DIWALI

The name Diwali is itself a contraction of the word Deepavali, which translates into row of lamps .
Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil.
During Diwali celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and
friends. In Hinduism, Diwali marks the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating
(the demon king) Ravana, the ruler of Lanka, in the epic Ramayana. It also celebrates the slaying of the
demon king Narakasura by Lord Krishna. Both signify the victory of good over evil. In Jainism, Diwali
marks the attainment of moksha by Mahavira in 527 BC. In Sikhism, Diwali commemorates the return of
Guru Har Gobind Ji to Amritsar after freeing 52 Hindu kings imprisoned in Fort Gwalior by Emperor
Jahangir; the people lit candles and diyas to celebrate his return

DIFFERENT NAMES BY WHICH DIWALI IS CELEBRATED

Laxmi Pujan
Goddess Lakshmi, the Hindu deity worshiped on the Hindu's biggest festival Diwali, symbolizes wealth,
fortune, power, luxury, beauty, fertility, and auspiciousness as per the Hindu mythology. The deity is the
key to material fulfillment and contentment. Every year thousands of worshipers pay homage to the deity
on this auspicious day.Shri is the sacred name of the goddess which carries an underlying current. It
evokes grace, affluence, authority, abundance, holiness & is used often before starting an auspicious
work, such as written on top of documents, spoken before addressing a god, teacher holy man to name a
few. She embodies the ethereal beauty of nature. Also known as Bhoodevi, the earth-goddess, Laxmi is
the nurturer who bestows power, pleasure and prosperity on her devotees .

Badhausar
For Gujaratis Diwali is known as Badhausar. It is their belief that on this day Goddess Lakshmi descends
from the heaven to the earth to live in a clean and tidy house. This a general belief of having clean house.
Flowers of different hues and colors decorate the households. Girls of the all household go around in
groups to each and they are traditionally dressed in the full bright colors that they are known for. The girls
offer Mera, a prayer in front of each household and invoke God to bless each member of the family.

Balindra Pooja
Balindra Pooja is observed in the morning of the thirteenth day of the dark half of Ashwija. First the puja
is offered to water. Next morning at moon rise, a pooja offering oil to Krishna is performed. On the New
Moon day, Pooja is offered to the image of Bali, which is artistically drawn on the ground in front of the
gopuram. This is a popular puja done in the household of most of the South Indian states including
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Chopda Pujan
Diwali is a festival of Hindus, but especially of the Businessmen, On this day they do puja of Account
books and start writing their new accounts. This is called as "Chopda Pujan" or "Sharda Pujan" or
"Muharat Pujan" meaning puja of account books. Chopda pujan is a day for everyone not only to
reconcile one's financial books but also the spiritual books. People should pray to God to forgive us for all
the mistakes this past year and to give the wisdom and strength to not make them the next year. In
Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharastra, Diwali represents the start of a new business year so all businesses
close their accounts and present them to Lakshmi and Ganesh during the Chopda Pujan.

Deva Divali
The full moon day in Kartik, the first month of the Indian calendar brings in the festival of Dev Diwali.
For the Jains, it is the day of 'Nirvana' of Lord Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara. To them it is the
Deva Diwali when Lord Mahavira is worshiped, Agams (Jain holy books) are read and homes and
temples are illuminated.

Sukhsuptika
Deepawali is one of the oldest rituals for Kashmiri Pundits. That can be find a mention of its celebrations
in Nilmat Puran. It was then celebrated as Sukhsuptika which literally means sleep with happiness. The
celebration would start from Ekadeshi and last on Amavasya. On Amavasya elders of family would keep
a fast and worship goddess Laxmi after sunset.

Kaumudi Mahostavam
In the olden days of South India, Deepavali was once called as 'Kaumudi Mahostavam'. In those times the
kings used to supervise the festivities of Diwali during the nights. The rituals and customs of those days
are still followed such as black gram leaves are eaten even today. Lamps are distributed. Late in the night,
women bring out their household weapons like dustpans, mops, etc, to drive away 'Jyesthadevi', the
Goddess of penury.

Karthigai Deepam
Kaarthigai Deepam is a festival of lights, celebrated in the Tamil month of Kaarthigai. It is celebrated on
the full moon day of the Kaarthigai month which coincides with Krithikai star. It is also considered as the
extension of the Deepavali festival. In some houses, they double the number of lamps every day from the
day of Deepavali and this way, they end up with a number of lamps on the day of Kaarthigai Deepam.

Thalai Deepavali
Deepavali is especially special if it is "Thalai Deepavali"- the first one after the wedding. Newly weds are
pampered by family members and showered with gifts. The newly-wed are invited for the first Deepavali
and are provided 'Seer,' a part of the dowry, as per the custom. During the first year after marriage, the
girls are also given 'Thalai Karthikai' as a gift.
Sharda Pujan
Sharda pujan is performed on the third day of Diwali and it is also the last day of Hindu year. On this day
devotees light diyas and decorate the house with brightly colored lights. To ensure success, traders
worship their new account books; non-traders also do pujan of their saving books. The businessmen
balanced their previous years accounts. This pujan is known as Sharda poojan and is generally performed
by the eldest member of the family. Hindus, especially students offer pujan to books during Sharda pujan
as Sharda is the other name of Ma Saraswati, the goddess of learning.

Bandi Chhor Diwas

Not only Hindus, but Sikhs also celebrate Diwali as Bandi Chhor Diwas, an important festival. More for
historical reasons than religious, has acquired a very special significance in the Sikh tradition. It is said that the
foundation stone for the Golden Temple was laid during the time of Diwali in 1577. The occasion of Bandi
Chhor Diwas prompt the followers of Sikhism to celebrate the day with joy and happiness.

Diyari
The Festival of Diwali among Sindhis is known as Diyari. While the most of the customs for the
celebration of Diayri are similar to othwers, Sindhis have also developed over a period of time, some
special functions such as they wash Gold/ Silver coins in unboiled milk and water. During Laksmi pooja,
sweet in form of Chikki made of jaggery and peanuts is aoffered. After the Laksmmi aarti, Sindhis follow
the custom of picking one coin from the lot and gently hitting the teeth with it.