Diwali Diya

Category: Arts

Diya Lamps are oil lamps lit during the festival of Diwali to symbolize prosperity in the new year. They are small pots made from clay and could be described as 'thumb pots' as they are made by pressing the thumb into a ball of clay and shaping it.Diwali is here and it marks a special time of celebrations, fun and fervour. While people will be wearing new outfits, buying lanterns and buying other decor for the home, a big part of the Festival of Lights is lighting diyas or earthen lamps. In every home, these tiny lamps are lit right from the run-up to the festival. But do you know what they signify? Diyas symbolise goodness and purity, and lighting them denotes dispelling darkness and going into light. And since Deepavali is celebrated on the new moon day, a time of darkness everywhere; light these lamps are a means to get rid of darkness. Lighting the lamps also denotes dispelling angerm greed and other vices. The lamps also stand for good luck. The traditional diyas were lit using ghee (clarified butter) but today people also commonly use oil. The lore goes that as per Indian tradition, the little diyas are bought on Ashwin Purnima, which is a full moon day, which is about two weeks prior to Diwali. Then diyas are soaked in water so as to make them ready for the Diwali pooja.