India Prepares for Celebration of Diwali, The Festival of Lights

Hindus all over India and all over the world are getting ready to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, also called Deepavali or Dipavali, the most popular Hindu festival.

Diwali translates “row of lamps” because the lamps are being filled with oil on this occasion as a symbol of victory over dark.

The festival will commence on Friday, November 5, 2010, and will last for five days, being celebrated also by the Jains and the Sikhs.

The celebration is set according to the Hindu calendar and consequently varies in the Western calendars.

However, it usually occurs in October or November, and it is a delight for children because of the fact that it is being celebrated with candies, cookies, light and fireworks.

Generally, the festivals celebrates the victory of light over darkness, of good over evil, of knowledge over ignorance.

Still in some parts of India it is linked to other stories and symbols, varying from region to region of the huge subcontinent.

In Jainism, people congregate to celebrate for three days the Nirvana of Lord Mahariva and celebrate the New Year. The Sikhs commemorate the release of Guru Hargobind Ji from prison, and celebrate it at the Golden Temple, a symbol of light in its own right.

Each day of Diwali is celebrated differently. The first day, the housewives clean the house and buy house appliances.

On the second day, the people decorate their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called “rangoli” on the floor, using sand or colors.

The third day is the most important of the festival because the family gathers for Lakshmi puja , a prayer addressed to goddess Lakshmi. Mount-watering feasts and fireworks follow the prayer.

The fourth day is the day of the new year, when the friends and relatives are congregating and congratulating each other.

The last day of Diwali is the day when brothers visit their married sisters where they are being received with love and meals.

This year the Indians receive the visit of the President of the United States Barack Obama, who will arrive in New Delhi during the second day of the celebration and will stay until the day of the Hindu new year.

It is possible that he visits the Golden Temple of the Sikh, which the Sikh people consider a great opportunity to tell the entire world they are not Muslims as people are inclined to think because they live in a region predominantly Muslim.