Happy Deepavali 2003

Being multi-cultural, one of the many things that we Malaysian get to enjoy in our country is the ability to celebrate the holidays of different cultural groups together. By making these holidays a national holiday, everyone in the country has the opportunity to partake in the generous hospitality and great food that Malaysians are famous for. In honor of the Deepavali holidays tomorrow, I did some research on the web to learn more about the festival.

The word “Deepavali” itself comes from the combination of two Sanskrit words which are “Deepa” or lights and “Avali” which can be roughly translated as a row. The combination of the two words literally mean “a row of lights” which corresponds roughly to the term “Festival of Lights” that is also commonly used to refer to Deepavali. Deepavali if also sometimes know as Dwali which I first heard of while I was studying the States. Since that term was used by other Indian friends who originally came from India and from the UK, I guess that this was just another acceptable term for the occasion that is celebrated every year during the 7th month of the Hindu calendar which falls approximately in October/November timeframe in our Western calendar.

There are several stories that I found which tells about the origins of the celebrations. In one legend that I’ve seen most commonly associated with the origin of the occasion, it was said that there was once an evil and oppressive king by the name of Narakasura who tortured, maimed and mercilessly ruled his subjects with an iron fist in the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. His oppressed subject prayed to God for deliverance from the hell that they were forced to lived in and their prayers were answered when God descended to Earth in the form of the Hindu deity, Lord Krishna to do battle with the demon king. The fierce battle between the powers of good and evil was said to rage for days before the demon king Narakasura was finally defeated by Lord Krishna. With his final breath, a repented Narakasura announced that he was happy that he was to die at the hands of God and told the people to celebrate the occasion and not mourn his death. The people celebrated by lighting every lamp and candle in the kingdom as a symbol of light banishing the darkness and this practice has been followed to this day as the celebration of “Deepavali”.

Deepavali is primarily celebrated by the Hindu community in Malaysia with several rituals and temple prayers to mark the occasion. Days before the occasions, houses and temples are scrubbed clean and decorated beautifully to welcome Devi (goddess) Lakshmi which is the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. Among the special decorations that are usually used in preparation of the coming of Deepavali are vilakku which are small clay oil lamps and kolam which are intricate designs made by painstakingly arranging colored rice on the floor of the entrance to the house. The people celebrating Deepavali also prepare for the occasion by cleansing themselves spiritually by fasting, prayers, meditation and avoidance of all kind of meat a few days before. They would also go through the ritual of bathing in oils before sunrise on Deepavali day signify purity.

People celebrating Deepavali would then congregate in the temples to offer prayers in the morning. A highly celebrative mood is often found in the temples as people dressed in their finest come together in the temples bearing offerings to their deities. After prayers, they would normally go back to their beautifully decorated homes and open their doors to visitors. In a truly Malaysian tradition, this is an occasion for them to hold open houses for their family and friends of every race and walk of life to share in their cultural celebrations. Several cakes and dishes would be made especially for the occasion to be shared generously with the visitors. Depending on the person, this open house may even last until the evenings. I’m looking forward for tomorrow as well. Not only do I also get a day off from work but I also have been invited to a few Deepavali open houses tomorrow.

For those celebrating Deepavali, a Happy Deepavali to you and may the coming year continue to bring you and your family wealth and prosperity.