Deepavali is the festival of Lights. Serangoon Road in Singapore is especially a sight to behold these days- and the lighting this year is especially classy. For visitors visiting Singapore, don't miss this as part of your itinerary - and also the lighting in Chinatown (I will try and take more snaps of them in the next couple of days). Here are some snaps I took earlier today. It was a quick trip to Serangoon road to get something for my daughter (and I was sick throughout the day). Quick snaps taken in the peak hours (not a good time to take photos anyways).
The date of Diwali is based on the
Hindu calendar, which has solar
sidereal years and
lunar months. Although the festival is worshipped on exactly the same set of days across India, it falls in different months depending on the version of the Hindu calendar being used in the given region.
The Amanta ("ending on the no-moon") version of the
Hindu Calendar has been adopted as the Indian national calendar. According to this calendar, which is prevalent in
southern India and
Maharashtra, deepavali falls in the middle of the month of Ashwayuja. According to the Purnimanta ("ending on the full-moon") version prevalent in
northern India, the 5-day celebration is spread over the last three days of the month of
Ashwayuja and the first two days of the new month of
Kartika. According to this calendar, the festival of Deepavali marks the new year's day of this calendar and is therefore an especially significant festival.
In the
Gregorian calendar, it falls generally in the months of October or November. In
2005, the
new moon day which is the third and most important day of the festival fell on
November 1. In
2006, it will be celebrated on
October 21 (Saturday).
The Five days of Diwali
Diwali is celebrated over five days in most of North India. All the days except Diwali are named using the designation in the Indian calendar. A lunar half-month is 15 days. Diwali as a new-moon day, marks the last day of a 15-day period.
Diwali has emerged as one of the most famous Hindu festivals. An integral part of Diwali decorations,
Rangoli is a colorful pattern drawn on the floor.
Dhan-trayodashi or Dhan teras: Dhan means "wealth" and Trayodashi means "13th day". Thus, as the name implies, this day falls on the 13th day of the first half of the lunar month. It is an auspicious day for shopping. (Gujarati: Dhan Teras)
Naraka Chaturdasi: Narak means 'of a new era of Light and Knowledge'. Chaturdasi implies fourteenth day. (Gujarati: Kali Chaudas)
Diwali: the actual day of Diwali, is celebrated on the third day of the festival, when the moon completely wanes and total darkness sets in the night sky.
Varsha-pratipada or Padwa: Beginning of the New Year (Kartikadi Vikram). Pratipada means the first. (Gujarati: Bestu Varas)
Bhayiduj (also Bhayyaduj,
Bhaubeej or Bhayitika) -- on this day, brothers and sisters meet to express their love and affection for each other. (Gujarati: Bhai Bij)
The celebrations vary in different regions:
In
Southern India, naraka
chaturdashii is the main day, with firecrackers at dawn.
The main festival is on
Amavasya evening with
Lakshmi Puja which is followed by lighting of oil lamps around the house.
