Divali: A Return to the Light of Traditions

On Monday, October 20, the Hindu and Tamil community celebrates Divali, the festival of lights. With prayers, sweets, and oil lamps, this tradition symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. However, this year, the energy crisis encourages everyone to prioritize authenticity in their celebrations.

Deepavali, or Divali, is a moment of light and sharing. Each household prepares meticulously: cleaning and decorating the home, making traditional sweets, and lighting ‘diyas’, small oil lamps that signify the victory of light over darkness.

Houses, places of worship, and public buildings become dazzling displays. Some homes are adorned with twinkling garlands, while others embrace the authenticity of clay ‘diyas’, creating a warm and traditional atmosphere. The air fills with the aromas of ghee and sweet spices, as families gather to celebrate in joy and camaraderie. According to Pandit Yogeshwar Neelkanth Dookarane, Divali is celebrated during Amavasya, the darkest day of the month. "This festival marks the return of Lord Ram after a 14-year exile and his victory over the demon Rawan. It embodies the triumph of good over evil," he explains. "Divali is always celebrated on Amavasya. When Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya, villagers illuminated his path by placing ‘diyas’ along the roads. Even today, lighting these lamps symbolizes the light that dispels darkness, prosperity, and harmony within homes," he adds.

Returning to Traditions: Lighting the Lamp
Pandit emphasizes that Divali is also celebrated in honor of Goddess Lakshmi, to bring light, prosperity, and joy into homes.

Due to the energy crisis, he urges a return to traditions, celebrating Divali in a simpler manner by lighting lamps. "The significance of light is to emerge from darkness and lead us to clarity. My message is simple: as much as possible, let’s celebrate Deepavali in simplicity, without extravagant spending. Light oil lamps, just as our grandparents did. Of course, there are modern illuminations, but recently, the government has been raising awareness about the energy crisis. Now is the perfect time to return to traditions: light the lamp and welcome Ma Lakshmi into our homes," he explains.

The Tamil community celebrates Divali in the morning, as Lord Ram traveled to South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, before returning to Ayodhya later that night. "That’s why Tamils celebrate the festival in the morning, while Hindus celebrate in the evening," the pandit clarifies.

Preparations begin with a thorough cleaning of the house, a symbolic gesture of purification, and observing a fast. Rituals started on Saturday, October 18, with the Dhanteras prayer dedicated to protection and health, followed by the ‘Narakchaturdashi’ prayer, also known as ‘dev deepavali’, aimed at dispelling negativity and welcoming light.

On the day of the festival, prayers are recited in honor of Lakshmi and Vishnu, asking them to bring prosperity and blessings to families. "We pray that they accompany us in all our endeavors. We seek the goddess’s blessing," shares a devotee.

Sharing
Sharing is central to this celebration. Sweets, offered to family, friends, and neighbors, symbolize peace and love. In the Hindu community, they are traditionally shared in the afternoon after everyone has donned new clothes and said a prayer.

Whether in the Tamil or Hindu community, preparations start a week in advance. Among Tamil specialties are ‘tonpons’ (sweet potato sweets), ‘adourson’ (spicy sweets), zenberic cake, ‘rasgulla’, and ‘idli’, while Hindu homes feature ‘barfi’, ‘gulab jamun’, ‘ladoo bessan’, and ‘coconut ladoo’, among other treats. Thus, in the Tamil community, sharing sweets takes place in the morning after rituals, while in the Hindu community, it happens early in the evening, illustrating the different traditions that converge in the spirit of Divali, the festival of light, prosperity, and unity.

Neeloopher Aucharaj: "The Whole Family Gets Involved"
Resident of Amaury, Neeloopher Aucharaj, married and mother of three boys, eagerly awaits Divali. "I started my deep cleaning last Tuesday because the house must be spotless. It’s a festival we look forward to, especially my boys who have chosen to wear ‘kurta’ for the occasion," she shares. Since the day before, the family has been busy preparing sweets. "Burfi, ladoo, rasgulla—these are the essentials, while my mother-in-law handles the traditional sweet potato cake."

"At my home, the whole family pitches in to make the sweets. It’s a very joyful time. My in-laws live downstairs, and they take care of the sweet potato cakes," she says.

On the festival day, prayers will be recited before the sweets are packed in boxes to be shared with relatives and neighbors. For dinner, Neeloopher Aucharaj and her family will go to her mother-in-law’s house, where several family members will gather for a meal prepared for the occasion.

Testimonials
Janeshta Appadoo: "We Ask Goddess Lakshmi to Illuminate Our Home and Bring Prosperity"
Janeshta Appadoo is excited to celebrate Divali, a moment she describes as both spiritual and familial. For her, the prayers to Goddess Lakshmi are of utmost importance.

"The rituals we observe and the prayers we recite are very significant because we ask Goddess Lakshmi to bring light into our home and also to bring prosperity," she confides.

Like many households, preparations began well before the big day. "Divali also means a thorough cleaning, which started several months ago, not to mention shopping for new clothes. It’s quite the preparation," Janeshta emphasizes.

In terms of sweets, the Appadoo family began making treats the day before and will finish on Monday, the day of the festival. "Mawa samosa, barfi, ladoo, rasgulla, and the traditional sweet potato cake are on the menu. We all prepare the sweets together, with my parents and grandmother. My brother is abroad. We enjoy this in a good atmosphere, and we also create ‘rangolis’," she recounts.

The distribution of sweets will take place in the afternoon. "At our place, sharing occurs around 2 PM since we like to gather again for a family dinner before heading out for a traditional stroll to admire the lights," Janeshta explains.

Ganessen Annavee: "Deepavali is Primarily a Festival of Sharing, Where Harmony Prevails"
In Albion, at the first light of day, Ganessen Annavee’s home comes alive with the colors of Deepavali. Together with his wife Jeevamanee and their children, he prepares to celebrate the festival in the Tamil tradition, blending rituals, scents, and flavors.

"The Tamil community celebrates Deepavali in the morning because that’s when Lord Ram traveled to South India, to Tamil Nadu, before reaching Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh later that night. Thus, the rituals begin with prayers for protection and health," explains Ganessen Annavee.

The family has started preparations with a thorough cleaning of the house. In the kitchen, the atmosphere is both lively and fragrant: zenberic cake, rasgulla, idli, ‘keti torpon’—every treat has been carefully crafted, merging ancestral traditions with family expertise. "We share our sweets with all our neighbors. Deepavali is fundamentally a festival of sharing, where harmony and friendliness are ever-present. Sweets are offered to our neighbors, regardless of their community," he shares. In the evening, he will host his in-laws for a friendly dinner, a traditional moment that concludes the day’s celebrations.