Dilwali, the festival of lights is an important festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. All these three religions celebrate Diwali for different reasons but major theme is same i.e. victory of good over evil. Diwali is religious and traditional festival so traditional and religious activities are performed by families together in their houses.

Diwali is a five day long festival celebrated somewhere between mid October to mid November on new moon night. (There is no fixed date for it as it is celebrated according to Hindu lunar calendar.)

For Diwali, people clean up their houses and decorate them well by using lamps and lights. Most commonly they use “dias” for decoration purposes as dias filled with oil is a symbol of the victory of good over evil.

Diwali is celebrated with sweets, fireworks and lights. People wear new clothes and celebrate the festival with family. Women wear jewelry and apply henna on their hands. Previously women were used to apply simple henna but nowadays they apply glitter mehndi to make it more attractive and beautiful. Mehndi, like other Indian festival is an important part of diwali as well.

The five different days of diwali have five different festivals. The first day of the festival is also called “dhanteras” this day most of the Indians start their financial year. The second day of diwali is called “naraka chatusdasi” and this day the Hindus celebrate the victory of “lord Krishna”. The third day is called “Amavasya” and this day is devoted to the worship of “lukshmi”. Fourth day of diwali is called “Kartika Shudda Padyami. It is the fifth day of the Diwali festival on which sisters invite their brothers to their homes. This day is called “Yama Dvitiy”.

Diwali is an important festival for Hindus, Sikhs and jains. It is a great opportunities to strengthen the bonds between family members and bring whole nation together to create an environment of love and harmony.