Pakistan
'Happy Diwali': PM Khan felicitates Hindu community on festival of lights
“Wishing all our Hindu community a happy Diwali,” Premier wrote.
Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday extended his greetings to the country's minority Hindu community on the occasion of Diwali, the festival of lights.
Khan conveyed his wishes with a simple message on Twitter.
“Wishing all our Hindu community a happy Diwali,” Premier wrote.
Hindu community is celebrating the festival of lights today and will light up earthen lamps in the night while fireworks will also be exhibited to celebrate the festival.
In Sindh, apart from Karachi, Hindu community living in Hyderabad, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Jamshoro, Badin, Sanghar, Hala, Tando Adam, Shahdadpur and other cities and towns are also celebrating “Diwali” with religious spirit.
Diwali is one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, notably Newar Buddhists. The festival usually lasts five days and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika.
The five-day long festival originated in the Indian subcontinent—usually celebrated twenty days after the Vijayadashami (Dussehra, Dasara, Dasain) festival.
On first day of the festival, people clean their homes and make arts and decorations on the floor—termed as rangoli.
The second day is Naraka Chaturdashi, while the third day is the day of Lakshmi Puja and the darkest night of the traditional month.
In some parts of India, the day after Lakshmi Puja is marked with the ‘Govardhan Puja’ and ‘Balipratipada’ (Padwa).
Some Hindu communities mark the last day as Bhai Dooj which is dedicated to the bond between sister and brother.