The festival of Deepawali has been celebrated for centuries. This festival is celebrated all over India. According to the Hindu calendar, Diwali is celebrated yearly on the new moon day of Krishna Paksha of Kartik month. However, Deepotsav is a five-day festival, which starts two days before Diwali and is celebrated two days after Diwali. There are different customs and ways of celebrating the festival of Diwali across the country. Somewhere Lakshmi Ganesh is worshiped on Deepotsav, and somewhere the happiness of the arrival of Shri Ram and Mata Sita is celebrated. Know about the ways of celebrating Deepotsav from North to South India and its related stories.
Diwali in North India
The festival of Diwali in North India is mainly related to Lord Rama. Diwali is celebrated in the joy of Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya. It is believed that when Lord Vishnu's incarnation Shri Ram returned to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile and killing Ravana, the people of the city lit lamps to welcome him. For this reason, lighting lamps and celebrating the festival of lights on the occasion of Deepawali in North India is important. Cleaning houses, making Rangoli, and Lakshmi-Ganesh Puja are important on the occasion of Deepawali in North India including UP-Uttarakhand. The trend of firecrackers is also seen here.
Diwali in South India
Unlike North India, the reasons and beliefs for celebrating Deepawali in South India are different. Here Deepawali is celebrated as Narak Chaturdashi. In South India, the Deepawali festival begins from the Chaturdashi of the Krishna Paksha of Kartik month. On that day, people take a bath early in the morning by applying oil and Ubtan before sunrise, because the next day is Amavasya and one cannot take a bath with oil on the head on that day. In this way, the celebration of Deepawali for Tamil people begins with applying oil and taking a bath early in the morning.
South Indians celebrate this festival not by associating it with Shri Ram but with Krishna ji. It is believed that on this day Lord Krishna killed Narakasura and freed the earth from his terror. In Tamil Nadu, whether a person is poor or rich, he buys new clothes according to his status. After taking a bath for this festival, the traditional new clothes bought are placed in front of God at night itself. The next morning, i.e. on the day of the festival, the head of the family gives this cloth to everyone as a blessing with his own hands.
Festival of lights in western India
In the western states of India, especially Gujarat and Maharashtra, the festival of Deepawali is important from a business point of view. Here Deepawali is celebrated as the beginning of the business year. On the occasion of Deepawali, businessmen worship their account books and start the new financial year. Lakshmi is especially worshipped, who is the goddess of wealth. During this time, Kali Chaudas is also organized, which comes a day before Deepawali. On this day, special worship is done to drive away evil forces.
Diwali in eastern India
States like West Bengal and Assam are included in the east of India, where a different form of Deepawali is seen. On the occasion of Diwali, Kali Puja is held here, in which special worship of Mother Kali is done. On this day, the idol of Goddess Kali is installed. The pomp and show of this Puja is just like Durga Puja.
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