
The festival of Diwali has been celebrated for
ages and grows in attraction by the year. Everyone enjoys the goodies, the shine,
glamour, and the endless enthusiasm for living that suddenly grips people around
this time. But there is much more to Diwali than feasting and merrymaking. Diwali
is a holy tradition, not to be put in the shade by the lights. Deepawali symbolizes
the victory of light over darkness. Celebrated joyously all over the country,
it is a festival of wealth and prosperity. Dipawali is essentially a festival
for householders. The preparations, the rituals, the entire celebration focuses
on the home and family, spanning out to cover the community as a natural extension.
Diwali is a festival synonymous with celebrations in India and among Indians all
over the world, is an occasion for jubilation and togetherness. This is an occasion
for young and the old, men and women, rich and poor - for everyone. Irrespective
of their religious and economic background, the festival is celebrated throughout
the country to ward off the darkness and welcome the light into their lives. At
a metaphysical level, Deepawali is a festival signifying the victory of good over
evil; the latter is destroyed and reduced to ashes by fireworks is the belief
of the people. This festival is celebrated on a grand scale in almost all the
regions of India and is looked upon mainly as the beginning of New Year. As such
the blessings of Lakshmi, the celestial consort of Lord Vishnu are invoked with
prayers. Diwali is also celebrated outside India mainly in Guyana, Fiji, Malaysia,
Nepal, Mauritius, Myanmar, Singapore, Srilanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Britain,
Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Africa, and Australia among the Hindus world over.
Places as far as Southern America have record of celebrating Diwali.
Diwali
celebrations in Britain : The Indians are the second largest ethnic
minority in Britain. To get rid of the feeling of missing their homeland, especially
during festival times, the Indians here celebrate most of the festivals .The occasion
is marked by visit to the local temple to worship the shrine of Lakshmi, which
they have made for Diwali. Eating special sweets, burning of incense sticks, lighting
the home and surroundings and the blowing of the conch shell follows the prayer
session in the Lakshmi temple. The festival here is celebrated according to the
Hindu solar calendar hence it falls in the months of October-November, amongst
the cold, damp and windy months in Britain. Still the enthusiasm of the festival
celebration makes the task of leaving small lamps on windowsills or by open doorways
possible ignoring the chill. The lamps and diyas play their part in maintaining
the atmosphere of Diwali at home.
Diwali celebrations in Guyana :
Guyana, formerly known as British Guiana, is located on the northeast
coast of South America. Guyana is 82,978 square miles in area and has a population
of about 7,70,000. Hindus constitute 33% of Guyana's total population. The Co-operative
Republic of Guyana in Southern America celebrates Diwali according to the Hindu
Solar calendar. The day of the festival is declared as a national holiday in the
official calendar of Guyana. The tradition of celebrating the festival is believed
to have been brought to Guyana in the year 1853 by the first indentured people
from India. The legends related to the festival are similar to that of India.
The celebration of the festival includes, distribution of sweets, illuminating
the inside and outside of the house, exchange of greetings, cleaning of houses
and wearing of new clothes. The celebrations hold special significance for the
people of Guyana. The distribution of sweet signifies the importance of serving
and sharing whereas exchange of greeting cards denotes the goodwill of each other.
The sweets distributed mainly consist of pera, barfi, and kheer. The tradition
of wearing new cloth for the people of Guyana is significant especially in this
festival. They believe that wearing new cloth is the symbol of healthy souls in
healthy bodies. Cleaning of their homes and keeping them well illuminated in and
outside is a practice meant to illuminate the road for Goddess Lakshmi so that
while goddess Lakshmi visits their home she faces no problem of light as the diwali
night is regarded as the darkest night of the year.
Diwali celebrations
in Indonesia : The name Indonesia came from two Greek words: "Indos"
meaning Indian and "Nesos" meaning islands. The majority of population follows
Islam. Hindus constituent about 2% of Indonesia's total population. However, the
Indonesian island of Bali is famous for celebrating the festival of Diwali, as
a majority of the population here is that of Indians. It is one of the most revered
festivals of the locals here. The celebration and rituals of the festival is mostly
similar to that celebrated by their counterparts in India.
Diwali celebrations
in Malaysia : Fascinating in its diversity, Malaysia has many mesmerizing
charms and attractions. With a population of about 20 million, comprising of a
harmonious multi-ethnic mix of Malays, Malaysia promises a colorful potpourri
of cultural traditions. Most are based on the various religious practices, beliefs
and traditions influencing the costumes, festivals, ceremonies and rituals. The
Hindu community of Malaysia constitutes about 8% of its total population .The
community celebrates Diwali as a symbol of triumph of good over evil. The Malaysian
people call diwali as Hari Diwali. This festival is celebrated during the 7th
month of the Hindu solar calendar. The south Indian traditional of oil bath precedes
the festivities. The celebration includes visits to temples and prayers at household
altars. Small lamps made from clay and filled with coconut oil and wicks are a
common sight to signify the victory of Lord Rama, the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana,
over the demon king Ravana. Diwali is celebrated almost all over the Malaysia
except in Sarawak & Federal Territory of Labuan.
Diwali celebrations
in Mauritius : Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean that lies
to the east of Madagascar. This beautiful landmass is full of picturesque landscapes
and enchanting spots. Mauritius accounts a 63% of Indian majority of which 80%
follow Hinduism. Hence, celebration of almost all the Hindu festivals in this
island is a common phenomenon. In Mauritius, Diwali celebration is an age-old
tradition. It holds special significance for the natives, who believe that Diwali
has been celebrated even long before the return of Lord Rama from 14 years of
exile and his coronation as the king. The festival is marked by lightening of
earthen lamps in rows making images out of the rows. Lakshmi is worshipped as
the goddess of wealth and crackers are burnt to scare away evil spirits.
Diwali
celebrations in Nepal : Nepal is a landlocked country nestled in the
foothills of the Himalayas. Nepal, a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society is
the only Hindu Kingdom of the world. Diwali is celebrated here with the usual
Hindu festivities and rituals. Diwali in Nepal is known as Tihar. Just like most
places in India Diwali is celebrated here to honor the goddess of wealth and god
of prosperity Lakshmi and Ganesh respectively. The festival of light falls in
the months of October or November on the day of Amavasya - the darkest day of
the year. The festival here continues for five days. Every day has its special
significance. The first day is dedicated to cows as they cook rice and feed the
cows believing that goddess Lakshmi comes on cows. The second day is for Dogs
as the Vahana of Bhairava. Preparation of delicious food especially meant for
the dog is a typical characteristic of the day. Lights and lamps are lit to illuminate
the entire surrounding and some of the specialty items are prepared to mark the
third day of the festival. Fireworks, Lamps and crackers are widely used. The
fourth day is dedicated to Yama, the Hindu God of Death. He is prayed for long
life. The fifth final day is Bhhaya Dooj dedicated for the brothers who are wished
long life and prosperity by their sisters.
Diwali celebrations in South
Africa : South Africa is located at the southern tip of the
continent of Africa. The South African culture is a mix of variety of
cultures. Asians in South Africa constitute two per cent of South
Africa's population, and most are of Indian origin. Indians in South
Africa are descended from indentured labourers who were brought by the
British from India in the 19th century, mostly to work in sugar
plantations or mines (especially, coal) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and
later also from traders who emigrated to South Africa. A decade prior
to the colonization by the United States of America, the nation had
the largest immigrant Indian community in the world. Interestingly,
Indian South Africans form the largest group in the world of people of
Indian descent born outside India. At present, South Africa has almost
one million immigrant Indians most of whom are concentrated in the
eastern regions of Natal and Transvaal of the country. About 65% of
Hindus, 15% of Muslims and 20% of Christians live in this area. Due to
the majority of the Hindu population, a number of Hindu festivals are
celebrated here. Naturally, Diwali also holds an important place in
the festival calendar of the region. The celebration is more or less
same to that in India. A new book on Indian indentured labourers
reveals that the 2007 Diwali Celebrations in South Africa marked the
100th year of celebrations of the festival in the country.
Diwali
celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago : Trinidad is the most southern
of the Caribbean islands, lying only seven miles off the Venezuelan coast, is
one of the most exciting, colorful islands of the West Indies. Considered as the
land of the Humming Bird, Trinidad and Tobago has a good number of Indian population.
For that reason, Hindu festivals, customs, traditions and observances forms an
integral part of the society, which comprises the unique beauty of the twin island
state. The Diwali celebration has a unique flavor here in the Caribbean island
nation. Here 43 per cent of the 1.3 million populations are ethnic Indians. The
Diwali celebrations are usually marked as an occasion to unify the nation that
consists of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Indo-Trinidadians and Afro-Trinidadians.
The festival day is regarded as a national holiday. The festival is also marked
by scores of functions besides the usual rituals of the festivity. The functions
and celebrations also have an official imprint as the Ministers of the Government
also participate in the celebrations sometimes. The belief behind the festival
is same as of India, which is, prevalence of good over evil. The celebrations
continue for over a week and the headquarters of the National Council of Indian
Culture at Diwali Nagar becomes the focal point.
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