[117][118][119], The third day is the height of the festival,[126] and coincides with the last day of the dark fortnight of Ashwin or Kartik. Diwali is also known as the 'Festival of Light' because it is celebrated using lights, fireworks and lanterns in private homes and public places. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue was founded as Secretariat for non-Christians by Pope Paul VI. Diwali Is a Festival of Sweet Delights - Food & Wine Meaning "rows of lighted lamps," Diwali is a celebration of light over darkness for different cultures across the world, especially South Asia. The holiday falls in late October or early November each year, and in 2021, is on Thursday, November 4. . 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). iStockphoto.com/SoumenNath What Do People Do? Guru Amar Das, the third Guru of the Sikhs, built a well in Goindwal with eighty-four steps and invited Sikhs to bathe in its sacred waters on Baisakhi and Diwali as a form of community bonding. 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. It's believed that on this day the Goddess Lakshmi, often associated with wealth, abundance and good fortune, visits people's homes and fulfils their desires. Shopkeepers and small operations perform puja rituals in their office premises. On the Gregorian calendar, the festival falls between October and November. The festivities vary between different regions. All the days except Diwali are named using the designation in the Indian calendar. One particular firework called anar (fountain) has been found to be responsible for 65% of such injuries, with adults being the typical victims. When Is Diwali (Deepavali)? Deepavali means a row of lights, where 'deep' means light and 'avali' means row. Cook, Sharell. Diwali falls in either October or November each year, depending on the cycle of the moon. Diwali for the year 2022 is observed on 24 October, which falls on a Monday. [143] In Gujarat, Annakut is the first day of the new year and celebrated through the purchase of essentials, or sabras (literally, "good things in life"), such as salt, offering prayers to Krishna and visiting temples. A solar calendar (like the Gregorian one) has an average of 365.24 days. The Diwali-related inscription is the 4th inscription and it includes the year Vikrama Era 1268 (c. 1211 CE). Diwali is celebrated on the 15th day of Kartik which is considered as the most serene months according to the Hindu Lunar calendar. This year's date of celebration starts November 14, 2020. . Diwali falls on the 15th day of the Hindu month of Kartik, which is the new moon day of the first month of the lunar year. Diaspora, Identity, and Festivalization, The Festival of 'Deepavali' as Marks of Tradition and Identity for Working, Married Hindu Women: Continuity and Change, Celebrations as Social Investments: Festival Expenditures, Unit Price Variation, and Social Status in Rural India, M.A., English Literature, University of North Bengal. Diwali will become an official holiday on school calendars in New York [112] [o] The looms, tools of trade, machines and workplaces are cleaned and prayers offered to these livelihood means. 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. [43] In western states such as Gujarat, and certain northern Hindu communities of India, the festival of Diwali signifies the start of a new year. [121] The day and its rituals are interpreted as ways to liberate any souls from their suffering in "Naraka", or hell, as well as a reminder of spiritual auspiciousness. Where does Diwali get its name? 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. Diwali Dates Detailed Information The Prime Minister Jawaharlal . Naraka Chaturdashi, also known as Chhoti Diwali, is the second day of festivities coinciding with the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of Ashwin or Kartik. The dates of Diwali change every year as it dependent on the moon cycle. 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. Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. Important Read: Tips to Celebrate Diwali in 2021 History and Significance of Diwali What makes Dev Deepawali different from Diwali? In 2022, Diwali is on October 24. Diwali along with Holi for Hindus, and Easter for Christians, was adopted as public holiday resolution by Pakistan's parliament in 2016, giving the local governments and public institutions the right to declare Holi as a holiday and grant leave for its minority communities, for the first time. [79], Hindus of eastern India associate the festival with the Goddess Kali, who symbolises the victory of good over evil. Diwali usually falls in October or November. [116] The term Dhan for this day also alludes to the Ayurvedic icon Dhanvantari, the god of health and healing, who is believed to have emerged from the "churning of cosmic ocean" on the same day as Lakshmi. The day of Diwali itself falls on November 4.. [114], On the second day of Diwali, Hanuman Puja is performed in some parts of India especially in Gujarat. Diwali is usually celebrated twenty days after the Vijayadashami festival, with Dhanteras, or the regional equivalent, marking the first day of the festival when celebrants prepare by cleaning their homes and making decorations on the floor, such as rangolis. Diwali 2021: Here's all you need to know about why Diwali - Firstpost At such events a variety of music, dance and arts performances, food, crafts, and cultural celebrations are featured. [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. One tradition links the festival to legends in the Hindu epic Ramayana, where Diwali is the day Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman reached Ayodhya after a period of 14 years in exile after Rama's army of good defeated demon king Ravana's army of evil. [102] The festival of Diwali, according to Ray Colledge, highlights three events in Sikh history: the founding of the city of Amritsar in 1577, the release of Guru Hargobind from the Mughal prison, and the day of Bhai Mani Singh's martyrdom in 1738 as a result of his failure to pay a fine for trying to celebrate Diwali and thereafter refusing to convert to Islam. Spiritually, Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. [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. [83][84][85] Hindus from the Braj region in northern India, parts of Assam, as well as southern Tamil and Telugu communities view Diwali as the day the god Krishna overcame and destroyed the evil demon king Narakasura, in yet another symbolic victory of knowledge and good over ignorance and evil. 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. "Deepawali" and "Dipawali" redirect here. Symbolising the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness, Diwali usually falls in the early autumn, coinciding with the new moon, deemed the darkest night of the Hindu lunar calendar. The fourth day, known as GoverdhanPuja,Balipratipada,or Annakut, commemorating Krishnas defeat of Indra, the king of the gods, is also the first day of Karttika and the start of the new year in the Vikrama (Hindu) calendar. While the dates vary annually based on the Hindu lunar calendar, Diwali usually occurs in October or November. [91] The telling of these myths are reminiscent of the Hindu belief that good ultimately triumphs over evil. [75][76] Another early 13th-century Sanskrit stone inscription, written in the Devanagari script, has been found in the north end of a mosque pillar in Jalore, Rajasthan evidently built using materials from a demolished Jain temple. Some celebrate Diwali as a commemoration of the marriage of Lakshmi and Vishnu, while othersobserve it as the birthday of Lakshmi. [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. [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. [20], The festival is an annual homecoming and bonding period not only for families,[17][18] but also for communities and associations, particularly those in urban areas, which will organise activities, events and gatherings. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Diwali is an important festival in Jainism. 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). Subhadra welcomes him with a tilaka on his forehead. [24], Originally a Hindu festival, Diwali is now also celebrated by other faiths. Holi Dates: When is Holi in 2021, 2022 and 2023? In 2023, it falls on a Sunday, and some businesses may choose to follow Sunday opening hours. [143], The last day of the festival, the second day of the bright fortnight of Kartik, is called Bhai Duj (literally "brother's day"[146]), Bhau Beej, Bhai Tilak or Bhai Phonta. On that day sisters pray for the success and well-being of their brothers. When Is Diwali in 2021, 2022 and 2023? - Learn Religions Cook, Sharell. A variety of sweets are prepared using flour, semolina, rice, chickpea flour, dry fruit pieces powders or paste, milk solids (mawa or khoya) and clarified butter (ghee). Diwali, which is celebrated on different dates each year as it follows the lunar calendar, will begin on October 24 this year and last for five days. 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. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning row of lights. The festival generally symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. In 2022, the five days of Diwali begin on October 22, with the most important festival date taking place on October 24.