Gradeup family wishes very joyous, prosperous and a fun-filled Diwali to all our readers! We hope this day marks the advent of success, contentment and mirth in your lives, which stays with you in the days ahead! Before we immerse ourselves into the festivities of this day, some fun and interesting facts about Diwali are here for you!
Diwali: The festival of ‘Lights’
1. A festival with global importance!
Did you know there is an official holiday on Diwali in many other places like Guyana, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Myanmar, Fiji, Suriname, Trinidad, Malaysia, Tobago as well as Sindh province in Pakistan?
2. Origin
The word Diwali (or Sanskrit dīpāvali, which means ‘Series of light) originated from the word ‘Dipam’, which refers to light or lamp’ and ‘Oli’ which means ‘Glow of Light’.
3. Diwali celebrations are basically a 5-day long affair, starting off with ‘Dhanteras’, followed by ‘Narak Chaturdashi’ on the second day and ‘Lakshmi Puja’ on the third day, which is basically the main festival. Day 4 marks the beginning of Hindu New Year in certain parts of India, while Day 5 is celebrated as ‘Bhai Dooj’.
4. It is a well-known fact that Diwali marks the return of Lord Rama from his 14 years of exile, but did you know this day holds significance for other religions as well?
- Sikhs celebrate this day as ‘Bandi Choorh’ Diwas. Guru Har Gobind freed himself from the Gwalior on this day and arrived at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
- As far as Jainism is concerned, the last Tirthankar of the era, Mahavira attained Nirvana on this day.
5. The biggest Diwali celebrations outside India are hosted at Leicester City in England.
6. Also, the festival of Diwali is a major shopping period in India. Purchase of gold and jewellery is at its peak during this time. Firecrackers worth about 800 million USD (i.e. approximately 5000 crore rupees) are consumed in India at this time, at the retail level.
7. Diwali is also known by the names of Teepavali in Tamil and Telugu, Dipawoli in Assamese, Divali in Gujarati, Dipabali in Odia, Dipaboli or Dipali in Bengali, Punjab and Hindi, Deepavali in Kannada and Malayalam, Diyari in Sindhi, Galungan in Balinese and Swanti in Nepali or Tihar in Nepali.
The air quality index is deteriorating day by day due to rising particulate matter in the air above the safe limit as set by WHO. This calls for a serious attention by not just the authorities but also by us as responsible citizens. Small steps taken by us such as refraining from burning crackers can create a major difference in someone's life. We urge all of you to glorify this festival with lights and candles and not with dust and pollution coming out from firecrackers.
Have an environment-friendly and safe Diwali.
Team BYJU'S Exam Prep
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