DIVALI

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DIVALI
The Festival of Light
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Introduction

• The festival of Divali (or Deepawali, Deepavali
  or Diwali) is known as the Festival of Light.
  Hindus celebrate it all over the world. The true
  definition of Divali can be expressed as being to
  bring light where darkness prevails, truth where
  untruth prevails, to bring life where death
  prevails, to brighten our surroundings and to
  illumine our minds. Divali ,Festival of Light, is
  has this name because in Sanskrit means "row of
  lighted lamps.

This is the most sacred symbol Hindu dharma. Aum
(OM) is the sound of the infinite.
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When Is It Celebrated?

• Divali is celebrated on the new moon of Kartik
  every year in the Hindu calendar. By the English
  Calendar Divali occurs over a period that covers
  the last week of October to the first week of
  November. This is the holy month and is a
  beautiful fortnight with it being the darkest
  night of the year and people are outside lighting
  lamps.

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Divalis Signification

• The Hindu festival signifies the triumph of light
  over darkness, good over evil, justice over
  injustice and intelligence over ignorance. The
  goddess worshipped at this festival is Mother
  Lakshmi or Lakshmi Mata. Lakshmi Mata is the
  goddess of light, wealth and beauty and is linked
  with prosperity, luck, wealth, well being and
  generosity. In her statues, Lakshmi Mata is
  wearing a gold and lotus flowers either sitting
  on a lotus, standing on a lotus, wearing lotus
  blossoms in her hair and on her gown or holding a
  lotus blossom.

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Activities

• During the Hindu holiday, they thoroughly cleanse
  their homes, wash their feet, buy new merchandise
  and clothes, prepare themselves for the worship
  of Mother Lakshmi, the Goddess of Light. Hindus
  decorate the house with colours and flags which
  have significant colours. They also light plenty
  of lamps to signify her importance.

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Pooja

• A Pooja is worship to the Deities of Hindus in
  prayer, offerings and sacrifices. During a Pooja
  offerings are made into a fire which is the
  actual feeding of God. They give offerings to
  Ganesh, The Divine Mother, Shiva, the Nine
  Planets, Kalsa and Mother Lakshmi. When the Pooja
  starts they have to give the Deity a place to sit
  and decorate it, wash their feet and offer food
  items to the Gods. There are also flags with
  significant colours and is used to symbolise the
  offerings. The not only celebrate light but song,
  chanting, bell ringing and food tasting. Most
  Poojas occur early in the morning and sometimes
  as early as 3 oclock. It is also symbolic that
  they face east (facing the sun) while performing
  the Pooja.

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Food

• When the guests of the family are invited after 6
  oclock they can then all enjoy the delightful
  food but no tasting occurs before it is offered
  to Maha Lakshmi by placing it next to the picture
  of statue of the Goddess. It is the mixed and
  placed into the fire. After the offering they can
  eat the vegetarian dishes. Roti is the most
  popular of the delicacies and is a light sandwich
  like a pita bread wrapped around a curry-based
  filling of vegetables. There are other delicious
  food that is to be eaten which includes the
  paratha whish is a silky type of pita bread, the
  sada, a solid type and a dhalpurie which is a
  soft type of pita bread stuffed with split peas.

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Dessert

• For dessert they would eat khurma, a sweet hard
  stick, goolab jamoon which is a sweet soft stick,
  barfi and parsad, a sweet grainy flour-based
  cereal, which is presented as a bag of sweets and
  is given as a symbol of goodwill. Sweet
  rice/kheer, rice and milk pudding, which is eaten
  straight after the meal and as a tradition it is
  placed into the same plate since the curry adds
  flavour to the sweet rice.

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THE END

• CREATED BY
• JAMES CHAU