India is the land of the people following all the religions and cultural traditions of the world. so it has become the land of festivals. Diwali is the festival of light. As per the Hindu Vikram Samvat calendar, this is the last day of the year.
The festival of Diwali is also celebrated in the countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Surinam, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, the UK, USA and other European, American and African countries. These countries are culturally attached to India, as their population has people of Indian origin.
There is the religious importance of this festival, too. And being the last day of the year, all the relatives and friends meet each other and greet each other. The children take fun in the light and sound show of the crackers.
The main attraction of this festival is the sweets. Visit any home on this day and you will be offered a full dish containing delicious sweets.
The word Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Dipavali', meaning the garland of lights. It is because, on this last day of the year, people lit a series of lights at the door of their homes, offices and temples.
It is believed that on this day, Lord Rama returned to his home after killing the great demon Ravana. So to celebrate the victory of the light over the lamps are lit in houses.
There are other beliefs also: Lord Mahavira had attained his Nirvana on this day.
In addition to the lights, this Diwali, or Dipavali, is the festival of colours, too. You will see a well-decorated coloured design, called Rangoli, in front of every house. The day is a day of fun and festival for the whole of India. And tall the people of India celebrate Diwali, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. [Images courtesy By Subharnab Majumdar [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons, and By मराठी: संकल्प द्रविडEnglish: Sankalp Dravid (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons ]
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