celebration of diwali

Being the festival of lights, Diwali in India is a holy tradition and it symbolizes the emergence of light in the darkness, the triumph of truth and the extinction of ignorance and arrival of wisdom. The festival is celebrated with great joy and ecstasy all over the country. It is a glorious occasion to rejuvenate your relationship with your loved ones. It is the time to get back to your long lost friends and acquaintance and celebrate the festival of lights together, with fun and fervor. The best way to convey your heartfelt wishes is to send greetings to your loved ones. Since sending greeting cards via the traditional system of post can be a bit time consuming, you may opt for the easier ways to put across the thoughts. One such way is sending SMS.

Apart from crackers and festivities, Diwali festival is also popular for the renovation and decoration of one home. The main idea behind the custom of decorating the homes and offices on Diwali is to please and attract the Goddess of wealth, Goddess Lakshmi as it is popularly said that she enters only in a clean and decorated home. Thus apart from the entire home, the decoration of the entrance of a place, which is called dwaar , also becomes very important. The beautiful door hangings that are called Bandanwaar , or even torans, have special significance as the decorative accessories in Diwali festivities.

As Diwali is supposedly celebrated on the occasion when Lord Rama along with wife Sita and brother Lakshman returned to his capital Ayodhya, after defeating and killing the evil King Ravana and spending fourteen years in exile. It was a new moon day of the Kartik season. His homecoming was thus greatly celebrated with lights, fireworks, bursting of crackers and merriment. This tradition of Diwali celebration continued to be observed to this day in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and the surrounding areas where huge effigies of Ravana are burned implying Lord Rama s annihilating of the demon king. Thus the Diwali nights in these areas, are nights of fireworks and crackers. They are burnt all night long to celebrate the occasion.

The western states of India celebrate Diwali for four days, the preparations for which begin at least 15 days prior to the final celebration.People engage themselves in a month long shopping and making preparations for the occasion. Markets all over make arrangements to cater the month requirements of Diwali shoppers and thus in way boost their business transactions as well.The Gujarati community starts celebrations in different ways. Just the nights preceding the festival, they start their celebration by creating various designs with natural powder colors (called Rangoli ) in their verandas. These designs are depiction of images associated to the festival like the deities, sun and flowers. Images of small footprints are also drawn over individual doorsteps which are supposed to be a way of inviting Goddess Lakshmi to the house.

Well Diwali in the southern part takes a different turn for various exclusive Diwali customs are observed in Tamil Nadu. The people of Tamil Nadu observe this once in a lifetime event, Thalai Deepavali, which is observed by newlyweds who are entitled to celebrate their first diwali after marriage in the bride parental home. According to the traditions associated, the newly married couple, after taking blessings from the elders are supposed to burst the first crackers of the day and thereafter pay a visit to the temple, get gifts of clothes and jewellery, savor on the sweets that are reserved for them and receive blessings of elders for a happy married life. In this joyful occasion the groom s parents and relatives also come down to join in the celebrations.

The rural India however celebrates Diwali with different motives and intentions, for it is the harvest festival for them. Thus every village in the country celebrate this festival with utmost vibe and energy for Diwali is the time when farmers celebrate with joy and offer praises to God for granting them a good crop. Thus various customs are followed in order to honor the deity. The primary custom is the drawing of colored Rangoli or Kolam designs of the footsteps of Goddess Lakshmi at individual doorsteps. It is believed the houses that design their doors with such designs are to usher in wealth, fortune and prosperity. Idols of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha are worshipped in most Hindu homes on this day. However at the dusk, the real jubilations begin. Tiny earthen lamps and candles are arranged all over individual huts in rows and create a beautiful sight to behold. People wear new apparels, burst firecrackers and light sparklers, visit the places of their relatives and friends to wish them on the occasion of Diwali and exchange gifts.

Diwali is celebrated around the world, particularly in countries with significant populations of Hindu, Jain and Sikh origin. These include Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Mauritius, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom,United Arab Emirates, and the United States. With more understanding of Indian culture and global migration of people of Indian origin, the number of countries where Diwali/Deepavali is celebrated has been gradually increasing. While in some countries it is celebrated mainly by Indian expatriates, in others it is becoming part of the general local culture. In most of these countries Diwali is celebrated on the same lines as described.

On this festive occasion, Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities also mark charitable causes, kindness, and for peace. For example, at the international border, every year on Diwali, Indian forces approach Pakistani forces and offer traditional Indian sweets on the occasion of Diwali. The Pakistani soldiers anticipating the gesture, return the goodwill with an assortment of Pakistani sweets.

Diwali marks a major shopping period in India. In terms of consumer purchases and economic activity, Diwali is the equivalent of Christmas in the west. It is traditionally a time when households purchase new clothing, home refurbishments, gifts, gold and other large purchases. The festival celebrates Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and investment, spending and purchases are considered auspicious. Diwali is a peak buying season for gold and jewelry in India. It is also a major sweets, candy and fireworks buying season. At retail level, about US$ 800 million (INR 5,000 crores) worth of firecrackers are consumed in India over the Diwali season.

Scholars report that air pollution worsens not as much during fireworks, but after fireworks celebration is over, with peak PM2.5 about four times worse than pre Diwali levels, and average levels about two times a normal day. This study indicated that there is high accumulation of PM2.5 generated due to fireworks on Diwali festival which remains suspended in the air. The peak pollution lasts for about one day, and the pollutant concentrations return to background levels after 24 hours. Attri et al. report ground level ozone pollution is also formed Diwali, as with fireworks celebrations around the world on new year eve or respective national Independence Day.The dispersal and decay times for increased ground level ozone is also about one day.