The title of the article says it all; the festival of prosperity and good health is here. Yes, I am talking about the festival of lights – “Diwali”. The celebration of this beautiful festival lasts for at least 4-5 days. Diwali is celebrated by the Hindu community but is also very famous all over the world. During this particular festival, houses are lit up with lights and oil lamps. This festival has got its religious roots from one of the great Hindu epics ‘Ramayana’ which describes the return of legend Lord Rama to his kingdom Ayodhya after completing 14 years of exile on this day. People burst firecrackers during this festival, which I think is extremely harmful to our environment. There is something more to do than just bursting crackers and lighting up the house with oil lamps and lights. Here is the list to get started for Diwali.
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Cleaning the house
– Before Diwali start cleaning your house. Get rid of all the unwanted stuff and decorate your house. And Diwali can’t be celebrated without decorating the house. Over the period of years, I have heard my elders say that “on the occasion of Diwali, Goddess Laxmi visits every household bringing luck and prosperity for the family”. Therefore to welcome the Goddess one should clean their house and keep it neat and tidy. For decorating, the house one can use oil lamps, flowers, and lightings.
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Making Rangolis
– Making rangolis at the doorstep has been a tradition that almost all of us follow. Just like oil lamps and lights, rangoli making is also an essential part of this festival. There are so many people that I know are experts in rangoli making. They make the best designs with such ease and finesse. And it takes a lot of creativity and skills to make pretty rangoli designs.
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Indulge in sweet making
– I am sure you cannot imagine of celebrating Diwali without sweets, can you? Diwali is that time of the year when you get a guilt free pass to indulge in as many sweets as you want without worrying about weight gain (hit the gym afterwards!) Ladoos, Halwa, Ras Malai, Barfis; there is so much variety out there and you cannot just resist yourself from having them all. Preparing these lip-smacking sweets is easy and good to go obviously with guidance from the internet or the old recipe book.
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Buy loads of gifts
– Besides Diwali being a religious festival, it has also become a chance for a quick get together with your family and friends who don’t get much time otherwise. And when you go and meet your loved ones, you obviously wouldn’t want to go empty handed, right? So buying gifts and surprising them would great.
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Shop for clothes
– Once you are done buying gifts for your family and friends, it’s time you pamper yourself. Since it’s a festive time, buying new clothes is an amazing option. Shop for ethnic attires instead of the regular western clothes that we wear. The trend right now for girls is – sarees, lehengas, dresses and for guys – kurta pajamas and sherwanis.
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Visiting temples
– Don’t forget to visit a temple on this auspicious day. We cannot neglect the true essence of Diwali which good over bad. Lord Rama defeated the evil demon Ravana and returned to Ayodhya. To celebrate this victory and seek blessings people visit temples on this day.
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Spread love and happiness
– We celebrate all our festivals with an enthusiasm to spread love and happiness amongst our families and the society. Diwali is also one such opportunity to get spread happiness and positivity. So, this Diwali let’s celebrate it the eco-friendly way. Instead of spending thousands of rupees on crackers, rather buy sweets, gifts, and new clothes or donate certain amount of money to the orphanage so that even they can celebrate Diwali happily.
“Say no to crackers”, have safe Diwali this year. Let’s take care of the environment while celebrating this amazing festival of lights; spread love, peace, harmony and happiness.
