How Do You Celebrate Diwali 2013?
This 2013, Diwali will be celebrated from November 3, Sunday and will end on November 7, Thursday. Diwali 2013 will be a much-awaited Hindu festival just like all Diwali celebrations in the past. Diwali is also known as Deepavali or Devali which is Hindu for “Festival of Lights.”
There are lights everywhere; from traditional clay oil lamps to modern LED lights, Hindus everywhere celebrate this important part of their faith and culture. Hindus believe that the goddess Lakshmi will enter your home when you keep a clay oil lamp burning as well as lights and traditional décor. In India and in several countries with Hindi population like Fiji, Guyana, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore and Trinidad and Tobago this holiday is an official holiday.
How do locals celebrate Diwali?
Locals get in the mood to celebrate Diwali with the following traditional and modern activities:
- Aside from lights and lamps, locals also decorate their doorway and their homes with different local decorations. Come evening, the skies light up with firecrackers since they believe that loud noises and lights will drive evil spirits away.
- Locals clean their home as well to prepare for the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi to enter.
- Locals also wear new and colorful clothes to celebrate; new clothes are a sign of prominence and wealth.
- What’s a festival without food? Devotees cook and share sweets and snacks with family, friends and neighbors. Feasting is non-stop from morning to evening for five days.
- Parades are also prominent and most feature the goddess of wealth as she is paraded from street to street. There is dancing and merry-making everywhere. There may be differences in how people celebrate Diwali from one country and one region of India to another but all prepare with prayer of thanksgiving for a plentiful year and another year of bounty and wealth.
Are there new ways to celebrate Diwali 2013?
There are new ways to celebrate Diwali and this will surely be evident in Diwali 2013.
- Aside from traditional prayer and offering to the goddess Lakshmi there are several modern twists like cleaning up the home. Like spring cleaning, locals would clean their homes from top to bottom and remove old décor and linen to make room for new ones. The goddess is believed to enter well lit, clean and orderly homes.
- There are night markets and stalls that sell traditional food for locals as well as tourists. Since this holiday has become more popular, tourists have begun to visit India just to witness Diwali. From night markets, food stalls and entertainment, the five day celebration has become more commercialized than ever.
- Diwali are not just for Hindi people, even tourists can participate in this exciting and wondrous event. Tourists don saris and traditional men’s clothing to take part in prayer, fun and parades that is traditional Diwali. You don’t need to live in India to celebrate this holiday either; you can live anywhere and still participate in prayer, meet with family and celebrate this beautiful festival of lights.