THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS : DIWALI

Diwali
Rangoli decorations, made using coloured powder, are popular during Diwali
Also called	Deepavali, Diwali, Thee Vazhi, Festival of Lights
Observed by	Hindus, Jains, Sikhs
Type	Religious
Celebrations	Diya and Lighting, Home decoration, Shopping, Fireworks, Puja (Prayers), Gifts, Feast and Sweets
Begins	Dhanteras, 2 days before Diwali
Ends	Bhai Dooj, 2 days after Diwali
Date	Decided by the HinduLunisolar calendar
2014 date	23 October (Thursday)[1]
2015 date	11 November (Wednesday)
2016 date	30 October (Sunday)
Related to	Kali Puja, Diwali (Jainism),Bandi Chhor Divas

Diwali, popularly called Deepavali in some parts of India, is a festival which we all long for every year. The preparations for Deepavali start long before the festival date.

First, the excitement for us would be the new dresses that are bought to be worn for Deepavali. Since Deepavali is a festival for more than 2 days, we have 2 or 3 new dresses. Apart from this all elders visiting us buy us sweets and dresses also. Jeans, T shirts, Trousers and shirts were all bought for me by my parents.

The other major excitement for Deepavali is the bursting of crackers and fireworks. This year we burst lot of crackers. Earlier I used to be afraid of crackers. Now I have got over the fear of bursting crackers. My parents tell me that I have to be very careful while bursting. I followed their advice and there was no fire accident also. Sparklers, Rockets, Ground Chakkars and Flower pots were our favorites besides the Thousand thousand sparks bomb.

The third rejoicing aspect of Deepavali is the eating of sweets. We visit relatives and friends with sweets and snacks. They also visit us with sweets and snacks. We seek their blessings on the festival day. Gulab jamun, Laddoos, Halwas and Kaju cakes were my favorites.

My grandmother tells me that the victory of Good over Evil is the reason for this celebration. She also says that the festival is to mark the return of Rama to Ayodhya after his defeat of Ravana.

Lots of people also start new ventures on this day after performing Lakshmi Puja. This is marked by lighting of lamps, candles and diyas by the women folk in the family. The light and colour add to the celebrations. 

In all, I can say that Deepavali is the brightest festival to be celebrated in India. The delicious food associated with the feast makes us feel that this festival must come more often in a year.