Diwali An Introduction

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• Come Enjoy Diversity Event, learn about Diwali
  celebration worldwide

Time Oct. 26, 2006 from Noon to 100 PM
Location Middletown, Room A2-7Y06
(Multi-Purpose)
Presention by Vijaya Keshari keshari_at_att.com
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Happy Diwali
Happy Dussara and Navaratri

• Navaratri-Durgapuja
• Nine day Celebration
• Falls on September/ October
• Dussara/Vijayadashmi
• 10th Day of Navaratri
• Diwali/Deepawali
• 20 Days after Dussara
• 5 Days of Celebrations
• Falls on October/November (New Moon day)
• Diwali Celebration Worldwide

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Navaratri Dussehra - Festivity for 9-10 days

• Nine days in 7th month of Hindu calendar (falls
  in September or October).
• Different significance in different regions of
  India.
• Some "fast" for a day or for all the nine days.
• The eighth and ninth day, perform "Yagna" or
  Havana (Holy fire - purification and symbolic
  burning Evils) to honor "Divine Mother" and bid
  her farewell.
• The tenth day, also known as Vijaya Dashami (day
  of Victory of Good over Evil)

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Navaratri
Navaratri Celebration
Garbha/Dandia Dance
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Effigy of Ravana Meghnath are burned on the Day
of Dussara
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Diwali Festival of Light
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Diwali Festival of Light
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5 Days of Diwali

• The First day is called DHANTERAS which falls on
  the thirteenth day of the month of Ashwin. The
  word "Dhan" means wealth.  
• The Second day is called "NARKA-CHATURDASHI" or
  "CHOTI DIWAL" which falls on the fourteenth day
  of the month of Ashwin.
• The Third Day is the main Diwali Day This day is
  sacred to Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth.
  This is a day of celebration, feast and joy.
  Young and elders, poor or rich, everyone enjoys
  alike.
• This "festival of lights", for the common
  practice is to light small oil lamps (called
  diyas) and place them around the home, and also
  on the roof tops
• Day 4 of Diwali is "Nutan Varsh' the Hindu New
  Year's day for many regions of India. It is also
  observed as Annakoot, meaning mountain of food.
• The Fifth and final day of Diwali Festival is
  known as Bhai-Duj. Love and Good wishes between
  brother and Sister.

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• Diwali Celebrations
• How are these events done in India?
• Fireworks
• Exchange of Gifts
• Lighting of Diyas
• Food!
• Worship to Goddess Lakshmi (of Wealth)

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Diwali Celebrations

• In your home, how do you celebrate Diwali?
• Share with us how its done in India and US
• How Diwali is celebrated in other part of World
• Diwali 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 in Nepal is known as Tihar. Is like in
  India, Diwali is celebrated here to honor the
  goddess of wealth and god of prosperity Lakshmi
  and Ganesh respectively.
• 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.

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• Diwali in Malaysia
• Fascinating in its diversity, Malaysia has many
  mesmerizing charms and attractions. It is
  comprising of a harmonious multi-ethnic mix of
  Malays, Malaysia promises a colorful potpourri of
  culture traditions
• Hindu community of Malaysia celebrates Diwali as
  a symbol of triumph of good over evil. The
  Malaysian people call Diwali as Hari Diwali.
• 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 in Indonesia
• The name Indonesia came from two Greek words
  "Indos" meaning Indian and "Nesos" meaning
  islands. The majority of population follows
  Islam. Hindus of Indonesian island of Bali is
  famous for celebrating the festival of Diwali, as
  a majority of the population here are Indians.
  The celebration and rituals of the festival is
  mostly similar to that celebrated by their
  counterparts in India.

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• Celebrating Diwali in Myanmar
• Sharing the eastern boarder of India, Myanmar has
  a good number of Hindus.
• The day is celebrated by worshipping of God. A
  good number of lights or traditional lamps are
  lit to illuminate the home inside and out side.
  Delicious foods are cooked and new garments are
  worn. Traditional dancing and music follow to
  mark the occasion.
• Diwali in Singapore
• Diwali celebration holds a significant place in
  the calendar of festivals of Singapore. The
  festival of light Diwali is popularly known in
  Singapore as Deepavali.
• The celebration process of the festival is also a
  lot similar to that of southern India. Marking
  the importance of the festival day, most of the
  offices and commercial institutions /
  organizations remain closed on this day.
• Diwali in SriLanka
• Sri Lanka is on the extreme southeastern point of
  India. Related to the epic of Ramayana.
• The festival is marked by illumination, making of
  toys of enamel and making of figures out of
  crystal sugar popularly known as Misiri. The
  sugar crystals take the place of sweets.
• Burning of crackers in the evening of the
  festival is a common practice of this festival.

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• Diwali in Japan
• Japan, the land of the rising sun also celebrates
  Diwali (Deepawali) as the day, which awards
  happiness, progress, prosperity and longevity in
  life. The festival here is celebrated in a unique
  way which is not common in India.
• People go out into the orchards and gardens and
  hang lanterns and paper made hanging structures
  on the branches of trees. Dance and music
  continues throughout the night.
• Putting on new clothes and going for boating and
  broom cleaning of the house are also some of the
  other related activities. The places of worship
  are decorated with beautiful wallpapers to bring
  in the festive mood and the auspicious beliefs
  related to the festival.
• Diwali in Thailand
• Loy Krathong is a "Festival of Lights" similar to
  Diwali and is celebrated in Thailand in the
  Oct-Nov period. A small raft (krathong) made of
  banana leaves, and decorated with flowers and
  topped by a candle flame, is set adrift on the
  waterways (of Thailand), under a full
  moon, by many at the same time. There is
  fireworks too. Deities thanked include Mae Kongka
  (known as Mother Ganga (Ganges) in the Indian
  subcontinent)."

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• Diwali in South Africa
• The South African culture is a mix of variety of
  cultures.
• It had the largest immigrant Indian community in
  the world a decade prior to the colonization by
  the United States of America. The immigrant
  Indians are concentrated in the eastern regions
  of Natal and Transvaal of the country.
• Diwali also holds an important place in the
  festival calendar of the region. Most of the
  Hindus here are from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and
  continue to follow their regional variations of
  Hinduism.
• Diwali in Kenya and Tanzania
• They also celebrate the major Indian or Hindu
  festivals of the Hindu calendar.
• The significance, customs and belief related to
  the festival of light, therefore is almost same
  like that of India. Illumination, worshipping of
  God and Goddess of wealth and prosperity are some
  of the common practice.
• Diwali is also declared as a National holiday in
  Kenya.

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• Diwali in Britain
• The occasion is marked by visit to the local
  temple to worship the shrine to 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 is in one of the
  cold, damp and windy months in Britain. The
  enthusiasm of the festival celebration makes the
  task of leaving small lamps on windowsills or by
  open doorways possible ignoring the chill.
• Diwali in Australia
• Australia the wonderful island country on Indian
  Ocean.
• For Hindu here Diwali is one of the festivals
  that is celebrated with enthusiasm.
• The lightening of lamps and Diyas is a common
  practice. However, the non-availability of the
  appropriate material of or some other reason have
  influenced and given in the touch of modernity in
  the celebration of the festival of light

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• Diwali in Trinidad and Tobago
• Trinidad is the most southern of the Caribbean,
  colorful islands of the West Indies. The Diwali
  celebration has a unique flavor here in the
  Caribbean island nation.
• 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 functions and celebrations also have
  an official imprint as the Ministers of the
  Government also participate in the celebrations
  sometimes.
• The celebrations continue for over a week and the
  headquarters of the National Council of Indian
  Culture at Diwali Nagar becomes the focal point.
• Diwali celebrations in Guyana
• The Co-operative Republic of Guyana in Southern
  America celebrates Diwali according to the Hindu
  calendar and declared as a national holiday in
  the official calendar of Guyana
• The celebration of the festival includes,
  distribution of sweets, illuminating the inside
  and out side 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.
• 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.

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Diwali- festival of light conclusion

• Nobel Poet, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore has so
  aptly put forth the true significance of Diwali
  in these beautiful lines
• The night is blackKindle the lamp of LOVEWith
  thy life and devotion."
• WISH YOU ALL VERY HAPPY PROSPURAS
• DIWALI NEW YEAR

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Diya Made of Clay
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Rangoli - Decoration
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Ganesh-Lakshmi
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Annkoot Bhai-Duj
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Have Fun!
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Happy Diwali
Happy Diwali
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References

• http//webdunia.com/occasion/vijayadashmi/ravan_da
  han.htm
• http//www.theholidayspot.com/diwali/around_the_wo
  rld.htm
• http//www.diwalicelebrations.net/diwali-all-india
  /similar-celebration-world.html