Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, was celebrated virtually by many people across Ireland and the world todayyesterday.
The Ireland-India Council, in conjunction with Dublin City Council, has been organising Diwali celebrations since 2009. The annual festival of light celebrates the triumph of light over darkness.
Chairman of the Ireland India Council, Prashant Shukla, previously said this year’s celebration will deliver a message for peace, prosperity and health to communities and frontline heroes.
There are around 40,000 members of the Indian community in Ireland. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, whose father Ashok grew up in India, issued a “special Diwali message” on Twitter.
Diwali is one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. It runs for five days from the thirteenth day of the dark half of the lunar month to the second day of the light half of the lunar month.
The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning “row of lights”. Diwali is generally a time for visiting, exchanging gifts, wearing new clothes, feasting, feeding the poor, and lighting candles. People joined the live celebration on the Ireland-India Council website.
In the smog-shrouded Indian capital of New Delhi, firecrackers were banned and while people still thronged markets, traders said Covid-19 had scared shoppers off spending.
Mahinder Kumar, who sells flowers outside the Jhandewala temple, said that normally there are huge queues for Diwali but this year it is almost empty.
The lights were off at Vineet Garg’s gold and jewellery store near Delhi’s Connaught Place, despite an “open” sign. They think it is a waste of electricity since people are not buying in shops.
In Mumbai, markets were bustling with shoppers buying lights and food but shopkeepers said sales were no better than on an average day. With 8.7 million cases, India has the world’s second-highest coronavirus infection count behind the United States.
About 130,000 people have died from Covid-19 there since February and Delhi is going through a new surge with nearly 8,000 new cases a day.