Festival of Lights - Happy Diwali

Diwali is one of the important festivals in India. It is celebrated in a unique way in every family and also based on where the people belong to. In North India, it is celebrated differently, and in South India, the celebration is a little different. But the common belief is that this is the day that brings a bright light to everyone's life removing the darkness. It is also believed that this day is so auspicious that people do some investment and new beginnings on this particular date. In some places, they decorate the entire house with oil lamps.

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Sweets and snacks

Diwali is also the date when we meet our friends and family members and share sweets and snacks with each other. This week our tummies will be filled with lots of sweets and snacks. It is also a great occasion where the new family members try and prepare some new sweets and snacks. They get to learn the family tradition. It is not just about meeting friends and family members. We have been having this as a practice to visit old age homes on this auspicious day. Every year we visit our nearby old age home and share sweets and snacks with people there. This has been a practice for us for almost 25 years.

PS: The above photo was taken token in the old age home.

Crackers or Fireworks

When we talk about Diwali, the next thing that comes to our mind next to sweets and snacks is the bursting of crackers. Globally people also understand this as Fireworks. When I was talking to one of my clients explaining the Diwali festival and bursting crackers, it was hard to understand him and then I learned that it is commonly called Fireworks in many places outside India because they do it during the new year.

It has been a tradition to burst crackers on this occasion. I'm not sure about the northern part of India but it is an important practice here in South India, especially Tamil Nadu where people burst crackers. In other states in India, there is a ban on bursting crackers. The crackers usually come from either Sivakasi or China but this year there was a ban on importing crackers from China. I burst a lot of crackers during my childhood but now I don't have a big interest in that.

The belief is that we drive away the evil forces and bad energy with heavy sounds like bursting crackers. It is believed that evil forces go away if we burst crackers. The government has recommended a fixed time so that it is not a nuisance to others who are not celebrating Diwali. In Chennai, it is not allowed to burst crackers in the night. I still remember that a few years back we could not sleep for nearly 2 days because of the crackers sound. This year also it is there but comparatively limited.

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Some people also believe that crackers help in killing insects before the start of the rainy season. This Diwali festival usually happens before the peak rain season every year and that's why it is believed to kill some insects.

Visiting friends and family members

Today we have so many distractions in our lives. We don't really have to socialize because we get almost everything we need. But in spite of all these things there has been a practice of socializing with people during special occasions. During auspicious days like Diwali, people visit their friends and family members and celebrate Diwali with them. People in the nuclear family setup, take their kids to their grandparent's house to get the blessings from them and celebrate Diwali with them.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Diwali.

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