This article is a continuation in the series of articles on festivals of India
. Diwali is the most famous Indian festival. It is also known as Dipawali or the festival of lights. The reason behind the celebration of Diwali is that thousands of years back, Lord Rama and his wife Sita returned to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile after a great victory against Ravana, the asura king. Diwali is the celebration that occurred in Ayodhya then. Diwali generally comes in the month of October or November.
Diwali is celebrated for five days according to Hindus and each day has its own importance. People do preparations for Diwali in advance. They do shopping, prepare sweets and different dishes to welcome the guests. Everybody cleans their homes and decorates them with Diyas (candles), electric lights and colorful rangolis for the five days. There is a significance of Laxmi - the goddess of wealth on Diwali. On Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali it is a significance to buy gold. On the 3rd day, people do Laxmi pooja along with pooja of lord Ganesha on main Diwali day (also called as Laxmi poojan). This is to please the gods for prosperity and happiness. On this day of Diwali, all family members wake up early in the morning and worship together. The females prepare sweets for the family and brighten their house with diyas and lights to welcome the goddess Lakshmi and prosperity.
At night, children and youngsters burn fireworks and firecrackers. The elders give gifts and blessings to children. The next day of Diwali is celebrated as the new year for Hindus. On this day everyone wears new clothes. Relatives visit each other and exchange gifts. The last day of Diwali is celebrated as Bhaiduj - this day is special for brothers and sisters as they express their love for each other. Sisters make special fooditems for brothers and brothers give gifts to her. This is the way the festival of Diwali is celebrated. In 2009, even president Barack Obama conducted Diwali celebrations in the White House.