11 Interesting Facts About Diwali You Might Not Know

- By Anamika Mishra

Everyone knows that Diwali is a festival of lights. We celebrate it because Lord Rama returned back to Ayodhaya with her wife Sita and brother Laxman from exile of 14 years. We also worship Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi to bless us with love, luck and wealth. We light diyas, burn crackers and eat lots of sweets. (I swear, writing these lines made me remind my school days when we used to used essay on Diwali *lol)

And yes, we meet and greet family and friends and have a good time together. All said? No! There are still some really interesting facts about Diwali that you might not know. Therefore I decided to share it with you these lesser known facts about this festival of lights.

Read on and enjoy!

11 Interesting Facts About Diwali You Might Not Know:

The festival derives its name from the Sanskrit word “Deepavali” which means row of lights.
It is also significant for Sikhs as it marks the event of Bandi Chhor Diwas for them when Guru Hargobind ji and 52 others were released from prison and came to Amritsar in October 1619.
The foundation stone of the Golden Temple was laid on the day of Diwali in 1577.
It’s a five day festival which starts with Dhanteras, then Narak Chaturdashi (choti-Diwali), Amavasya (Diwali), Parehwah & Bhai Dooj.
It is celebrated around more than 10 countries on the same day.
Diwali in not just a national holiday in India but also in Trinidad & Tobago, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Mauritius, Guyana, Suriname, Singapore, Malaysia and Fiji.
In West Bengal, Goddess Kali is worshipped on this day.
The business community marks this day as the beginning of their new financial year, thus shops and jewelers keep their stores open this night.
Gambling during Diwali is considered to be a good luck and believed to bring prosperity in the year ahead.
It is celebrated by Jains to mark the occasion of attainment of moksha by Mahavira.
Diyas are left burning all night as it is believed that it will burn away all the sadness, problems and evil eyes.
The city of Leicester hosts the biggest Diwali celebration apart from the celebrations in India.

Wow! I bet you didn’t know most of the facts written above. Well, that’s okay! Even I came to know all of these gradually, with time, research and travels. Now go on, and share these interesting facts about Diwali and spread the light of knowledge.