Diwali 2017: Significance of the Diwali, Celebrations & Rituals, Date & Diwali Recipes

• Deepawali or Diwali is the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals.
• Diwali or Deepawali is the festival of lights: "Deep+awali": deep means "light" and awali "a row," so, deepawali means "a row of lights".
• Diwali is marked by four days of celebration, which literally illuminates the country with its brilliance and dazzles all with its joy.
• The Diwali festival occurs in late October or early November. It falls on the 15th day of the Hindu month, Kartik, so it varies every year.

About Diwali:

Diwali (Deepawali) is considered to be the most significant festival in India. It symbolizes the victory of good over evil and the power of light over darkness. The preparations of Diwali starts days before in which people clean their houses and offices and decorate them with lights and Diyas ( oil lamps) .

When is Diwali? – Diwali 2017 falls on 19th October 2017

Significance of Diwali

Diwali marks the homecoming of Lord Rama with his wife Sita after killing the evil king Ravana. He was sent to 14 – year – exile by his father, King Dushrath during which he was wandering in forests and villages of India. On this special occasion of his return to ayodhaya, the capital of Lord Rama, people decorated the whole kingdom with oil lamps and busted crackers with joy.

Diwali Celebrations and Rituals

On this auspicious occasion of diwali people welcome goddess Laxmi in their houses by lighting traditional earthen Diyas ( oil lamps) , making colorful rangoli , decorating house with flowers and placing paduka (footsteps of goddess Laxmi) at the entrance. Also there is a tradition of exchanging gifts and sweets with friends and family and donating food and goods to the needy. People wear new clothes and prepare tasty sweets and food delicacies at their home. At night Laxmi Puja takes place for the wealth and prosperity in the house after which people go outside to fire crackers and enjoy the festival.

Special Recipe to Serve on Diwali

With the joy of festival and stress free work schedules we often forget to keep check on our weight and calorie intake. And thanks to the goodies we receive and sweets which we make at home containing loads of sugar. To avoid the unnecessary weight gain and calories , here is a mouthwatering yet low calorie recipe of Oats Laddu which you can easily prepare at home this Diwali.

Ingredients:

• Dates – ½ Cup
• Oats – ¼ Cup
• Cashew nuts – ¼ Cup
• Almonds – ¼ Cup
• Dry Coconut – ¼ Cup (shredded)
• Powdered Sugar as per taste
• Green Cardamom Powder – ½ tsp
• Ghee as required

Preparation:

1. Remove seeds from dates and chop them.
2. Dry roast oats, cashew nuts and almonds, shredded coconut separately.
3. Coarsely grind dates, oats, cashew nuts and almonds separately.
4. Heat pan and add 1 tbsp ghee.
5. Now add ground oats, cashew nuts, almonds, shredded coconut, green cardamom powder. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes on slow flame. Stir continuously.
6. When the mixture starts to come together switch off the flame.
7. Transfer the mixture into the large mouth bowl and add powdered sugar and some ghee (if required for binding). Mix well and allow this mixture to cool down.
8. Shape the mixture into small balls like laddu and serve.

Gift Ideas for Diwali

There is an old tradition of exchanging gifts on Diwali with our family and friends as it adds to the happiness of our loved ones. Here are some of the unique gift items which you can gift to your close ones:

Personalized gift items: Colorful earthen pots, diyas, mugs and cushions designed with your choice of painting and colors can be a cool gift for your friends and family.

Diwali cupcakes: Sweet with a message can be a unique gift for your loved ones. You can gift a box of cupcakes with Diwali theme running through them to your friends.

Online gift vouchers: You can gift your friends online shopping gift vouchers of leading online shopping portals like Amazon , Flipkart , Snapdeal , Jabong and many others to treat them with gift products of their own choice.

– Prepared by Pragya Mittal | Twitter @PragyaMittal05