Different religions have their own legends to describe the
origins of Diwali. For Hindus, one of the most popular stories
is Lord Rama's homecoming. That was portrayed this year
at a colorful celebration of Diwali in Landover, Maryland.
A participant, Menaka Kannan, describes it.
MENAKA KANNAN: Diwali is the festival of lights in
the Hindu faith. Basically, it symbolizes King Rama's return
to his kingdom after being exiled. And the story goes that
his father banished him from the kingdom and sent him to
exile in the forest. On Diwali, we try to reenact the way
that Rama came back. So the citizens all danced in the streets,
and so the same way we dance on Diwali.Generally, the more classical dances are devoted toward the gods, and on this occasion probably more toward Rama.
Part of the celebration of Diwali includes a Grand Puja. The puja comes near the end of the Diwali celebration, and it is the biggest part of the entire celebration. Basically, all
the
priests from various different temples, along with the children,
go to the stage and begin to do prayers to the Lord.
Also,
the illumination, the light that comes from the fire, is
a way of taking away the ignorance that we have. So after
the puja is done, people take the fire, they rub their hands
over the fire and they bring it over their head, basically
to illuminate themselves and to take away their ignorance.
