Diwali : The festival of lamp

Diwali also known as Deepavali and the "festival of lights", is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in autumn every year. [ 5 ] [ 6 ]The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ]The festival preparations and rituals typically extend over a five day period, but the main festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali night falls between mid-October and mid-November. Before Diwali night, people clean, renovate and decorate their homes and offices. [ 10 ]On Diwali night, Hindus dress up in new clothes or their best outfit, light up diyas(lamps and candles) inside and outside their home, participate in familypuja(prayers) typically to Lakshmi– the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Afterpuja, fireworks follow, [ 11 ]then a family feast includingmithai( sweets), and an exchange of gifts between family members and close friends. Diwali also marks a major shopping period in nations where it is celebrated. [ 12 ] Diwali is an important festival for Hindus. The name of festive days as well as the rituals of Diwali vary significantly among Hindus, based on the region of India. In many parts of India, [ 13 ]the festivities start with Dhanteras, followed by Naraka Chaturdasion second day, Diwali on the third day,Diwali Padvadedicated to wife–husband relationship on the fourth day, and festivities end with Bhau-beejdedicated to sister–brother bond on the fifth day. Dhanterasusually falls eighteen days after Dussehra. On the same night that Hindus celebrate Diwali, Jainscelebrate a festival of lights to mark the attainment of mokshaby Mahavira, [ 14 ] [ 15 ]and Sikhscelebrate Bandi Chhor Divas. [ 16 ] Diwali is an official holiday in India, [ 17 ] Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singaporeand Fiji. Etymology Diwali celebrations Indoor Diyadecoration on Naraka Chaturdasinight Outdoor Diya decoration on Diwali night Diwali lanterns before Dhanterasin Maharashtra A Nepalesetemple lighted up for Diwali Official Bandi Chhor Divas celebrations in Amritsar Diwali night fireworks over a city Rural celebrations – floatingDiyaover river Ganges DiwaliMithai( sweets) Diwali festivities include a celebration of sights, sounds, arts and flavors. The festivities vary between different regions. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ] Diwali is derived from the Sanskritfusion wordDīpāvali, formed fromdīpa(, "light" or "lamp" [ 21 ] [ 22 ]) andāvalī(, "series, line, row" [ 23 ]).DīpāvaliorDeepavalithus meant a "row" or "series of lights". [ 24 ]Tamil: ). Its celebration include millions of lights shining on housetops, outside doors and windows, around temples and other buildings in the communities and countries where it is observed. [ 18 ] Diwali (Englishpronunciation: / d ɨ ˈ w ɑː l iː /) [ 5 ]is variously spelled or pronounced in diverse languages of India: 'deepabali' ( Oriya:), 'deepaboli' ( Bengali:), 'deepavali' ( Assamese:, Kannada:, Malayalam:and Telugu:), 'divali' ( Gujarati:, Hindi:, Marathi:, Konkani: Punjabi:), 'diyari' ( Sindhi:), and 'tihar' ( Nepali:).