Happy Diwali!

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Hi All,

I know this is a little late...I was away for a week celebrating Diwali with my folks :D

Wish all of you at CR a happy and prosperous Diwali! :)



Regards.
 
I am free said:
Wish all of you at CR a happy and prosperous Diwali! :)
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Redindica said:
Happy New year to you and all on these boards.
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Thanks guys. Happy (belated) Diwali and a very happy spiritual new year to you and to all here at CR :).

Regards,
A.

PS: For those that don't know ;), Diwali is the festival of lights, the biggest of all Hindu festivals. We celebrated Diwali on that last new moon day (Nov 1).
 
Silverbackman said:
What is Diwali? I know that it is a holiday but what does it celebrate?
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Hi Silver,

Diwali comes from the word Deepavali, which means "row of lights." It is the most important of Hindu festivals (although unknown to Hindus in Southeast Asia i.e. Bali, Java, etc.). Diwali is an interesting festival because all the Hindu denominations come together to celebrate this festival. It has been called the Hindu Solidarity day for this purpose. The festival lasts for 5 days (3 days in some places) and incorporates many different traditions. There are many legends associated with Diwali.

In Vaishnavaism, Diwali is a festival celebrating of the return of Rama from exile back to the city of Ayodhya. The legend says that Rama’s return fell on a new moon night, so the people lit rows of oil lamps to light the way and to welcome Rama back to his capital. There is also a legend that Krishna returned triumphant to his capital, Dvaraka, on this day after liberating people from the oppressive regime of King Naraka.

In Saivism, Diwali is the culmination of a 21-day observance called Kedar Maha Vratam, which is a holy period of fasting and spiritual practices.

In Shaktism, Diwali is a festival to honor the Divine Mother in the form of Kali or Lakshmi.

In Arya Samaj, Diwali celebrates the nirvana day of the founder, Dayanand Sarasvati.

Diwali is sort of a spiritual new year for all Hindus. Spiritually speaking, Diwali is a time to put the past behind, to give thanks for what we have, to renew our commitments to dharma, and to welcome God into our lives for another year.

In western India (Gujarat) and the Newar region of Nepal, the day after Diwali is actually the beginning of a New Year where the calendar year changes.

Two days after Diwali, there is another observation called Bhai Dooj, which is a brother and sisters day. On this day, brothers and sisters visit each other and promise to honor, respect and protect each other for the coming year.

In addition to Hindus, Diwali is celebrated by Jains and Sikhs also. In Jainism, Diwali is the nirvana day of the last tirthankara (enlightened master), Mahavira. In Sikhism, Diwali celebrates the release of Hargobind Singh, the sixth Sikh Guru, who was imprisoned by the Mughal king Jahangir.

Hope that helps.
 
Is this mainly an Indian custom or do Hindus worldwide celebrate it? Judging by your post it seems that it should be a custom for Hindus worldwide, but I havn't seen any big celebrations here in Silicon Valley (where as the Chinese new year seems more celebrated).
 
Hi Sliver'

well it certainly is in England there was a hugh celebration in Trafalgar Sq and right across Great Britain.

Very nice it was too!

Peace
 
Silverbackman said:
Is this mainly an Indian custom or do Hindus worldwide celebrate it? Judging by your post it seems that it should be a custom for Hindus worldwide, but I havn't seen any big celebrations here in Silicon Valley (where as the Chinese new year seems more celebrated).
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Diwali is definitely the biggest Hindu festival and celebrated all over India with great fervour. Surprising that you did not see Diwali celebrations in Silicon Valley. There should be quite a fair number of Indian Hindus there.

However I did read that South Africa had its biggest Diwali celebration this year. I could find a reference to this: Diwali celebration brings traffic to standstill in Johannesburg
 
Silverbackman said:
Is this mainly an Indian custom or do Hindus worldwide celebrate it? Judging by your post it seems that it should be a custom for Hindus worldwide, but I havn't seen any big celebrations here in Silicon Valley (where as the Chinese new year seems more celebrated).
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Diwali is celebrated in many different countries, including the US. Although I don't think it has hit the streets yet like Chinese New Year :) . I remember reading that the Great America theme park in Santa Clara hosts an annual Diwali celebration with fireworks and all. There's also something called Diwali mela held in Sunnyvale every year. Diwali is still fairly new in the US, but there are pretty big celebrations in New York, Chicago, etc. Since 2003, there have been small scale Diwali celebrations held in the White House.

A.
 
Then again I never went to any major places that day, perhaps there was a bigger celebration in San Jose:). But what I'm suprised at is that it wasn't all over the news (except when they showed the terrorist attacks) so I assumed there wasn't much going on.

Interesting holiday, I'll have to look out for it next year;).
 
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