about how you celebrate in general - if you live overseas or in India!

Just about 10-odd days to go!

 

[AprilBaby]

For us non Indians could you give a brief description of the holiday?

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Sure! Diwali (or Deepavali) translates to Festival of Lights and is the biggest festival of the year for Hindus - it lasts 5 days. It is based off the lunar calendar so it happens in Oct/Nov usually. It’s the equivalent of Christmas in terms of scale of celebrations, though in case we don’t celebrate the birth of a religious figure.

The reason Diwali is celebrated differs, but it usually has to do with celebrating the victory of “good” over “evil”.

In most of the country it is the victory of one of our gods, Lord Ram over the demon king, Raavan and his subsequent return to his home town of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. (If you’re interested in the story of the epic, it’s called the Ramayana and you can usually buy or find an abridged English version of the story online). The celebration is actually for his return - the people of the country lit diyas (oil lamps) to light his way so that’s why Diwali is the Festival of Lights. The actual victory itself was 3 weeks ago, on dussehra, btw, which marks the beginning of the “Diwali season” or Diwali prep time. In some communities, I believe it is the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Narakasura.

From my POV (how we celebrate in my community):

day 1 - Dhanteras - Dhan means wealth so this is the worship of wealth. We pray to Goddess Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) on this day. We clean and decorate our homes with Diyas (clay oil lamps) and rangolis (colourful patterns made of chalk and/or flowers) and buy articles of gold/silver (must buy something, even if small) in order to bless us with wealth and prosperity in the following year.

day 2 - Naraka Chaturdashi / Chhoti Diwali: some communities pray to Lord Krishna for the aforementioned demon slaying. Others essentially prep for main Diwali day (chhoti means small). You wear new clothes, pray, light diyas, eat sweets and meet family and friends. A lot of people play cards (light gambling) - this happens for the full “Diwali season” if you live in India - approx 3 weeks - but if not, usually people meet on chhoti Diwali to play a few rounds.

day 3 - Diwali - this is the main day of Diwali. We pray to goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh for wealth and prosperity in a lavish prayer ceremony. We set out diyas all over the house, wear new clothes, meet family, exchange gifts etc.

day 4 - govardhan puja - this is the celebration of Lord Krishna’s victory over Indra by lifting the huge govardhan mountain. There is a small prayer ceremony (puja) this day as well, but mostly people use it to meet family and friends and celebrate together.

day 5 - bhaiya dooj - this is the celebration of the sibling bond. Sisters meet brothers and pray for their long, happy and prosperous lives. In return, brothers five sisters gifts/money. Interestingly, this is one of two such festivals we have - the other is raksha bandhan, usually happens around august, and is a much bigger deal; but also - you get paid twice a year for being a sister. It’s pretty cool.

As you can see - I love Diwali!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

we will need photos

in the last couple of years (well before covid) this is something the Indian community has been shearing with the rest of us

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

we will need photos

in the last couple of years (well before covid) this is something the Indian community has been shearing with the rest of us

Well, unfortunately I don’t share pics online - especially of my home etc had some bad experiences on a different forum of being doxxed.

But would love to hear what everyone has planned

 

[icy_jade]

How about pics of food? I’ll love to see the decorations as well. Love those fabulous sand (?) art on the floor.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

How about pics of food? I’ll love to see the decorations as well. Love those fabulous sand (?) art on the floor.

I’ll do my best to share those whatever I can get pics of that aren’t identifying!

 

[AprilBaby]

Thank you! It sounds lovely!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Well, unfortunately I don’t share pics online - especially of my home etc had some bad experiences on a different forum of being doxxed.

But would love to hear what everyone has planned

oh sorry to hear of your bad experience although i did have to Google doxed
i completly understand