TRIUMPH OF THE GOOD IN THE NEW YEAR

The time has come! Evil seems to win with cheating and its tricks in this battle of good vs. evil. The fight is so close; however, Good has triumphed over Evil.

As proven in history, in the Hindu religion, King Ram returned to his palace after defeating Ravan (bad guy). Or another story is of Lord Krishna defeating the demon Narakasura.

In Jainism, Lord Mahvir attained nirvana (spiritual awakening) on this auspicious day. In Sikhism, it marks the day when the sixth sikh guru, Guru Hargobind ji,  (religious leader) was freed from imprisonment.

This is the festival of Diwali which transcends all religions and barriers to let people celebrate the goodness in life. Diwali is a very pious celebration where you feel the joy and the auspiciousness of it.

This year Diwali is on Nov. 7, 2018. It marks the beginning of our new year.

Now, you might resemble New Year as what is celebrated on Dec. 31st night; however, this new year is a bit different in its celebration. Yes, there are the fireworks and firecrackers that are familiar to all the new years around the world.

Yet, Diwali has a five-day celebration to it.

Day 1: Families get together to do Lakshmi Puja (prayer for money) – where people pray to goddess Laxmi. We buy a silver coin and when the time is right, we put milk, sugar, water, yogurt, flower, and kumkum (red powder).  Usually people will have feast afterwards. People clean their houses, go shop for gold and new clothes or stuff they need.

People decorate their homes with lamps and rangoli (colorful designs using powder or sand). I usually end up using the electric candles that you can switch off and on just to be more economical and ecofriendly. You light the candles every night till end of Diwali. 

Day 2: Kali Chaudaus – It is a day where no new work or new start is made. It is a day of meditation or prayer where you are trying to get rid of all the bad stuff within you. The significance is of how Lord Krishna destroyed the demon so one should destroy all the evil or bad sights around you – kind of like a cleansing day.

Day 3: Diwali – This is the day where good triumphed over evil. Lot of people will pray to goddess Laxmi and Ganesha. The houses are lighted up, people do fireworks, wear new clothes, go out for dinners and celebrate.

Day 4: Saal Mubarak – Happy New Year! It is time for celebrations, partying and enjoying your time with your loved ones.

Day 5: ‘Bhai Beej’ (Brothers Day) – Brothers visit their married sisters who plan a whole dinner for them in appreciation of them. This way the bond between brothers and sisters lasts forever.

So, I guess it is safe to assume that our new year lasts for a good week because the celebrations usually pour into the weekend. Mind you because of India’s long history and different regions, different days of Diwali might be called different names and some stories may be different, but they signify the same meaning.

Kids love Diwali as they get new gifts, presents and get to create their own rangolis. In the evenings on Diwali, we end up do fireworks outside the house so kids feel like they are celebrating Diwali.

In India, you can feel the celebration because everyone is in the festive mood. In L.A.,  it becomes a little hard because you are on your own for celebrations so we try to make the most of Diwali.

Wish you a very Happy Diwali and Happy New Year.