For the Jain community, the festival commemorates the enlightenment and liberation (moksha) of Mahavira, the most recent of the Jain Tirthankaras, from the cycle of life and death (samsara). Small business owners give gifts or special bonus payments to their employees between Dhanteras and Lakshmi Pujan. Every autumn, the observance sees millions of people attend.
Diwali Decor - The Home Depot The festival isn't celebrated in Kerala though. Although most important for Hindus, the festival is also observed by Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists. Diwali is celebrated for almost five days consecutively. Amavasya is thought of as the darkest night of the year and is holy to Hindus. The darkest night is the apex of the celebration and coincides with the second half of October or early November in the Gregorian calendar. Some Hindu communities mark the last day as Bhai Dooj or the regional equivalent, which is dedicated to the bond between sister and brother,[111] 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. "Deepawali" and "Dipawali" redirect here. Since the 18th century, Diwali has been celebrated in Sikhism as the time of Guru Hargobinds return to Amritsar from captivity in Gwalior, an echo of Lord Ramas return to Ayodhya. They install diyas, small earthen oil-filled lamps that they light up for the next five days, near Lakshmi and Ganesha iconography. [77][78][i], The religious significance of Diwali varies regionally within India. Ritually, in honour of Lakshmi, the female player always wins. The dates change each year because they are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, but it typically happens in October and November.
Diwali, Divali, Deepavali: How you celebrated the festival of lights For other uses, see, Indoor Diwali decorations in front of an altar, Line of lamps at Bedara Kannappa temple, Mysore, Diyas lit for Diwali at Golden Temple, Punjab, Decorative lights for Diwali on a house in Haryana. [86][87], Trade and merchant families and others also offer prayers to Saraswati, who embodies music, literature and learning and Kubera, who symbolises book-keeping, treasury and wealth management. 2. [185] When these compounds pollute the air, they increase the risk of cancer in people.
Diwali 2022: When is the festival of lights and how is it celebrated It is observed by the Vajrayana Buddhist minority among the Newarpeople of Nepal. Corrections? The reason Diwali's celebration date is different each year is that each of the Hindu calendarsthere are severalis lunisolar, meaning they take into effect both the movements of the sun and the moon. Learn Religions. Today it is the "festival of lights," attached to various mythological stories, particularly tales about Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. For planning purposes, here are the dates for the main celebrations for Diwali for the next few years: 2019: Sunday, October 27 (starts on October 25, ends on October 29) 2020: Saturday, November 14 (November 12-16) 2021: Thursday, November 4 (November 2-6) 2022: Monday, October 24 (October 22-26) 2023: Wednesday, November 7 (November 5-9) For Sikhs, the celebration highlights the release of guru Hargobind Singh from prison and his return to Amritsar. [23][140] According to one tradition, the day is associated with the story of Bali's defeat at the hands of Vishnu. For Jains, it is a time to celebrate Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, and the moment reached a state of enlightenment. Kartik overlaps with October and November. Sanskrit inscriptions in stone and copper mentioning Diwali, occasionally alongside terms such as Dipotsava, Dipavali, Divali and Divalige, have been discovered at numerous sites across India. A lunar year varies in length, each month containing approximately 29.5 days (354 days) depending on the moon's movement with respect to the earth. This event is free and UCF students of all backgrounds are encouraged to attend. It is a national holiday in India which marks its independence from the United Kingdom on August 15, 1947. The day of Diwali itself falls on November 4. The Diwali night's lights and firecrackers, in this interpretation, represent a celebratory and symbolic farewell to the departed ancestral souls. Diwali 2023: 12 th of November, Sunday [128][95], The day after Diwali is the first day of the bright fortnight of Kartik. A solar calendar (like the Gregorian one) has an average of 365.24 days. According to Audrey Truschke, the Sunni Muslim emperor Aurangzeb did limit "public observation" of many religious holidays such as Hindu Diwali and Holi, but also of Shia observance of Muharram and the Persian holiday of Nauruz. They follow thithi which is based on the movement of planets and Sun.
What is Diwali? All About the 2022 Festival of Lights It takes place on November 26 this year. It's associated with Lord Ram's return to his kingdom in Ayodhya after exile and rescuing his wife from demon king Ravan on Dussehra. [61], Islamic historians of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire era also mentioned Diwali and other Hindu festivals. Next year (2024) November 1 (Friday) Last year (2022) October 24 (Monday) This holiday gets its name from the rows of clay lamps that Indians light just outside their houses. The doors and windows of houses are kept open in the hope that Lakshmi will find her way inside and bless the residents with wealth and success. Observances of Diwali differ depending on region and tradition. Also known as the 'festival of lights', the celebration usually lasts for five days. Some celebrate Diwali as a commemoration of the marriage of Lakshmi and Vishnu, while othersobserve it as the birthday of Lakshmi.
Diwali/Deepavali - Time and Date Food is a major focus with families partaking in feasts and sharing mithai. Diwali Diwali (or Deepawali, Deepavali) is an ancient Hindu festival that is celebrated in autumn every year. The day before Diwali is remembered as Naraka Chaturdasi, the day on which Narakasura was killed by Krishna. iStockphoto.com/SoumenNath What Do People Do? It's observed on the 15th day of Kartik, the holiest month in the Hindu lunar calendar. [116] On this day, many Hindus clean their homes and business premises. Diwali lasts five days, and the main celebrations are held on the third day of the festival. [167] In 2020, the INDF ETF was launched to mark the start of Diwali. It's celebrated across five days with the day of Diwali observed on the new moon or Amavasya. The Hindu calendar is based on both the sun and moon (while the Gregorian calendar is only based on the sun). In his 11th-century memoir on India, the Persian traveler and historian Al Biruni wrote of Deepavali being celebrated by Hindus on the day of the New Moon in the month of Kartika. Forget bitterness. Although not a primary festival of Buddhism, Diwali is celebrated by some Buddhists as a commemoration of the day when Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE. One tradition starts a new month from the new moon, while the other starts it from the full moon. This legend is remembered through the ritual of building small mountain-like miniatures from cow dung. The legislation will come into effect next year, and Diwali will replace Anniversary Day, which is also known as Brooklyn-Queens Day, so that schools can still deliver the 180-day requirement of . The Catholic dicastery Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, founded as Secretariat for non-Christians by Pope Paul VI, began sending official greetings and the Pope's message to the Hindus on Diwali in the mid-1990s. It's a celebration that takes place 15 days after Diwali - the Hindu festival of lights. [135][136] At dusk, lamps placed earlier in the inside and outside of the home are lit up to welcome Lakshmi.
Here's how India is celebrating Diwali - NPR.org What makes Dev Deepawali different from Diwali? The festivals and . The meaning of Diwaliand its many legends Diwali is so widely. [43][55], Emperor Harsha refers to Deepavali, in the 7th-century Sanskrit play Nagananda, as Dpapratipadotsava (dpa = light, pratipad = first day, utsava = festival), where lamps were lit and newly engaged brides and grooms received gifts. Residents of Amritsar lit lamps throughout the city to celebrate the occasion. Dates for 2020 to 2025." This year, Diwali 2022 begins on Monday, October 24, 2022 (24/10/2022), and finishes on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 (26/10/2022). The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue was founded as Secretariat for non-Christians by Pope Paul VI. Every year it is celebrated on the darkest night of the Hindu month Kartika. According to McDermott, while the Durga Puja is the largest Bengali festival and it can be traced to the 16th-century or earlier, the start of Kali puja tradition on Diwali is traceable to no earlier than about the mid-18th-century during the reign of Raja Krishnacandra Ray. Here is everything you need to know about the festival and how it is celebrated. [59][60] The 16th-century Portuguese traveler Domingo Paes wrote of his visit to the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire, where Dipavali was celebrated in October with householders illuminating their homes, and their temples, with lamps. It is an official holiday in a dozen countries, while the other festive days are regionally observed as either public or optional restricted holidays in India. Diwali, also spelled Divali, one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, lasting for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of the lunar month Karttika. This festival gets its name from "Deepa" meaning "Light" and "Avali" meaning "Row". [13][14][15][16] The festival is widely associated with Lakshmi,[17][18] goddess of prosperity and Ganesha, god of wisdom and the remover of obstacles, with many other regional traditions connecting the holiday to Sita and Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Durga, Shiva, Kali, Hanuman, Kubera, Yama, Yami, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman. Sikhs historically referred to this festival as Diwali.
What is Diwali? - BBC Bitesize Diwali also known as Deepavali is the . Diwali festivities include a celebration of sights, sounds, arts and flavours.
Diwali in 2023/2024 - When, Where, Why, How is Celebrated? Traditionally, Marathi Hindus and South Indian Hindus receive an oil massage from the elders in the family on the day and then take a ritual bath, all before sunrise. Diwali is celebrated in the Hindu month of Kartik.
India School Holidays in 2023 (Full List) - Edarabia The names and events of the individual days of Diwali are as follows: The first day, known as Dhanteras, is dedicated to cleaning homes and purchasing small items of gold. Iff a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa. [143] According to Kinsley, the ritual use of cow dung, a common fertiliser, is an agricultural motif and a celebration of its significance to annual crop cycles. Hit ctrl+D to bookmark this page, and share this page with your friends. Patrice J. Williams is a travel and style content creator, fact-checker and author of the thrift shopping book. The second day is devoted to Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Edward Reddcliff The third day is the day of Lakshmi Puja and the darkest night of the traditional month. The incredible amount of fireworks and firecrackers set off during the five days of Diwali have become an issue in many Indian cities, to the point that ambient air and noise during Diwali are considered somewhat of a health hazard.
Diwali is officially made a school holiday in New York City One particular firework called anar (fountain) has been found to be responsible for 65% of such injuries, with adults being the typical victims. Diwali or Deepawali, known as the "festival of lights," is usually celebrated in October or November, and is on October 24 this year. Firecrackers also cause light pollution. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: msa (lunar month), paka (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day). However, in South India, the festival is observed as the defeat of Narakasura. Over time, these spring and autumn festivals became the most important of Sikh festivals and holy sites such as Amritsar became focal points for annual pilgrimages. While different historical events are observed in different regions and by different faiths, Diwali represents the triumph of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance for all the cultures that celebrate it. [123], This day is commonly celebrated as Diwali in Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Karnataka. [129] At dusk, family members gather for the Lakshmi Pujan,[129] although prayers will also be offered to other deities, such as Ganesha, Saraswati, Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, Hanuman, or Kubera. [126] Family members light up firecrackers, which some interpret as a way to ward off all evil spirits and the inauspicious, as well as add to the festive mood. Every year the festival falls either in November or in October and that depends on how the cycle of moon is going in that particular year. Each day has a special significance as follows. The date of Deepavali on the new moon makes it the darkest night in the month of Kartik, when the nights are cold, long, and dark: all the lights make that darkness easier to bear. Ths festival of lights, i.e. Related: 25 Diwali Facts When is Diwali 2022? Diwali takes places every year, either in October or November, depending on the position of the Moon. The Hindu lunar calendar has two parts: dark (Krishna paksha, or "waning moon" in Sanskrit) and light (hukla paksha, or "waxing moon"), and the new moon (amavasya) always occurs in between the parts, typically on the 15th. The Diwali festival actually runs for five days, with the main event happening on the third day in most places in India.
When is Diwali celebrated every year? - Quora [140], This day ritually celebrates the bond between the wife and husband,[143] and in some Hindu communities, husbands will celebrate this with gifts to their wives. Diwali falls in either October or November each year, depending on the cycle of the moon. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [135] Vaishnava families recite Hindu legends of the victory of good over evil and the return of hope after despair on the Diwali night, where the main characters may include Rama, Krishna, Vamana or one of the avatars of Vishnu, the divine husband of Lakshmi. Indian Independence Day Independence Day is celebrated every year during August 15. [110] Some regions of India start Diwali festivities the day before Dhanteras with Govatsa Dwadashi.
Importance of Diwali Festival and Its Significance | About Diwali For example, the Singaporean government, in association with the Hindu Endowment Board of Singapore, organises many cultural events during Diwali every year.
Complete guide to visiting India during Diwali - Explore With Lora Diwali is celebrated over five days in most of North India. It is one of the most important festivals within Hinduism [7] [8] where it generally lasts five days (or six in some regions of India), and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar months of Ashvin (according to the amanta tradition) and Kartika (between mid- October and mid- November ). According to a Government of Himachal Pradesh and India publication, the Vishvakarma puja is observed on the fourth day of Diwali in the Himalayan state. We usually plan for our parents to visit us during this period but the pandemic has made it difficult this year for everyone. It was in early 20th-century, states Harjot Oberoi, a scholar of Sikh history, when the Khalsa Tract Society triggered by the, Hindus of eastern and northeastern states of India associate the festival with the goddess. [161] Other goods that are bought in substantial quantities during Diwali include confectionery and fireworks. They also spend time with family and friends to enjoy good food and fireworks. Diwali is known as the festival of lights in India. As the term "Festival of Lights" suggests, the celebration involves millions of lights illuminated from rooftops, doorways, and windows in thousands of temples and buildings all over the countries where the festival is observed. Das, Subhamoy. The first day, November 2, is Dhanteras. [165] About two-thirds of Indian households, according to the ASSOCHAM forecast, would spend between 5,000 (US$63) and 10,000 (US$130) to celebrate Diwali in 2017. He has written several books about Hinduism for children and young adults. Diwali falls in either October or November each year, depending on the cycle of the moon. Each day has a different name and rituals. Diwali is the Festival of Lights, observed by Indian communities around the world. 10,000 on this Diwali: ASSOCHAM survey, "Festival of Lights: All You Need to Know About Diwali", "DNA Explainer: What is Diwali Muhurat Trading and why it is best time to invest in stocks", "NextFins Celebrates Diwali With the Launch of INDF", "Prince Charles, Camilla celebrate Diwali in UK", "Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall Celebrate Diwali at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London", "Brown celebrates Diwali at 10, Downing Street, in a 'historic' first", "Pakistan parliament adopts resolution for Holi, Diwali, Easter holidays", "Muslim-majority Pakistan set to declare Holi, Diwali and Easter as public holidays", "Muslims join Hindus in Diwali celebrations in Pakistan's Peshawar", "Burns in the developing world and burn disasters", "Air Pollution: Delhi's air quality enters 'Red Zone' ahead of Diwali", "Diwali may bring 'severe' air pollution to Delhi, despite fireworks ban", "Firecrackers Not Only Pollute The Environment But Also Carry Cancer Causing Chemicals", "Diyas symbolise Diwali, crackers cause pollution: Delhi environment minister", The Ancient Origins of Diwali, Indias Biggest Holiday, Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sembilan's Birthday, Anniversary of Installation of the Sultan of Terengganu, Declaration of Malacca City as Historical City, Declaration of George Town as World Heritage Site, Annunciation of the Virgin Mary / Annunciation of the Theotokos, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, Emancipation Day in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Fast in Honor of the Holy Mother of Lord Jesus, Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nativity of Mary / Nativity of the Theotokos, Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month, Virgin IslandsPuerto Rico Friendship Day, Presentation of the Theotokos to the Temple, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diwali&oldid=1139371132, Articles containing Assamese-language text, Articles containing Bengali-language text, Articles containing Gujarati-language text, Articles containing Kannada-language text, Articles containing Konkani (individual language)-language text, Articles containing Maithili-language text, Articles containing Malayalam-language text, Articles containing Marathi-language text, Articles containing Punjabi-language text, Articles containing Nepali (macrolanguage)-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English, Articles using infobox templates with no data rows, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Ashvin Krishna Trayodashi, Ashvin Krishna Chaturdashi, Ashvin Amavasya, Kartik Shukla Pratipada, Kartik Shukla Dwitiya, 11 (Kali Chaudas/Hanuman Puja/Chhoti Diwali), This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 20:01.