Diwali, the biggest festival of the Hindus is just about to come and is celebrated widely all across the country. Every Hindu waits for this auspicious occasion all year long and enjoys it with his family and friends. It is a holiday time, so people get lots of time to do a number of things in order to make the festival more exciting and something to remember.
If you are thinking what to do during Diwali then there are many options that you can choose from. The festival is five day long and each day has a separate significance of its own. On the first day or the Dhanteras day, you can take your family out for a shopping to purchase new clothes and more importantly some silver or gold jewellery because it is considered to be auspicious.
In case you are not willing to spend so much, copper or bronze utensils for your kitchen will also serve the purpose. Lighting clay lamps or decorating your house with row of lights are part of the rituals with mythological significance. If you wish you can prepare these clay lumps all your own involving almost all members of your family, specially kids. A little plan and preparation is needed before that. The second day is for the “chhoti diwali” where several sweets and delicious dishes are prepared to celebrate the occasion. You can put your hands onto it and sharpen your cooking skills.
During Diwali decorating the home is a work to be done. You can utilize your time by hanging flower garlands all around your home, or hanging torans or beautiful paintings or embellishments etc. Also it is customary to decorate the floors of the house with beautiful “Rangoli” traditional paintings in different designs created by family members in the lawn or near the entrance with colored powders and sands, rice and colorful flowers to welcome the guests. Lots of innovative ideas can be contributed on making these rangolis which can bring out the artist in you.
You need to remember that Diwali has lots of religious sentiments attached to it and hence worshiping the deities like Goddess Laxmi and Lord Ganesha are mandatory, on the third day or Diwali day. As the sun rises the next day you can help the family members for the arrangements of the pooja in the evening. After the pooja is over, family members go for bursting the crackers which has religious and social relevance with the festival of Diwali. Environment friendly crackers with less or no sound make the festival of light even more enjoyable.
You can pass your time in Diwali through playing card games, which has some religious significance as well. Other family games like musical chair, dumb charades or passing the parcel are nice ways to spend some quality time with the family. You can also invite your friends and long distance relatives to your place for a surprise dinner or lunch as Diwali is an ideal time for feasting. This helps you to make the family ties even stronger.