Home » Blog » Diwali: Glowing Orange Light in the Darkness

Diwali: Glowing Orange Light in the Darkness

Diwali via Sarch on Flickr
  • Pin It
Diwali via Sarch on Flickr

The folks at Painted Paisley were sharing some of their beautiful suits for Diwali, and I wanted to know more about this celebration.  As I discovered, Diwali is a festival of lights celebrated in India and in other countries by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.  Diwali is the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.

Rangoli via Chirag Gupta on Flickr
  • Pin It
Rangoli via Chirag Gupta on Flickr

Rangoli are part of the celebration, and the Sanskrit word means a creative expression in art using color. Women often create them on the floor, or  at the doorway to welcome guests and the Goddess Lakshmi. Rangoli remind me of mandalas, and the vibrant color resonates with what inspires me in art.

 

Rangoli in Thick Salt via Sameer Naik
  • Pin It
Rangoli in Thick Salt via Sameer Naik on Flickr

Diyas, clay oil lamps, are lit as an expression of this triumph of light over darkness at Diwali.

Stained Glass Night Light by Wayne Stratz.
  • Pin It
Stained Glass Night Light by Wayne Stratz.

The lamps made me think of Stratoz’s stained glass night light.

Marigold Mandala by Margaret Almon.
  • Pin It
Marigold Mandala by Margaret Almon.

The color orange is woven throughout Diwali, from glowing orange lights, to rangoli composed of marigolds, to Diwali sweets like carrot halwa and jalebi, to deep orange sarees.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.