Hinduism
5 days celebration varies from regions and from Ramayana, where Lord Ram returns to Ayodhya on the 20th day after killing Ravana to Krishna who killed Narkasur and it is called Narak Chaturdashi. Lakshmi is associated from 'samudra manthan' to the marriage of Vishnu on Diwali. Lord Ganesha is worshipped along side as Vighna hartha.
Eastern India celebrates it as Kali Pooja. The traders' community also worships Saraswati and Kubera and a new year starts.
Jainism
Jauin and Nivethan, state that Diwali is celebrated in observance of "Mahavira Nirvana Divas", the physical death and final nirvana of Mahavira. According to the Jain tradition, this practice of lighting lamps first began on the day of Mahavira's nirvana in 527 BCE, when 18 kings who had gathered for Mahavira's final teachings issued a proclamation that lamps be lit in remembrance of the "great light, Mahavira".
Sikhism
Sikhs celebrate "Bandi Chhor Divas" in remembrance of the release of Guru Hargobind from the Gwalior Fort prison by the Mughal emperor, Jahangir and the day he arrived at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Guru Amar Das, the third Guru of the Sikhs, built a well in Goindwal with eighty-four steps and invited Sikhs to bathe in its sacred waters on Baisakhi and Diwali as a form of community bonding.
Buddhism
The Newar people of Nepal who revere various deities in the Vajrayana Buddhism and celebrate Diwali by offering prayers to Lakshmi. Newar Buddhists in Nepalese valleys also celebrate the Diwali festival over five days, in much the same way and on the same days, as the Nepalese Hindu Diwali-Tihar festival.
The Diwali festival is likely to have been a fusion of harvest festivals in ancient India. It is mentioned in Sanskrit texts such as the Padma Purana and the Skanda Purana, both of which were completed in the second half of the first millenium CE. The diyas are mentioned in Skanda Kishore Purana as symbolising parts of the sun, describing it as the cosmic giver of light and energy to all life and which seasonally transits in the month of Kartik in the Hindu calendar.
Five days of festivities
The five-day long festival starts with Dhanteras or the regional equivalent, marking the first day of the festival when people prepare by cleaning up their homes and making decorations on the floor - rangoli.
The second day is Naraka Chaturdashi.
The third day is the day of Lakshmi Puja and the darkest night of the traditional month.
The day after Lakshmi Puja is marked by the Govardhan Puja and Balipratipada (Padwa).
The last day is Bhai Dooj or the regional equivalent, dedicated to the bond between sister and brother, while other Hindu and Sikh craftsmen communities mark this day as Vishwakarma Puja and observe it by performing maintenance in their work spaces and offering prayers.
Diwali is victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil.
Here's me wishing a Happy Diwali to everyone of you - my blog's followers and your families. May the festival of lights bring you all that you wish for in the coming year!
Tailpiece.
Got up at my usual time of a few minutes before 6, the chores and was ready by 10. Had gone back to the place from where we'd purchased a few articles to tell them that they had omitted one item and therefore, undercharged me. Wasn't Nitya, the young lady at the counter, thrilled that I'd reported the issue and taken remedial action? Probably, she'd have had to shell out the money out of her on pocket. So thrilled was she that she gave me a complimentary of two colourful masks, made there.
Though it didn't rain, the sun remained hidden behind the clouds and therefore, it was a comparatively cold day!
Went out for the purchase of grocery with the youngsters in the evening..
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