The Hindus enjoy many festivals. The diwali festival is one of the most important festivals. It is called to be the festival of Vaishyas chiefly.
Diwali comes in the month of Kartik on Amavasya day after the rainy season. The farmers are happy as the crop of rice is ready. All the people remain busy for days in cleaning and white washing their houses and business premises. There is hardly a house of any Hindu which is not cleaned or white-washed on this day. The kachha walls and courtyards in villages are besmeared with dung and earth.
It is said that Raja Ram Chandra returned to Ayodhya after fourteen years. He got victory over Ravana the king of Lanka. So the people of Ayodhya illuminated the city to welcome him and show their joy. Thus the festival is observed in the memory of Ram. There is hygienic point also. The season of malaria and rains is over. The
Houses are repaired and white-washed. The white-washing drives day the mosquitoes and makes the houses free from mosquitoes. The children are very happy on this day. They get holidays from the schools. Great preparations are made. The women prepare many kinds of sweets and other food articles. People buy small clay Devas. In the evening these devas are filled with mustard oil and lighted. This Devas are put on the walls or on the bamboo frames in rows at a small distance. The whole house becomes bright with lights. In cities and towns electric bulbs are lighted. Everything looks bright and beautiful. Some people make paper candles and hung them from the ceiling of the houses and trees. They look very beautiful.
Thus all the houses and the whole market look very bright and charming. The sweet shops give a very charming look. The sweets are put in an attractive manner. Everybody lets off crackers. People worship the Goddess Laxmi and offer sweets to her. The parsad is given to children and other people. The traders worship their Bahis and pray to Goddess Laxmi to bring them good luck all the year round.
The children are the happiest. They enjoy sweets and fireworks. They light these fireworks of different kinds. They enjoy the flying sparks and the bright coloured lights. They have a great liberty to do so.
There is one bad custom. Every Hindu thinks that he should gamble to try his luck. Most of gamblers lose their money and thus become poor. The people should make an all out effort to remove this bad practice.
