Diya, Deep, Deepak.
We pour the oil. We dip the wick. We light it up.
But do we know what they represent?
Mythology
There’s more to the culture than just the welcoming of Lord Rama after completing his exile.
When Goddess Lakshmi was about to return back after serving in the fields of a poor farmer, he refused to relieve her from his services as the farmer had become wealthy overnight with her arrival. She then promised the farmer that she would visit her once every year on the night before Diwali. The farmer and the people in town would light lamps throughout the night to welcome her.
Another story revolves around the son of King Hima who was predicted to die after marriage. When the time came, his wife laid out all her ornaments at the entrance and lit up lamps all over the place. When Yamaraja arrived there, he was dazzled and blinded by the lustrous shine and he returned back.
Symbolism
While the stories behind the culture of using diyas may be different, the common factor in all those stories is that diyas light up the place and banishes the darkness. Like the victory of good over evil. Like the victory of Rama over Ravana.
It’s hard to imagine a festival of lights without lights. The festival starts only when your house is decorated with diyas and lanterns. The flame that is ignited and the light that is illuminated throughout the house gives the most nostalgic festive feel.
It is to show respect to our parents and elders who have burned like a diya to light up their children’s life.
Decoration
In the recent past, people have been using electrical lights to decorate their houses, which doesn’t exude the same emotion of Diwali as the earthen lamps.
We’re not saying that the electrical lighting looks bad,
We’re just saying that this
Looks better and more festive than this
The best decor theme that would suit the lamps is Traditional. The simple reason is that lamps are traditional pieces of decor. Traditional goes with traditional. If it were a scandinavian or a modern themed room, it would have been justified if the electrical lights were used as there is a mismatch of themes that is happening. Rustic could still pass as a partner to the lamps due to the element of fire being prominent in the Rustic theme.
