Diwali!

Well, since you've now learned about Holi, let's learn about Diwali! 

  Well, as you already know, Holi is called The Festival of Colors in English. Diwali is actually called The Festival of Lights. And now you might as well hear the story of Diwali like you did on the Holi page. But in this story, God himself is the main character and it will be longer. 

  Once upon a time, over 5,000 years ago, there was a king named Dasharatha in a city named Ayodhya. He had three wives named Kaushaliya, Keikei, and Sumitra. He wanted to have strong and powerful son. However hard he tried with his wives to have a son though, he always failed. One day, he went to a saint to have his problem solved. He and his wives ate a mango, but this mango got women pregnant. Dasharatha ended up having four sons. One from Kaushaliya, one from Keikei, and twins from Sumitra. Their names in order are Rama, Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrugna. When all of of the sons were married and are young men, Dasharatha has to give up his throne and give it to his oldest son, which was Rama. Keikei didn't want Rama to be the next king of Ayodhya. She wanted her son, Bharat, to be Ayodhya's next king. Earlier in life, Dasharatha had promised Keikei she could ask him for whatever two things she wanted. That evening, Keikei was in her chamber with Dasharatha. She asked for Bharat to be Ayodhya's next king and for Rama to be sent to the forest for fourteen years. Dasharatha had to accept, for a promise is a promise. Rama, his wife Sita, and Lakshman went to the forest. While in the forest, a demon king from Lanka named Ravan (Even before being called Ceylon, Sri Lanka was called Lanka.) was traveling and saw Sita. He immediately got attracted to her beauty. He then changed his form (he had the power to do so) and went to Sita and kidknapped her. Rama and Lakshman were doing errends at the time. Once both of them returned, they realized Sita was gone. Then, both of them went on a search for Sita. They made many new friends on the way and the friends tagged along with them. All of them made their way to Lanka. (Sri Lanka) Once they reached Lanka, Rama declared war with Ravan unless he gave back Sita right away, which he didn't. Both of them and each sides' soldiers fought for days. Eventually, Rama ended up killing Ravan and getting back Sita. Rama then returns to Ayodhya with everyone after the war because his fourteen years are over. Diwali is the celebration of Rama's return to Ayodhya.

  The festival of Diwali celebrates the truth's triumph over evil again like it does with Holi. It shows the brightness of truth coming over the darkness of evil. That's why it is called the Festival of Lights. What people in India do to celebrate Diwali is wear colorful clothing, (not black, white, brown, or gray) eat sweets, watch fireworks, light lamps and pots of oil, and go to temples. On Diwali, people go to temples and pray to Laxmi, Ganesha, and Sarawati for good luck. Like Holi, Diwali depends on the Indian calendar. You should try this sometime! It might not be as fun as throwing powder on other people, but it is really fun! I encourage you to try it sometime!