A parade for Diwali, also called Deepavali, a festival of lights observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and others in southern Asia, kicked off at 133rd Street and Liberty Avenue on Saturday, October 30.
The five-day festival, which actually begins on Friday, November 5, is centered on the new moon and observed by lighting diyas, simple oil lamps, to signify the victory of good over evil in the individual.
Hindus believe people welcomed the return of the god Rama after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over the “scholarly but arrogant” Ravana, by lighting rows of lamps. The name Diwali originates in the words for “rows” and “lamp.”
