The day before Diwali is celebrated as Chhoti Diwali
/ Narak Chaturdasi or 'small Diwali'. It is Diwali on a smaller scale,
with fewer lights lit and fewer crackers burst. The morning after Choti Diwali,
the women of the house make beautiful, colored rangoli in the doorway and
courtyard. Tiny footprints made out of rice paste are a special feature of the
rangolis made for Diwali. In Hindu homes, Chhoti Diwali celebrations involve a
ritual puja to Goddess Lakshmi and also to Rama in the evening. Songs in honor
of the god are sung and aarti is performed.
In South India that victory of the divine over the mundane is celebrated in a very peculiar way. People wake up before sunrise prepare a paste by mixing Kumkum in oil, symbolizing blood and after breaking a bitter fruit that represents the head of the demon King that was smashed by Krishna, apply that mixture on their foreheads. Then they have an oil bath using sandalwood paste.
In Maharashtra also, traditional early baths with oil and "Uptan" (paste) of gram flour and fragrant powders are a `must'. All through the ritual of baths, deafening sounds of crackers and fireworks are there in order that the children enjoy bathing. Afterward steamed vermicelli with milk and sugar or puffed rice with curd is served.
In South India that victory of the divine over the mundane is celebrated in a very peculiar way. People wake up before sunrise prepare a paste by mixing Kumkum in oil, symbolizing blood and after breaking a bitter fruit that represents the head of the demon King that was smashed by Krishna, apply that mixture on their foreheads. Then they have an oil bath using sandalwood paste.
In Maharashtra also, traditional early baths with oil and "Uptan" (paste) of gram flour and fragrant powders are a `must'. All through the ritual of baths, deafening sounds of crackers and fireworks are there in order that the children enjoy bathing. Afterward steamed vermicelli with milk and sugar or puffed rice with curd is served.
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