3 months and 30 days left for Diwali. Decorate and light up with your diyas!
Diwali is about light, knowledge, and celebrating the good in life. In 2023, Diwali takes place on November 12th. So what is Diwali? Today, you’ll gain insight into the roots of this ancient festival, find out who celebrates Diwali, and gain further understanding of the symbols and communication that often tie in with the ceremony. Read on and ga...
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Rangoli
Celebrate the marvel of Indian culture through the beautiful visual language found in these stunning Rangoli photos. With exploding color and rewarding detail, they will transform your website and themed social media content into something audiences will remember and resonate with.
Diwali diya
Embrace the lights and the energy Diwali provides us by making use of these incredible Diwali diya photos. Such a world-renowned event deserves the best quality of imagery to enjoy its true strength of color and detail. Let’s celebrate light together!
Diwali festival
Diwali is the festival of light and truth, and you can see that in this elegant collection of images. You’ll find diyas, candles, gods, flowers, sweets… These high-quality photos are perfect for projects, presentations, and even for your website.
Diwali sweets
Indian cuisine is one of the best ones in the world, particularly sweets. Use these images of Indian food for your restaurant, for presentations, to sell your products, or for celebrating Diwali, a beautiful festival.
Diwali banners
Celebrate Diwali with your customers, talk about your product, and increase your sales thanks to this collection of Diwali banners. They come in different styles: elegant, naïve, funny, childish, simple…
Diwali posters
Get the most exquisite selection of Diwali posters decorated with diyas and mandalas. Personalize them, add some bits of information and let people know about this celebration, about your company, or your marketing campaigns.
Diwali drawings
Bring fresh creativity to your themed projects by using these stunning Diwali drawings. Each visual has its own unique design, filled with artistic strokes, deep shades, and symbolism that will draw the attention of your target audiences.
Diwali greeting cards
You will find many Diwali greeting cards filled with colors and Hindu designs here. Send them to your loved ones or use them to greet your customers too, they are great for marketing purposes as well.
Symbols
Ganesh
Lotus
Oil lamps
Om symbol
The Indian elephant god, Ganesha, or Ganesh, is one of the best-known Hindu gods, so it’s also an important image during Diwali. Although his origins are not clear, scholars dated him between the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD; his cult was widely accepted by the 5th century AD. He is so powerful that he is worshiped by some Buddhists and Jainists! In fact, his name is a Sanskrit word that means something like “the master of the multitude.” Ganesha is the patron of wisdom, but also arts, science, letters, and learning, and the most characteristic features of the god are his elephant head and his many arms. An interesting detail about Ganesha is that the number of arms is different depending on the representation of the god: usually, he has between 2 and 16 arms.
The lotus flower (or sacred lotus) is typical of rivers, deltas, and estuaries. These beautiful flowers have a deep meaning for different cultures and religions around the world. For ancient Egyptians, lotus is a representation of the journey to the afterlife and rebirth. For Christians, it’s the symbol of an apostle, Thomas, when he came back from India. For Hinduism and Buddhism, the lotus flower is the symbol of awareness, consciousness, and the awakening of the soul. It also symbolizes the purity and spiritual power of Lakshmi (the goddess of prosperity) as the roots of the plant are still attached to the earth itself, while the flowers are able to break the water surface tension and reach the sky. This is why lotus and Diwali are so connected, as both represent the victory of light and self-knowledge and can be found in many artistic practices such as mandala art and rangoli design.
Diyas or Deepams are one of the most famous Diwali symbols in Indian culture. These oil lamps are sacred items in many religions, as in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. They have been traditionally made of clay. Add some ghee, a cotton wick, and you have everything you need to light your diya. Traditionally, when Hindus light a diya, they chant a mantra in Sanskrit. This mantra is a sort of prayer: they ask for auspicious moments, good health, wealth, and their spiritual awakening. This mantra is called Shubham Karoti Kalyanam. Diwali diyas present several types of designs. Some of them are very colorful, with a lot of mandalas, while other designs present simple patterns, without any other elaborate decorations.
Om (ॐ) is the most sacred mantra in Hinduism. Explaining the Om meaning is not an easy task, as it can translate into the source of being, Brahma, the state of complete consciousness. It’s the source of the essence of life. Om is said to contain the whole universe, and the three central Hindu gods, Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva God (the destroyer). As Om is so important, one must chant Om before any other Sanskrit prayer or recitation. Another interesting fact about Om is that each part of the Sanskrit symbol, ॐ, has its own meaning. The top dot is spiritual bliss, the semicircle is the state of illusion. The lower right curve is the dream state, the top left one is the unconscious state and, the lower left curve, the conscious state.
Indigo is a rich violet blue shade. This color was named after the indigo dye, which is an organic compound extracted from the plant Indigofera tinctoria, also known as true indigo. It’s used to dye cotton, silk, wool, food, and even hair. Historically, indigo has always been a widely used dye. Countries like China, India, Japan, and other Southeast Asian areas have employed it for centuries, ultimately taking part in the colors of Diwali. It was even found in archaeological items from Egypt and Mesopotamia. According to color psychology, indigo represents knowledge, integrity, kindness, and intuition. It’s also great if you want to get inspired.
The history of Diwali is beautiful. People celebrated Deepavali many centuries ago, and it continues to be one of the most important celebrations in the world. To answer ‘Why is Diwali celebrated?’, we must refer to the creation of Diwali origins: Deepavali, the ancient tradition, the creation of a Sanskrit play entitled “Nagananda,” the discoveries of a Portuguese traveler known as Domingo Paes and the release of Guru Hargobind. There are more significant details about the festival of lights that you need to know, for example: when is Diwali celebrated? It really depends on the Hindu lunar calendar and the first new moon between the months of Asvina and Kartika. In 2022, Diwali began on October 24. Read more about the history and traditions of Diwali and let light win.
The ancient roots of Diwali
Diwali is a very ancient festival. Its colors and lights embellish the different parts of India with lights and unique decorations. Although there are different sources to trace it back, many of the early writings about it are lost now. The earliest trace of this celebration is, supposedly, observed in the Jain tradition. Mahavira, an important spiritual teacher, was about to pass away and to reach his final nirvana in 527 B.C. During this process, 18 kings reunited to listen to Mahavira’s final teachings, and they decided to honor this Tirthankara (or supreme preacher) by lighting lamps every year. This process was known as Deepavali in early texts.
The depiction of diwali in literary works
Deepavali or Diwali has been an important part of the Indian culture and arts for centuries. That is the case of a famous play by the Indian emperor Harsha: Nagananda. He refers to diwali as Dīpapratipadotsava in this play, which means something like “the light during the first day of the festival”. This text describes Dīpapratipadotsava as a festivity when newlyweds receive gifts. This marvelous celebration has also been detailed by other authors too. Al Biruni, a 11th-century traveler from Persia, wrote about it. Niccolò de’ Conti, a Venetian merchant from the 15th century, also described Diwali as a festival filled with oil lamps, special clothing, music, dance, and feasts.
The chronicle of the king of Vijjayanagar
India has always been an exotic destination for travelers, even more some centuries ago, when the internet didn’t exist. Some of these voyagers have recorded what they saw during Diwali in their diaries and memoirs, as in the case of the Portuguese Domingo Paes or Pais, depending on the source. He visited the Vijayanagara Empire, the southern part of the Deccan Plateau, during the 16th century. People were celebrating Diwali at the time he got there. He wrote about the traditional oil lamps, diyas, and more aspects about it in his book Chronica dos reis de Bisnaga, “Chronicle of the king of Vijayanagar”.
The role of the sixth guru of the Sikhs
Sikhism is one of the major organized faiths and it emerged in India around the 15th century. Sikhs also celebrate Diwali, but for them this tradition has a different origin. Guru Hargobind, the sixth of the ten Sikh Gurus, spent 12 years in the Gwalior Fort prison. Hargobind was imprisoned by Jahangir, the Mughal emperor. Guru Hargobind strengthened the military power of his community and he was a very important martial artist at the time as well. The release of Hargobind, together with the founding of Amritsar and Bhai Mani Singh’s martyrdom were the three major events that confirmed Diwali for the Sikhs.
Diwali is a key festivity for many countries and cultures. Hindus celebrate it, but sometimes Buddhists and Jainists join the party too. The most important thing to honor is the victory of light and truth over darkness. These five days are full of color, diyas, rangolis, gift exchanges, and food. Learn more about the thrilling Diwali traditions and how many countries celebrate Diwali around the world in this section.
Why is Diwali celebrated in India? In the northern part of India, Diwali commemorates the triumph of Prince Rama after his exile, and in the southern part of the country this festival has to do with the victory of Lord Krishna over the find King Narakasura. Diwali also represents the victory of good over evil, so Diwali means a lot, spiritually speaking, for the inhabitants of India. How do people celebrate Diwali in India? Indians cook, clean their houses, share food with their family and friends, decorate with diyas and create beautiful rangolis, intricate patterns made of flowers, colored powder, sand, or rice during the five days of Diwali. They also exchange gifts and, of course, firecrackers and fireworks are part of this celebration too. And if you love fireworks, you need to go to New Delhi. They have an incredible show!
Tihar, celebrating Diwali in Nepal. Diwali is known as Tihar in Nepal, and it’s the second most influential festivity in the country. Like in any other place, Tihar has to do with diyas, light, and color. Gods like Govardham Mountain, Shri Laxmi, or Lord Yama are pivotal during this celebration, but animals too. Cows are worshiped during those five days: Nepalese Hindus put a tika on their heads and place marigold garlands around the neck of the animals. They also adore other animals such as dogs and oxen. A month before Diwali or Tihar, people clean their homes to welcome these sacred days. It’s a symbolic way of getting rid of all the dark, impure, or broken things in their lives before Tihar starts. A peculiarity of Tihar in Nepal is that both Hindus and Buddhist celebrate this festivity. Tihar encourages the coexistence of different cultures as a way of embracing different religions and people.
Celebrating Diwali in Singapore means visiting Little India. There, the Indian Heritage Center organizes Diwali activities such as trishaw rides. There are also some workshops if you are looking forward to decorating your own diyas with many colors and patterns. Do you prefer visiting some temples? The Sri Veeramakaliamman temple is simply outstanding during Diwali. Actually, praying there is a great thing to do there to celebrate Diwali. Alternatively, you can have tasty Indian food at curry houses and other Indian restaurants too. Performing arts also take the streets: there is an annual street performance that tells the history of Diwali: learn the little details of the festival of lights with a little touch of color and drama.
The Hindu community in Trinidad and Tobago and Diwali. Diwali is a very important celebration in Trinidad and Tobago. Have you ever wondered why? There is a large Hindu community in this country, as there are many East-Indian inhabitants there. It doesn’t really matter if you are Hindu or not: every single person is invited to take part in the festivity. As in many other parts of the globe, they adorn their houses and cities with diyas. These oil lamps have elaborate designs, colorful patterns, and different shapes to embellish their homes. Prime Minister Keith Rowley was the first politician that highlighted the importance of Diwali for the communities of the country. Dr Rowley sees Diwali as an opportunity to keep peace, to forgive, and to be non-judgemental to other people, religions, and cultures. Diwali in Trinidad and Tobago is a true example of a multicultural gathering.
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