Diwali

Those celebrating Diwali spend time with family and friends. They perform religious ceremonies to bring in wealth and prosperity for a new year, cook and eat delicious food, design rangolis. Rangolis are patterns created on the floor in living rooms or courtyards using, materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals. They also light up their lives by lighting diyas, candles and sometimes, by lighting fireworks. It is a celebration of lights, and for many, it is truly a sensory experience; some families decorate their houses with all sorts of lights and open up to the neighbors, sharing their love and their food. In Gujarat, where I come from, Diwali is mainly about ending the year off by taking all evils out of you…

To what extent is the Hindu festival Diwali similar to the Christian holiday Christmas? Within the Hindu tradition, followers aim to live moral lives, called dharma, in order to break the cycle of reincarnation and achieve moksa, a transcendent state free of reincarnation (Wilkinson 172). Hindus aspire to live in a manner to produce positive karma that will break the cycle of samsara, or reincarnation (172). Hindus who meditate, practice yoga, study Hindu texts, or act selflessly believe they…

Trendy Happy Diwali SMS Diwali is a festival of lights, joys, happiness and a win of good over evil. Diwali or Deepavali is the Hindu festival of lights which spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. Its celebration includes millions of lights shining on housetops, outside doors and windows, around temples and other buildings in the communities and even in the sky. People offers and wishes everyone around their…

It is not just your typical night; it is a night which is brighter than day; a festival which is even visible from space, Diwali. ‘Deepavali’ is what Diwali was known as, it is derived from two words, deep as in a candle (light); avali means a row. Hence, the meaning of Deepavali is a row of lights; this has an ancient story behind it. Over a billion people celebrate Diwali making it the most observed holiday in India. On this day lanterns, electric lights and fireworks illuminate the night to…

Preparing for the Immersion Experience From the information given by my Indian friend (the interviewee for a diversity interview assignment), I learned that there are several traditions in Indian culture that happen in every month. In the end of this October, the Indian community has a festival called Diwali. I asked him in the first place, whether he celebrate the event or not, and I also asked him for other possible activities that I could participate in a cultural experience. Fortunately, he…

It is the festival of lights marked over a period of four days, celebrating life, pleasure and goodness all around the world (Subhamoy Das, 2015). There are many reasons why Dipavali is celebrate, which four out of ten reasons are: the birthday of Goddess Lakshmi, the rescued Lakshmi by Vishnu, a special day for the Jains, and the Diwali speech from Pope (Rajhans, S. G. & Das, S., 2014). People decorate their houses with lights and set off firecrackers, a lively way of celebrating…

One of the most important and valuable days in life is the wedding day. Today’s holidays are similar to holidays from the Elizabethan England period. In both time periods, the wedding celebration is one of the most important events and creates valuable times and moments. Holidays can also be celebrated differently between Elizabethan England and today. In other cultures, people celebrate with their own religious holidays. Each culture is different and unique in their own way. For example, in…

There are many festivals in indian culture that are a very large portion in my life. Festivals are a time of giving and happiness. It allows us to take time and celebrate our culture and bring our country here for a day. Certain festivals have even started to be influenced into american society. One example of this is Diwali. This is the festival of lights. This is a time where we light fireworks, and give small gifts while spending time with our loved ones. Unfortunately majority of my family…

How to reach Amarnath Amarnath cave is a very popular Hindu pilgrimage which is located in the South of Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of pilgrims visit Amarnath every year despite the risks it holds. The Amaranth cave is almost 3,888 m above the sea level and is a Hindu shrine. Every year almost four thousand devotees visit amaranth. This place is about 141 km from Srinagar which is popularly known as the summer capital of India. This shrine is considered as one of the most important parts of…

The Indian culture is full of vibrant emotion and unique celebrations. One of the great aspects of India is the celebration of Holi. Singer and songwriter, Pharrell Williams, has made another collaboration with Adidas to make a shoe and apparel collection dedicated to the festival of Holi. This collection includes many colors that make the pieces of clothing resemble the colored dye spread throughout the celebration of Holi. Holi is celebrated on the last full day of the lunar month Phalguna…