This year Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light is November 9. As with many celebrations that involve candles, it symbolizes the rescue from a dark period of time where evil has had control into a time of peace, goodness and well-being. Diwali,signifies when Lord Rama, his wife Sita and brother Laxman returned to Aydhoya from their 14 years of exile after Rama killed King Ravana, the demon. Ravana was one nasty fellow. After Ravana’s death, Lord Rama is crowned king and all is right with the world.
The story of Rama is a long one with many chapters and is the subject of much drama, story-telling, dance and art throughout the year. This segment is my favorite. In India, the different regions have different Diwali traditions.
I first learned of Diwali when we lived in Singapore. In Little India, during the days leading up to it, you could buy wonderful brightly colored decorations depicting Rama and Sita. But, my favorite items were the simple, shallow clay candle holders that held small tea light-sized neon candles.
People place these candles everywhere-on window sills, on tables, along walkways– to symbolize the light that comes after darkness. In India, Diwalli decorations are as plentiful as Christmas decorations are in the U.S.
For Hindus, this is a time for giving thanks for one’s wealth and prosperity no matter how poor one might be. This is a time of year when people exchange cards, sweets, clean their houses in preparation, wear their nicest clothes and go to temple to pray. The temples are decorated as well. Here are some pooja decoration ideas you can try at home.
There are other places in the world where you might come across Diwali celebrations. For example, in Kenya and Tanzania, 1% of the population is Hindu and live in closely knit communities. There are enough Hindus that Diwali is a national holiday. Other Diwali hotspots: Mauritius, Nepal, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Japan Thailand, South Africa, Britain, Australia,Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Surinam, Fiji.
We do have a few candle holders left. I gave some away as presents. I need to remember to get them out. The street scene photo is at the entrance of Little India off Serangoon Rd. in Singapore. It was posted on the Diwali entry on Wikipedia.