Why do we celebrate Diwali? (10 Reasons To celebrate Diwali)

It’s not just the festive mood in the air that makes you happy, or just that it's a good time to enjoy before the advent of winter. There are 10 mythical and historical reasons why Diwali is a great time to celebrate. And there are good reasons not just for Hindus but also for all others to celebrate this great Festival of Lights.

1.Goddess Lakshmi’s Birthday: The Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi incarnated on the new moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kartik month during the churning of the ocean (samudra-manthan), hence the association of Diwali with Lakshmi.

2. Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: On this very day (Diwali day), Lord Vishnu in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara rescued Lakshmi from the prison of King Bali and this is another reason of worshipping Ma Larkshmi on Diwali.

3. Krishna Killed Narakaasur: On the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna killed the demon king Narakaasur and rescued 16,000 women from his captivity. The celebration of this freedom went on for two days including the Diwali day as a victory festival.

4. The Return of the Pandavas: According to the great epic ‘Mahabharata’, it was ‘Kartik Amavashya’ when the Pandavas appeared from their 12 years of banishment as a result of their defeat in the hands of the Kauravas at the game of dice (gambling). The subjects who loved the Pandavas celebrated the day by lighting the earthen lamps.

5. The Victory of Rama: According to the epic ‘Ramayana’, it was the new moon day of Kartik when Lord Ram, Ma Sita and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya after vanquishing Ravana and conquering Lanka. The citizens of Ayodhya decorated the entire city with the earthen lamps and illuminated it like never before.

6. Coronation of Vikramaditya: One of the greatest Hindu King Vikramaditya was coroneted on the Diwali day, hence Diwali became a historical event as well.

7. Special Day for the Arya Samaj: It was the new moon day of Kartik (Diwali day) when Maharshi Dayananda, one of the greatest reformers of Hinduism and the founder of Arya Samaj attained his nirvana.

8. Special Day for the Jains: Mahavir Tirthankar, considered to be the founder of modern Jainism also attained his nirvana on Diwali day.

9. Special Day for the Sikhs: The third Sikh Guru Amar Das institutionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter Day when all Sikhs would gather to receive the Gurus blessings. In 1577, the foundation stone of the Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid on Diwali. In 1619, the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind, who was held by the Mughal Emperor Jahengir, was released from the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings.

10. The Pope’s Diwali Speech: In 1999, Pope John Paul II performed a special Eucharist in an Indian church where the altar was decorated with Diwali lamps, the Pope had a ‘tilak’ marked on his forehead and his speech was bristled with references to the festival of light.

Roop Chaudas, Kali Chaudas, Rup Chaturdashi

Roop Chaudas is a festival associated with Diwali, which is celebrated a day before Diwali. Diwali is the Indian festival of Lights. In ‘Roop Chaudas’, Roop represents Beauty and Chaudas represents the date 14. On this day, women beautify themselves. Roop Chaudas pooja is performed mainly by women to gain beauty or to enhance their beauty.

Kali Chaudas is celebrated as Roop Chaudas, which is the second day of Diwali festival. It is celebrated on the day before Diwali and the day after Dhanteras. Goddess Kali is worshipped on Kali Chaudas day. It is also known as Kal Chaturdashi. There are many legends or stories are associated with Kali Choudas. It is believed that on this day, Goddess Kali killed the powerful demon Raktabija.

On Roop Chaudas Hindus undertake beauty treatments so as to look their best on Diwali day. According to the legends, the demon Narakasura was also slain on this day by lord Krishna and Satyabhama. They fought very aggressively and beheaded the demon on this day. Narak Chaturdashi marks the destruction of evil in the world and arrival of new lights. So, the earthen lamps are kept burning for several days. Since the demon Narakasura was slain on this day, it is celebrated as Naraka Chaturdashi or Kali Chaturdashi. It falls on the fourteenth day (Chaudas) of the fortnight of the Krishna Paksha, in the Hindu month of Kartika. There are two independent significances of this day. One is that it is traditionally used to beautify oneself before the major part of the coming festivities. The other is that it was that, on this day, lord Krishna killed the demon, Narakasura.

Dhanteras

Buzz up!
The first day of the five-day Diwali celebrations is marked by Dhanteras on the Hindu calender. The auspicious day, which falls on the 13th lunar day of Krishna
Paksha in the Hindu month of Karthik (Oct-Nov), also goes by the names of 'Dhantrayodashi' and 'Dhanwantari Triodasi'.

The festival 'Dhanteras' literally breaks down to ‘Dhan’, which means wealth, and ‘Tera’ referring to the date 13th.

Lord Yama, the god of death, is worshipped on this day. Praying for prosperity and well being, people will swarm jewelers to buy gold or silver.

Besides jewelry, silver articles are brought to adorn the house, while iron, copper or brass utensils are purchased for the kitchen.

While Dhanteras marks the beginning of the five day Diwali festival, the last day is marked by Yama Dvitiya. Diwali or Deepavali is one of the most important Hindu festivals.