The term Diwali or Deepavali has its roots in the ancient Indian Sanskrit language where “Dipa” signifies “Light” and “avail” is the term for “row” i.e. “rows of lights”. It is the most auspicious and celebrated festival of India that also marks the beginning of Hindu’s new year and the victory of good over evil or light over darkness. And due to this, though we are in the middle of October and Diwali is still over a month away, its craze has already gripped everyone, especially the kids and why won’t it? For them, it’s a festival of crackers, new dresses, family gatherings, lots of sweets, and unlimited fun. But is this all your kids must know this festival of lights for? Definitely not and that’s why we have come up with:
These 5 interesting Diwali facts for them to know
Awesome rangolis!
Apart from crackers, new clothes, sweets, and mouth-watering delicacies, another thing no one should miss is the beautiful rangolis. Specifically made at the doorstep, the attractive and eye-catchy vibrant rangoli designs are believed to have a calming and greening effect on your Diwali guests. What’s more, you can make those colorful rangoli colors from flour, turmeric, vermilion, powdered dried flowers, and much more. This is indeed a fun fact for your kids about Diwali.
Diwali was a harvesting festival?
Yes, you read that right. One major reason to support this fact is that Diwali usually comes up during the last harvest before the winter season sets in which is either mid-October or early November. That’s also the reason for farmers celebrating this festival of lights on their crop fields rather than at home. Not to be missed out, Diwali also marks the commencement of the new sowing season.
Diwali is not a festival for the Hindus alone!
Diwali means the festival of lights and it signifies the victory of good over evil or light over darkness. Now, this is not only a belief of Hindus but Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, and Jains to are in favor of this. Hence, they find delight in the festival and have their unique narratives about it. For example, while Sikhs praise the release of Guru Hargobind from the servility of the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir, Jains celebrate Lord Mahavir’s success of omniscience and all Hindus commemorate Ravana’s defeat in the hands of Lord Ram.
Diwali: A 5-day festivity
Diwali is not a single-day affair in India but an extravaganza that lasts a couple of days shy of a week. Here’s a rundown of each day of this auspicious festival.
Day 1: The first day marks Dhanteras. On this day, people step out for shopping anything they desire like gold, silver, houses, etc. to honor the Goddess Laxmi.
Day 2: Next comes Roop Chaturdashi or Choti Diwali that marks the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Narakasura when he beheaded the demon with his Sudarshan Chakra.
Day 3: On this day, everyone celebrates the Bade Diwali by decorating their houses and surroundings with lights, diyas, flowers, distributing sweets and chocolates among the relatives & friends, and worshiping Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi at night.
Day 4: Post Bade Diwali, comes the Govardhan pooja which holds immense value in Hinduism. According to ancient tales, this day embellishes how Lord Krishna lifted the entire Govardhan cliff for the people to take shelter under it following the beating by indignant Lord Indra, the lord of water.
Day 5: The last day holds a special value for siblings across the country. It is said that when Lord Krishna visited his sister’s place following his coup over the devil Narakasura, she welcomed him with a Tilak on his forehead and prayed for more of these victories of her brother.
Laying of Golden Temple’s foundation stone on Diwali
This is an interesting yet unknown fact that the foundation stone of the iconic Golden Temple in Amritsar was laid on Diwali in 1577, the day sixth Guru Sikh Hargobind Sahib along with the other 52 kings were freed. There are different reasons behind the Diwali extravaganza and different ways to celebrate it in different regions but one thing that’ll remain constant among all is that your kids will appreciate its legacy every year. And after going through the above facts, your little champs are gonna rock it this Diwali.
