Sri Lanka’s Brightest Religious Festival

As a multicultural country consisting of Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims, one of the perks that Sri Lankans enjoy is having public holidays for almost all the religious festivals. When it comes to the main festivals of Tamil Hindus, Deepavali takes the spotlight. Annually it falls on 24th October and if you are in Sri Lanka during that period, you might be able to get a glimpse of the celebrations.

Words - Tishaniya Seneviratne

Deepavali is the Festival of Light which is celebrated by mainly Hindu devotees across the world.The festival originates from India (where it is more commonly known as Diwali) and being one of its closest neighbours, Sri Lankan culture and way of life is highly enriched and strongly influenced by India. The term Deepavali stems from the Sanskrit words Dipa (Lamp/Light/Shine) and Avali (Series/Row/Sequence). Deepavali symbolizes the triumph of Light over Darkness, Good over Evil and Knowledge over Ignorance. The festival usually falls in the months of October or November and the rituals take place usually for four to five days with the main celebrations taking place on the third day – the darkest night which is the 15th day of Karthik, the holiest month in the Hindu lunar calendar.

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