{"id":8082,"date":"2024-10-23T06:07:17","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T10:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=8082"},"modified":"2024-10-21T09:41:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T13:41:36","slug":"diwali-the-indian-festival-of-lights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=8082","title":{"rendered":"Diwali: The Indian Festival of Lights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ria Beri \u201827
\n<\/span>EE<\/span><\/i> Co-Managing Editor
\n<\/span>Shriya Reddy \u201827
\n<\/span>EE<\/span><\/i> Staff Writer<\/span><\/p>\n

Diwali is a major religious festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, light over dark, and knowledge over ignorance. It comes from the Sanskrit word <\/span>Deepavali<\/span><\/i>, which translates to \u201crow of lights,\u201d and is celebrated by Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist communities across the globe. Diwali has gained recent appreciation in the United States, with the Trumbull Public Schools granting Thursday, October 31 as a school holiday this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, Diwali will officially begin at 6:22 a.m. on Thursday, October 31 and conclude at 8:46 a.m. on Friday, November 1. The holiday is over 2,500 years old, and it originates from the Hindu epic <\/span>Ramayana<\/span><\/i>. In the most widely accepted tale, a princess named Sita is abducted by Ravana, the evil King of Lanka. In order to get her back, Sita\u2019s husband, Prince Rama, battles Ravana. After 1 year of fighting, Rama finally defeats Ravana and rescues Sita. Rama and Sita ultimately return to their kingdom of Ayodhya, where their arrival is celebrated as a quintessential example of the prevalence of good over evil. Today, Diwali celebrants recognize this same virtuous idea by feasting on traditional Indian foods and sweets, decorating their homes, dressing in traditional Indian clothes, giving gifts, and setting off fireworks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One popular and tasty Diwali dessert option is coconut \u201c<\/span>nariyal<\/span><\/i>\u201d burfi. The dish requires just three main ingredients: coconut flakes (4 \u00bc cups), white sugar (1 \u00bd cups), and milk (2 cups). To make this, you will first need to pour all of the coconut flakes and milk into a buttered pan over medium high heat. Stir the mixture every 2 to 3 minutes for about 14 minutes, or until it is well combined and the milk evaporates. Then, add the sugar to the blend and mix until there is no excess moisture remaining. Once the mixture is dry and firm, transfer it to a plate and use a spatula to flatten the top. Lastly, let the mixture chill in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours before cutting it into square pieces and then enjoying. You may add spices and\/or accessories such as cinnamon, pistachios, raisins, and cardamom during any step. These proportions yield 16 bars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Diwali observants decorate their homes in a number of ways. One common activity is to use vibrant, colored powders to create illustrations\u00a0 of beautiful images and symbols on one\u2019s own floor. These illustrations are called <\/span>rangoli<\/span><\/i> and typically depict flowers, fruit, the moon, and\/or animals, as shown on the right. Another decoration is hanging garlands that are made of marigolds, a Hindu symbol of divinity. These garlands are generally red, yellow, and\/or magenta and can be hung on fireplace mantles, doorways, and staircase railings. Last is the most common decoration, lighting <\/span>diyas<\/span><\/i>. Diyas are small, clay oil lamps that are used during the festival of Diwali to symbolize prosperity and the triumph of light over darkness. They are usually placed throughout the house and are lit after sundown.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One of the most important Diwali customs is dressing up in traditional Indian attire. For men, this means wearing a loose collarless shirt, known as a <\/span>kurta<\/span><\/i>, on top of trousers. On the women\u2019s side, a three-piece garment – called a <\/span>saree<\/span><\/i> and pictured on the left – that consists of a long skirt, blouse, and scarf is typically worn. Many women also put on jewel-adorned earrings, necklaces, and bracelets and apply dark eye makeup to complement their outfits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Diwali is undoubtedly the Indian holiday of gift-giving. On and around the date of the festival, family, friends, and acquaintances express their love and appreciation for one another by gifting clothes, jewelry, home decorations, candles, prayer plates, stencils, and more. In addition, it is an unspoken rule amongst Diwali celebrants that a gift must be accompanied by sweets. Chocolate, dry fruit, <\/span>jalebi<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>halwa<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>ladoo<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>kheer<\/span><\/i>, and <\/span>gulab jamun<\/span><\/i> are amongst the sweets that are commonly given on Diwali.<\/span><\/p>\n

Diwali is a holiday that is celebrated by over one billion people across the world. While each observant interprets and celebrates the holiday differently, they all do so to commemorate the same noble theme: the victory of good over evil.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ria Beri \u201827 EE Co-Managing Editor Shriya Reddy \u201827 EE Staff Writer Diwali is a major religious festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, light over dark, and knowledge over…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":8099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8082"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8101,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8082\/revisions\/8101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}