By: Suhana Jhamnani & Rishabh Shah

Photo Link, Lord Lakshmi, Institute for MTFI, CC BY-SA 2.0, flickr.com

The greatest and most significant celebration celebrated in India each year is The Festival of Lights, AKA, Diwali! The Festival of lights typically lasts three to five days, and honors the victory of light over darkness and goodness over evil. The world’s Hindu population of over one billion people celebrate this joyous occasion. Also, Jains and Sikhs have started to celebrate Diwali too!

I, Rishabh Shah, am Hindu personally and my family has a process called Arti to worship our Deities and Gods. For Diwali, we worship specifically the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi. We offer the Gods a special food called Prasada and pray to a display called a Mandir. Celebrations often happen in India’s major cities like Mumbai, Maharashtra, and Delhi, NCT. In Delhi, celebrations have gotten so large, they spark global warming concerns. 

This year, Diwali began on October 24th, 2022 and will end on the 28th of October. During Diwali, the Hindu New Year begins which calls for more celebrations; with more celebrations come more SWEETS! 

To celebrate Diwali, people light these special candles called Diyas. They are usually made of clay and are lighted to signify and celebrate the Festival of Lights. People also do a special style of folk dancing called Garba which is usually performed in a circle to Celebrate Gods and Goddesses. Women wear Saris and dresses, while men wear Kurtas and Salwar Kameez pants. During celebrations different popular foods are eaten like Onion Bhajis, Paneer Tikkas, Samosas, and Aloo Bhujia. Also, you can’t forget the sweets. Sooji Halwa, Gulab Jamun, Rasgulla, and most importantly, Ladoo! 

Works Cited

“Diwali-Festival of Lights.” Pages, National Geographic Kids, 24 Oct. 2022,  kids.nationalgeographic.com/pages/article/diwali#:~:text=Diwali, or Dipawali, is India,that protects from spiritual darkness.

Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion. “Lakshmi Poster.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 25 June 2011, www.flickr.com/photos/imtfi/5868588133. Rai, Mridu.

“India’s Most Delicious Desserts.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 23 Dec. 2017, theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/indias-15-most-popular-and-mouth-watering-dessert/