Happy Diwali!
- Thread starter S.A.M.
- Start date
Its the most important festival of India
There is also a religious component to it, but what the component is depends where in India you are. Mostly its just an excuse to light crackers, enjoy fireworks, deck the city in lights and partaaaaay!!!!
Sort of like July 4th in the US? Just on a cosmic scale?
Happy Diwali Day
Diwali
Popularly known as the festival of lights, is an important five-day festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. For Hindus, Diwali is the most important festival of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. Deepavali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Fiji, and Suriname.
Diwali
Popularly known as the festival of lights, is an important five-day festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. For Hindus, Diwali is the most important festival of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. Deepavali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Fiji, and Suriname.
(Insert title here)
I know it's an insignificant point, but I actually heard one student wish another a happy Diwali today, as I was waiting to pick up my daughter after school.
(If I wanted to make a point out of it, I might say, "My, how times have changed. That would have gotten someone's ass kicked when I was in elementary school.")
The reply, incidentally, was, "I'm taking the bus today. Sheesh!"
And, yes, that actually makes sense; one of those "had to be there" things.
S.A.M. said:
I know it's an insignificant point, but I actually heard one student wish another a happy Diwali today, as I was waiting to pick up my daughter after school.
(If I wanted to make a point out of it, I might say, "My, how times have changed. That would have gotten someone's ass kicked when I was in elementary school.")
The reply, incidentally, was, "I'm taking the bus today. Sheesh!"
And, yes, that actually makes sense; one of those "had to be there" things.
It is moonless night of the month of Kartika, as per Hindu calendar.
It is the day Lord Rama returned to His capital Ayodhya after a 14 year exile, with His wife Sita and younger brother Lakshmana. The citizens decorated their homes and the whole city with lamps in token of welcome. Sita is an incarnate of Lakshmi, and with Her return, the glory and prosperity of the city blossomed. Therefore, it is she not Rama who is the chief deity of worship and prayers.
Are the Hindu calendar months [Chaitra, Vaishakh, Jyesht, Ashad, Shravan, Bhadrapad, Ashwin, Karthik, Margshirsh, Posh, Maagh, Phalgun] based on lunar movements?
Hindu calendars arec essentially solilunar in nature. A 365 day year, yet months according to luna. A contradiction? Yes, but resolved too.
Fasli, agricultural, calednar is essentially Vikrami.
In fact Hindu calendars are based on atronomical events, hence sphisticated but COMPLICATED too. In Shalivan Samvat the seasons shift a bit, but they are corrected too.
Julian calendar utilises Tropical year of 365 days with corrections. Most Indian calendars use Sidereal year of 366 days, with local corrections. But I am not an authority on this subject.
Fraggle Rocker
Staff member
Diwali is one of my favorite holidays--regardless of any cultural gap--because of the emphasis on food.
Last year one of my Indian co-workers invited me to have dinner with her, her husband and son. It wasn't until she was in the Indian market buying the ingredients that it dawned on her that she had unwittingly scheduled our dinner for Diwali. Apparently it's one of the many meatless holidays in Indian culture.
"Oh what can I do?" she asked herself. "Fraggle is the world's biggest carnivore. If there were a meat-eating contest between Fraggle and a tiger, he would win by simply eating the tiger. I can't feed him a vegetarian meal."
Then she realized, "Aha, the one thing he likes to eat even better than meat is dessert."
I have never seen such a huge assortment of desserts as we had that night, and they were all splendid.
Last year one of my Indian co-workers invited me to have dinner with her, her husband and son. It wasn't until she was in the Indian market buying the ingredients that it dawned on her that she had unwittingly scheduled our dinner for Diwali. Apparently it's one of the many meatless holidays in Indian culture.
"Oh what can I do?" she asked herself. "Fraggle is the world's biggest carnivore. If there were a meat-eating contest between Fraggle and a tiger, he would win by simply eating the tiger. I can't feed him a vegetarian meal."
Then she realized, "Aha, the one thing he likes to eat even better than meat is dessert."
I have never seen such a huge assortment of desserts as we had that night, and they were all splendid.
Yes, Fraggle. It is a meatless day for us. But we can sure offer offer cuisine sans meat. Even sans onions!
But mind you, we have a deep meaning in Diwali. Dpiavly, row of lamps it means. SAM posted a pic. Notice that lamps are earthen and filled with oil. Any oil will do, except animal tallow.
But mind you, we have a deep meaning in Diwali. Dpiavly, row of lamps it means. SAM posted a pic. Notice that lamps are earthen and filled with oil. Any oil will do, except animal tallow.
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Yes we wait impatiently for Diwali - not only is there a surfeit of special mithai but a positive deluge of chocolates!