The festival Diwali is one of the most popular celebrations in the world that originated from southern Asia. The celebration is also part of the Jains and Sikhs traditions. The festival extends over 5 days and and most sources suggest that it is in commemoration of the return of the god Rama and his wife in very common legend, but the actual legends the celebration is based on vary depending on location in India. In the mentioned legend, called Ramayana, Rama went off to save his wife from an evil monster and when he returned it was a dark and moonless night so the village people lit candles and lights in a path back home. The prevalent ideas surrounding Diwali is a celebration of the triumph of light against evil. The name Diwali is directly taken from the Sanskit word, dipvali, which means 'row of lights'. People celebrate Diwali by lighting lamps and candles in rows, like the villagers did for Rama, but it is also in celebration of the goddess Lakshmi, who finds her way into people's homes guided by the lights. Fireworks are also set off in celebration but this has become less common in many places due to pollution.
Video by National Geographic on Diwali Celebrations
Holi
Holi originated as a celebration of the harvest and the fertility of spring. Though the celebration originated as a religious holiday, modern day celebration has little religious influence. Holi is a time to celebrate in the streets with all people of every caste. The festival is most widely known for the jubilant paint and colored powder celebrations, when people in the streets smear each other with dyes and throw the colored powder into the air. Another tradition is to have bonfires in the street, which purify the area and ward off evil spirits. This tradition also marks the legend of Prahland and Holika, the son and sister of the demon king Hiranyakashyap. The demon king wanted to kill his son, who worshipped the god Vishnu, but failed on every attempt. When he asked his sister, Holika to try to kill his son. The goddess, who was immune to all fire, took Prahland into the fire so he would burn. Instead she burned, because the gods took away her powers because she was using them for evil.
Mahashivratri
The festival Mahashivratri is devoted to the celebration of the third triumvirate god, Shiva, who is responsible for the destruction of the world. The holiday is celebrated on the night and day right before a new moon, symbolic of Shiva saving the world from darkness and ignorance before it became completely black. The new moon is always a reminder of Shiva in the Hindu tradition but Mahashivratri is specifically important because it is on the day that Shiva did his sacred cosmic dance, 'Tandav' as well as the day he was married to the mother of the divine. Many devoted Shiva worshippers fast during the night of Mahashivratri and stay in temples to worship. In the morning the ones who stayed in the temple eat the offerings of food that people leave around the Shiva linga, or sacred statue representing Shiva. In temples the statue is bathed in water, honey and milk and decorated with flowers as part of rituals during the holiday.
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| A temple for the god Shiva. |
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| Milk being poured onto a Shiva linga on Mahashirvatri. |
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| A Shiva linga being decorated with flowers and worshipped. |
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