Explanation on Festivals

Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, symbolizes the triumph of good over evil and of light over darkness. The purpose of Diwali is to remove all sources of darkness (ignorance, greed, worldly desires, thoughts, etc.) from within us and replace them with light, which symbolizes the true knowledge and divinity of the Lord. This prepares us to start the New Year on the best possible terms. Diwali and the Hindu New Year are a time when followers of the Hindu faith come together and share the joy in their lives. They put aside their differences and work towards fostering a sense of community all around them. It is an eagerly-awaited holiday for Hindus all over the world and is celebrated with grand festivities.

The word ‘Diwali’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Deepawali’ which means a row or cluster of lights.  It is one of the most widely celebrated and most beautiful festivals of India.  Diwali is the brightest and noisiest festival of India.  

It commemorates the death of Narakasura at the hands of Lord Sri Krishna. It is believed that Narakasura, a malevolent demon, tortured common people and they prayed to Lord Krishna to defeat him. The people then celebrated Narakasura's defeat with sparkles, lights and crackers. This celebration was continued down the generations as Deepavali. The day begins with waking up early in the morning, before sun rise, followed by an oil-bath, wearing new clothes, bursting of crackers, visiting Lord Ganesha, Lord Vishnu and Shiva temples. The exchange of sweets between the neighbours, visiting the relations, preparing Deepavali special sweets are tradition of the day.

 

Guru Purab is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Guru Nank, the first Guru of the Sikhs who founded the Sikh faith in the North India.  The two main events which are the part of the festival are the recitation of the holy book and taking out the holy book in a procession.  The ‘Akhand Path’ or the contionous reading of the ‘Granth’ holy book is held in Gurudwaras all over the country.  Langars (community feasts) are organized where people of all castes sit together to eat and sing hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib.

Dussehra is celebrated all over India to mark the homecoming of Lord Rama.  This festival is celebrated as a triumph of the good over the evil.  This festival is celebrated for nine consecutive days in praise of Lord Rma and his victory over the demon Ravana.  During these nine days, the Ramlila, an enactment is made on the various episodes of the life of Lord Rama and there is continuous chanting from the great epic Ramayana.  On the tenth day, the Lord Rama killed the demon Ravana, the abductor of his beloved Sita.  On Dussehra, larger than life effigies of Ravana, his brothers Meghnath and Kumbhkarna filled with different fire crackers are set alight to celebrate the victory of good over evil.