Diwali To Be Celebrated Accross The World During Pandemic

Diwali is a very auspicious time of year for all Hindu's. It is recognised as the Indian festival of lights which usually lasts five days. It is celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika which is usually between mid October and mid November. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. The festival is widely associated with Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, with many other regional traditions connecting the holiday to Sita and Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Yama, Yami, Durga, Kali, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman. Furthermore, it is, in some regions, a celebration of the day Lord Rama returned to his kingdom Ayodhya after defeating the demon-king Ravana.

This year Diwali is being celebrated on the 14th November. Festivities usually include large firework displays, people wearing their finest clothing and people lighting oil lamps and candles. This year, due to the Coronavirus pandemic the festival will have to be celebrated in a different way as people are not allowed to have large, public gatherings to avoid spreading the virus. People illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes using diyas and rangoli.

People will perform Lakshmi pujas in their homes. Lakshmi is the Godess of wealth and prosperity. People will also partake in family feasts, where mithai (sweets) and gifts are shared. Diwali is also a major cultural event for the Hindu and Jain diaspora from the Indian subcontinent.

The five-day long festival originated in the Indian subcontinent and is mentioned in early Sanskrit texts. Diwali is usually celebrated twenty days after the Dashera (Dasara, Dasain) festival, with Dhanteras, or the regional equivalent, marking the first day of the festival when celebrants prepare by cleaning their homes and making decorations on the floor, such as rangoli.[19] The second day is Naraka Chaturdashi, or the regional equivalent which for Hindus in the south of India is Diwali proper. Western, central, eastern and northern Indian communities observe main day of Diwali on the third day, the day of Lakshmi Puja and the darkest night of the traditional month. In some parts of India, the day after Lakshmi Puja is marked with the Govardhan Puja and Balipratipada (Padwa), which is dedicated to the relationship between wife and husband. Some Hindu communities mark the last day as Bhai Dooj or the regional equivalent, which is dedicated to the bond between sister and brother,[20] while other Hindu and Sikh craftsmen communities mark this day as Vishwakarma Puja and observe it by performing maintenance in their work spaces and offering prayers.

Many of the different Diwali celebrations round the world this year have been cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic as they usually require people to go to temples or go to large firework displays where they might not be able to maintain social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Many celebrations will have had to have been put online where people can watch them using different video software packages such as Zoom etc. Celebrations round the world for different events and occasions will have had to have been put off due to the Covid 19 virus. We'll just have to hope that there is progress in testing the new vaccine for the virus which is 90% affective at treating most cases of the virus.

The R rate of the Covid 19 virus is still above 1 which means cases are still increasing. We will all have to make sure we keep washing our hands and maintaining social distancing measures to avoid having any chance what so ever of contracting the disease.