Diwali is one of the biggest festivals for the Hindus, celebrated with great enthusiasm and happiness. The festival is celebrated for five continuous days, where the third days is celebrated as the main Diwali festival or ‘Festival of lights’.
In Florence though there is a minority of Hindus, the festival is celebrated in a very calm environment. Normally, in India, there are huge fireworks on the streets with big celebrations involving dances and bhajans (holy songs). The city of Florence, as in all of Italy has band use of fireworks except for the period of New Year or a few famous events like the “Festa of San Giovanni”(see article on San Giovanni Festival).
On this auspicious day, people light up diyas, a kind of candle, all around their house. This is done to greet the long awaited return to Ayodyha, a city in India, of Lord Rama, the true King of the city. Ram is the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, the rejuvenator and maintainer of life. Lord Ram returns to his kingdom after a 14 years long exile along with his wife Sita and devoted brother, Laxman. Ram is an ancient mythology that is mentioned in the book of the Vedas. For the Hindu religion, it is their source of wisdom and faith, like the Bible to the Christians. The Hindus perform Laxmi Puja ( a holy prayer), in the evening and seek divine blessings of Goddess of Wealth. This festival has also a tradition of exchanging gifts with one another.
The exact day of the festival is decided by the position of the moon. According to the Hindu calendar, a no moon day is considered as the perfect day to celebrate Diwali.
Hopefully in the near future even culturally mixed cities like Florence will give a possibility for the people of other religions to practice their festivals. It is another way to learn the positive aspects and religious beliefs of different religions.