Diwali: the celebration of victory of good over evil.

                                           First, why do Indian families celebrate Diwali?

In the city of Ayodhaya there was a good king named Dashrath, who led with these four princes. The elder, Ram. But one of King Dasaratha's wives was jealous of Ram and demanded that he be exiled in the forest. As he had promised to answer all the desires , the impotent King Exiled Ram to the forest, accompanied by his beautiful wife Sita, and faithful younger brother Lakshman.

On their paths, they fell upon a devil named Surpanakha who tried to seduce the two brothers. The two refused his advances.
Surpanakha cried to her brother Ravan, the demon King of Lanka, he was furious and swore vengeance. With the help of another demon who took the form of a gloden deer, he distracted Ram and Lakshman and captured Sita, the wife of Ram.  Ram and Lakshman realized and immediately rushed to find her.

On their way they came across an army of monkeys and the bears agreed to help them. Among them was a monkey named Hanuman, not an ordinary monkey. He had the power to jump incredible distances such as an ocean.

It was Hanuman who finally found Sita, imprisoned in one of gardens of Ravan. Hanuman reassured Sita that Ram would soon be there to save her. A great battle began between two powerful armies and Ram's troops managed to kill all the demons except one, Ravan. Finally, Ravan's brother Vibheeshan told Ram that Ravan's weakest point was in his navel. Using an arrow given by the gods, Ram pulled Ravan into the navel and killed him instantly.

Ram and his love, Sita, were eventually reunited. They returned home to find the whole city waiting for them! The streets were decorated with flowers and lamps and there was happiness everywhere. And that is why every year on Diwali, you see streets, houses and offices lit with lamps, such as the city of Ayodhya, in celebration of Ram and the return of Sita.

                                                            
Diwali with my second family.

In my host family, we begin the day by covering our hair with oil which we leave to rest for an hour and after we take a shower.We dress with traditional and colorful Indian clothing.  After that, we eat a lot of Indian sweet treats. We pray. Then we join the friendly friends and family with whom we share some gifts and the food, mostly meat in the evening. We finish with a firework display where we can see the children play with the firecrackers.