[48][127], The youngest members in the family visit their elders, such as grandparents and other senior members of the community, on this day. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. It is a day in which people rid themselves of evil and everything negative. [43], The artisan Hindu and Sikh community celebrates the fourth day as the Vishwakarma puja day. [108] During Diwali, people wear their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with saaki (earthen lamp), diyas and rangoli, perform worship ceremonies of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth,[l] light fireworks, and partake in family feasts, where mithai (sweets) and gifts are shared. [101] According to J.S. The festival climax is on the third day and is called the main Diwali. The Diwali-related inscription is the 4th inscription and it includes the year Vikrama Era 1268 (c. 1211 CE). [43][82] Along with Lakshmi, who is representative of Vaishnavism, Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Parvati and Shiva of Shaivism tradition, is remembered as one who symbolises ethical beginnings and the remover of obstacles. 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). Diwali Dates for 2022 to 2040 | Diwali Calender - TheHolidaySpot.com Diwali/Deepavali in India - Time and Date The name of this festival is derived from 'avali,' which means 'row,' and 'deepa,' meaning "clay lamps." The holiday falls in late October or early November each year, and in 2021, is on Thursday, November 4. . Updates? 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. Diwali also known as Deepavali is the . Food is a major focus with families partaking in feasts and sharing mithai. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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. Communities prepare over one hundred dishes from a variety of ingredients, which is then dedicated to Krishna before being shared among the community. Answer (1 of 6): Hindus do not follow date system. Omissions? Diwali is an important festival in Jainism. [79], Hindus of eastern India associate the festival with the Goddess Kali, who symbolises the victory of good over evil. The Diwali festival actually runs for five days, with the main event happening on the third day in most places in India. What is Diwali? - BBC Bitesize Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. [181][182], The use of firecrackers on Diwali increases the concentration of dust and pollutants in the air. Many participate in other socio-political events as a symbol of support for diversity and inclusiveness. The word "avali" means row and "deepa . One particular firework called anar (fountain) has been found to be responsible for 65% of such injuries, with adults being the typical victims. 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. [184], During Diwali, the levels of suspended particulate matter increase. It is in fact the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksh, the dark forthnight of the month of Kartik. Importance of Diwali Festival and Its Significance | About Diwali This year's festival begins on Oct. 22. Subhamoy Das is the co-author of "Applied Hinduism: Ancient Wisdom for Today's World." Diwali is celebrated in the Hindu month of Kartik. 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 dates of Diwali change every year as it dependent on the moon cycle. Amavasya is thought of as the darkest night of the year and is holy to Hindus. Diwali is generally a time for visiting, exchanging gifts, wearing new clothes, feasting, feeding the poor, and setting off fireworks (though such displays have been restricted to limit noise and other environmental pollution). [166] Stock markets like NSE and BSE in India are typically closed during Diwali, with the exception of a Diwali Muhurat trading session for an hour in the evening to coincide with the beginning of the new year. [103][104][k], Diwali is not a festival for most Buddhists, with the exception of the Newar people of Nepal who revere various deities in Vajrayana Buddhism and celebrate Diwali by offering prayers to Lakshmi. More Topics [58] The Venetian merchant and traveler Niccol de' Conti visited India in the early 15th-century and wrote in his memoir, "on another of these festivals they fix up within their temples, and on the outside of the roofs, an innumerable number of oil lamps which are kept burning day and night" and that the families would gather, "clothe themselves in new garments", sing, dance and feast. Confectioners and shops create Diwali-themed decorative displays, selling these in large quantities, which are stocked for home celebrations to welcome guests and as gifts. Naraka Chaturdashi is also a major day for purchasing festive foods, particularly sweets. "The first day . Happy Diwali Festival 2021: its meaning and traditional Diwali food [116], On Yama Deepam (also known as Yama Dipadana or Jam ke Diya), Hindus light a diya, ideally made of wheat flour and filled with sesame oil, that faces south in the back of their homes. Diwali for the year 2022 is observed on 24 October, which falls on a Monday. [147] In historic times, this was a day in autumn when brothers would travel to meet their sisters, or invite their sister's family to their village to celebrate their sister-brother bond with the bounty of seasonal harvests. In North India the festival also celebrates the royal homecoming of Rama (along with Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman) to the city of Ayodhya after defeating Ravana, the 10-headed king of the demons, thus connecting the festival with the holiday of Dussehra. Hit ctrl+D to bookmark this page, and share this page with your friends. [153][p] In the modern day, Diwali mela are held at college, or university, campuses or as community events by members of the Indian diaspora. Diwali 2021: What is Diwali? Who celebrates the 'Festival of Light Furthermore, it is a celebration of the day Rama returned to his kingdom in Ayodhya with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana after defeating the demon Ravana. When Is Diwali (Deepavali)? The Jain Diwali celebrated in many parts of India has similar practices to the Hindu Diwali, such as the lighting of lamps and the offering of prayers to Lakshmi. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. In some months, a day needs to be dropped to correlate with a shorter lunar cycle. What is Diwali and how is it celebrated in the UAE? - The National [112] [o] The looms, tools of trade, machines and workplaces are cleaned and prayers offered to these livelihood means. The festivities vary between different regions. Dates for 2020 to 2025." 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. . Ritually, in honour of Lakshmi, the female player always wins. Learn Religions. (2021, September 4). [154][155][91], Diwali marks a major shopping period in India,[31] and is comparable to the Christmas period in terms of consumer purchases and economic activity. [117] Some Hindus observe Yama Deepa on the second night before the main day of Diwali.[118][119]. [121] It is also celebrated as Roop Chaudas in some North Indian households, where women bathe before sunrise, while lighting a Diya (lamp) in the bath area, they believe it helps enhance their beauty it is a fun ritual that young girls enjoy as part of festivities. This celebration lasts five days and takes place during the Hindu lunisolar month, Kartika. [81], Many Hindus associate the festival with Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and wife of Vishnu. Diwali this year is a close-knit family affair. [m] Contemporary Bengali celebrations mirror those found elsewhere, with teenage boys playing with fireworks and the sharing of festive food with family, but with the Shakti goddess Kali as the focus. The third day is Diwali and the height of the festival. Diwali is a five-day festival begins with Dhanteras and ends with Bhai Dooj. Observances of Diwali differ depending on region and tradition. Dates for 2020 to 2025." On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Diwali 2021: Here's all you need to know about why Diwali - Firstpost The meaning of Diwaliand its many legends Diwali is so widely. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. "When Is Diwali in 2021, 2022 and 2023?" Forget bitterness. Diwali festivities usually last for 5 days. This festival gets its name from "Deepa" meaning "Light" and "Avali" meaning "Row". [123], This day is commonly celebrated as Diwali in Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Karnataka. The exact dates change each year but this year, Diwali falls on Monday 24 October. Every occasion represents two main things: 1. [140] According to Handelman and Shulman, as quoted by Pintchman, this legend is a Hindu metaphor for the cosmic process for creation and dissolution of the world through the masculine destructive power, as represented by Shiva, and the feminine procreative power, represented by Parvati, where twelve reflects the number of months in the cyclic year, while thirty are the number of days in its lunisolar month. Diwali is the biggest holiday of the year in India. 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. [60] It is mentioned in the Ramayana that Diwali was celebrated for only 2 years in Ayodhya. To produce colors when crackers are burst, carcinogenic and poisonous elements are used. It is celebrated in India and other countries such as Nepal, Malaysia, Fiji, and Mauritius. The exact date changes every year because the Hindu calendar is lunar. Diwali (Deepavali) Nov 27, 2023: Guru Nanak's Birthday: Dec 25, 2023: Christmas Day: Which are the other holidays in India? Many light diyas and keep them burning throughout the night. Diwali will become a public school holiday in New York City starting next year, Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced Thursday.. Why it matters: Diwali, a celebration of light over darkness that starts on Oct. 24 this year, is one of the most sacred holidays observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. It began sending official greetings and message to Muslims in 1967 on. [114], According to Tracy Pintchman, Dhanteras is a symbol of annual renewal, cleansing and an auspicious beginning for the next year. 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. Monier Monier Williams (2008 updated, Harvard University), Sanskrit English dictionary, . But when Diwali occurs in the calendar changes every year. Diwali was not a public holiday in Pakistan from 1947 to 2016. 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. 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.
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