5 Days of Diwali Celebrations

Diwali is an extravagant festival, where revelries continue through five days. Although it seems like a week of unadulterated festivity, there is a deep significance behind each custom, and no Diwali celebration is without reason. What is most interesting to note is that while each of the five days of Diwali seems to have its own importance and meaning, they are all delicately linked together to make a compete celebration.

The first day of Diwali Celebrations begin with Dhan Teras. This festival is an ode to wealth. All forms of wealth – money, metals and gold assume the status of deities and are a presage of divinity. Apart from these, offices, machines and vehicles are also paid salutations as means of generating wealth. People complete Dhan Teras puja at home and also puja in the office. An auspicious time is selected and Lord Kuber, the custodian of all wealth is worshipped so that he may protect and grow the wealth that has been earned.

Day two gets underway with offerings made to Lord Krishna who delivered the people from the evil of the demon Narakasur. This is also fondly known as ‘Choti Diwali’. A common practice among people is to have an elaborate oil bath, a ritual symbolic of cleansing oneself of all evil and impurity. This is a day for rest and indulgence as preparations for the main Diwali celebrations are made. On the Naraka Chaturdashi, the real celebrations with crackers and sweets begins, and the whole family gears up for the busy day ahead.
 

The main day of Diwali follows. On this day, celebrations begin in the morning with new clothes, sweets and delicacies doing the rounds of the house and neighbourhood. Although planning and preparations have begun many weeks before Diwali, nothing can match the flurry and activity of the day when it arrives. The meticulously cleaned house assumes grand form with grand garlands and torans placed along the doorways, the fresh aroma of the flowers wafting through the house. Rangolis decorate all corners of the house and the bright colours bring a cheer of happiness. All of these auspicious elements are meant to appease Laxmi and welcome her to the home. An elaborate puja of Goddess Laxmi is performed in the evening, followed by rounds of deafening, colourful fireworks lit to illumine the dark sky. Diwali Gifts are exchanged among friends and relatives. It is a common practice for people living overseas to plan for Diwali well in advance. Many weeks before Diwali is celebrated, people send lavish Diwali Gifts to India and partake festivities here. Diwali is a festival where people of all faiths come together. They would either meet at each other’s homes and exchange wishes, or come together in celebrations at open places to enjoy the colourful magic of the crackers.

Govardhan Puja is performed on the day after Diwali. On this day, the miracle of little Lord Krishna lifting the lofty Govardhan mountain to offer sanctuary is relived. Mounds of food and sweets are made and offered to the incarnate of Lord Vishnu. The deity is bathed in milk and decorated in finery before the offerings are placed before Him and then distributed as Prasad. The temples are especially crowded on this day, as people flock to them for blessings and sweets. This is a very special day for children, who have plenty to learn from history and legends.