Celebrate Dipaawali Happy Diwali 2015 - 2016

About Diwali 

Deepawali or Diwali is certainly the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. It's the festival of lights (deep = light and avali = a row i.e., a row of lights) that's marked by four days of celebration, which literally illumines the country with its brilliance, and dazzles all with its joy. This year Diwali falls on Wednesday, November 11, 2015. Each of the four days in the festival of Diwali is separated by a different tradition, but what remains true and constant is the celebration of life, its enjoyment and goodness.

What is Diwali? 

Diwali, or Deepavali, is one of the biggest Indian festivals and also a major occassion in Nepal. The festival has great religious significance for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and the Nepalese. In India, Diwali is now considered to be more of a national festival, and is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith. It is commonly celebrated by decorating homes with lamps and candles, bursting of firecrackers and sparklers, eating sweets and other mouthwatering dishes, praying to Gods and Goddesses, observing religious rituals, wearing new dresses and sending wishes and gifts to one another. 

Celebrate Dipaawali Happy Diwali 2015 - 2016

Hindus and Sikhs alike regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships. One of the most important Hindu festivals, Diwali marks the beginning of a new year in some Hindu calendars. For Hindus, the festival is not only the time to make merry but also the time to worship divine beings considered sacred in Hinduism like Lord Ganesha, Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Mahabali. It is also a significant festival for the Sikh faith. For Jains, it is an occasion to remember Lord Mahavira. In Nepal, Diwali is celebrated by many Buddhists as Tihar or Swanti.

How to Celebrate

For Hindus this is one of the most important days of the year, and it involves spending time with family and performing traditional activities. Families clean their homes from top to bottom so that when the lamps are lit it will be suitable for the Goddess of wealth and knowledge, Lakshmi, to enter their home and bless them with good fortune for the upcoming year, as well as the God of good luck, Ganesh. Traditional families will make an offering to the goddess of fruit, rice pudding, flowers and other assorted gifts. To offer these goods the family performs a “puja,” which involves saying sacred words and singing. Unlike Western holidays, it’s also considered very important to refrain from eating meat and drinking alcohol in honor of the divine spirits being invited into your home.

When is Diwali? 

Though the number of days of the celebration of the festival differ with different communities, the actual days of observance of Diwali are common and fall on exactly the same set of days across Nepal and India. Going by the Gregorian calendar, Diwali in India is observed generally in the months of October or November. The festival comes exactly twenty days after Dussehra, another sacred Hindu occassion, and is celebrated for five consecutive days at the end of Hindu month of Ashvin. Diwali is on 11th November, 2015 and 30 October 2016.

DIWALI FESTIVAL DATES:

9 Nov 15 - Dhanteras

10 Nov 15 - Choti Diwali

11 Nov 15 -Diwali

13 Nov 15 - Bhai Dooj

Diwali Dates for years 2000 - 2031

Year Gregorian          Date Year Gregorian Date

Diwali 2000 26 October 2000 Diwali 2016 30 October 2016

Diwali 2001 14 November 2001 Diwali 2017 19 October 2017

Diwali 2002           04 November 2002 Diwali 2018            07 November 2018

Diwali 2003           25 October 2003 Diwali 2019 27 October 2019

Diwali 2004 12 November 2004 Diwali 2020 14 November 2020

Diwali 2005           01 November 2005 Diwali 2021 04 November 2021

Diwali 2006           21 October 2006 Diwali 2022 24 October 2022

Diwali 2007 09 November 2007 Diwali 2023 12 November 2023

Diwali 2008 28 October 2008 Diwali 2024            01 November 2024

Diwali 2009 17 October 2009            Diwali 2025 21 October 2025

Diwali 2010 05 November 2010       Diwali 2026 08 November 2026

Diwali 2011 26 October 2011            Diwali 2027 29 October 2027

Diwali 2012 13 November 2012       Diwali 2028 17 October 2028

Diwali 2013 03 November 2013  Diwali 2029 05 November 2029

Diwali 2014 23 October 2014 Diwali 2030            26 October 2030

Diwali 2015 11 November 2015       Diwali 2031 14 November 2031

Happy Dhanteras Celebration 2015 - 2016 mahalaxmi

About Dhanteras

Dhanteras is a first beautiful day festival of the great and famous Hindu festival, Diwali which is the five-days long festival and celebrated in Varanasi, UP, Bihar, Delhi and traditionally all over the India. Dhanteras festival is celebrated on triodasi month of the Krishna Paksha (the dark fortnight).
Dhanteras is an important part of Diwali festival celebrations. Dhanteras marks before the first day of Diwali celebrations. Dhanteras is also called Dhanvantari Trayodashi. It falls on the thirteenth lunar and light day of Krishna Paksha in the Hindu calender month of Kartik (October-November) every year. The word 'Dhan' signifies money or wealth. On the day of Dhanteras, people worship the Goddess of Wealth (Goddess Maan Lakshmi). Since Dhanteras is associated with the worship of Goddess Lakshmi, it is a very important celebration day in the homes of the mercantile community. In India, houses and market places wear a festive look on the day of Dhanteras and market places are abuzz with people all around.

Rituals and Celebrations of Dhanteras 

As Dhanteras is  associated with the worship of Most Goddess Mata Lakshmi, all people draw small footprints with rice flour and vermilion powder throughout the house right from the access to be entered (indicating the arrival of Goddess Lakshmi). As Dhantrayodashi or Dhanteras is considered very auspicious for all, people shop for gold, silver and some utensils and many more. To celebrate the auspicious arrival of Goddess Lakshmi, the homes of people are illuminated by oil lamps, which are lit throughout the night. Mata Lakshmi Puja is also an important part of the Dhanteras celebrations. The Lakshmi-Puja is performed at midnight. Devotional songs, in praise of Goddess Lakshmi, are sung by the people. Goddess Lakshi is offered naivedya many type of  sweets, which serve as the auspicious Prasad of the Goddess. In many parts of South India almost all over India, there is a tradition of cow worship by the farmers (on Dhanteras). For farmers, Pets cows signify wealth and are considered to be the incarnation of Goddess Maan Lakshmi.

How Dhanteras is Observed:

The day is also observed as Yama deepdaan, as the lady of the house lights earthen Deeps or lamps throughout the night so as to appease Lord Yama, and ensure that their husbands and household is protected from all deaths and obstacles.

It is a custom to buy jewellery of gold or silver on the night of Dhanteras and people from all walks of life make it a point that they invest a little of their money or savings so that they can buy at least a bit of gold or silver on this auspicious occasion. They also opt for buying a new utensil if there is any problem in buying gold or silver. Puja is performed on the site where the wealth of the house is kept, and Laxmi Puja is also performed along with that of Lord Ganesh.

Dhanteras falls on the thirteenth day of the month of ashwin. The word "Dhan" means wealth. As such this day of the five-day diwali festival has a great importance for the rich mercantile community of western India. Houses and business premises are renovated and decorated. Entrances are made colorful with lovely traditional motifs of rangoli designs to welcome the goddess of wealth and prosperity. To indicate her long-awaited arrival, small footprints are drawn with rice flour and vermilion powder all over the houses. Lamps are kept burning all through the nights. On this auspicious day women purchase some gold or silver or at least one or two new utensils. Pooja is performed in the evenings when tiny diyas of clay are lighted to drive away the shadows of evil spirits. "Bhajans"-devotional songs- are sung in praise of Goddess Maan Lakshmi.

Following is a calendar, showing the dates Dhanteras will fall upon in the next 5 years:

Date                      Year

2015                    9 November

2016 28 October

2017 17 October

2018 5 November

2019                    25 October

2020 12 November

Wish you very Happy Dhanteras to all.