Diwali ~The Hindu Festival and a gift from Asda.

Diwali is a Hindu celebration that is celebrated by all Hindus.It  usually falls late October to early November time depending on the Hindu calendar. It spans over 4 days with festivities, meeting, greeting, praying and celebrations with lamps and fireworks. It a time for families to get together, forgive and forget and celebrate this joyous Occasion.

Day one is Dhanteras– This is the day when Hindus worship the goddess Laxmi, the god of wealth. They welcome her into their homes offering prayers to her for giving them wealth.

Day two  is Kali Chaudas– This day is when Hindus remember their ancestors and family members that are deceased, they offer prayers for their souls to rest in peace.

Day three is Diwali day– This is the day when families wear new cloths, exchange gifts, enjoy a Diwali banquet and celebrate by lighting oil lamps, candles and light fireworks.

Day Four is New Years Day  -This is the day when families visit each others houses to greet them and share indulgent platters of Indian sweets.

The run up to Diwali is a very busy period for Hindus, people spring clean their houses and make delicious savouries, Indian sweets and decorate their houses with rangolis which are intricut patterns drawn on the floor with powdered paint, coloured rice, and flowers.

The house is adorned with earthen oil lamps and Torans of flowers (buntings) are tied to the front door in preparation to welcome the goddess Laxmi to the house.

Cleaning the house is an important part of the preparations as is shopping for ingredients to cook with for the festival. This year I have been lucky as Asda has come to my rescue, they have sent me a lovely hamper full of cleaning products and Asian ingredients to start my preparations. At Asda there is a whole range of Asian groceries available with many special offers for Diwali.

 I have made some pretty platters that I have gift packed with Indian sweets and biscuits to give to my family. The Ingredients in the hamper were indeed useful as were all the cleaning products.

I would like to Thank Asda for the lovely hamper that has helped me to make my Diwali preparations a little easier.

I would like to wish all my readers a very Happy Diwali and Very Happy New years. I appreciate all your support in the form of visits and comments that truly inspire me to blog.

For ideas for some Diwali sweets, that I have made do check out my recipes below.

Kaju Katli- Indian Cashewnut sweet.

Coconut Delight Roses – Tutti frutti and Coconut layered on delicious white chocolate.

Caramel Peda– Indian fudge-Delectable pieces of melt in the mouth soft brown fudge topped with 
flaked almonds. 

Chocolate Crunch Nut Barfi–A lovely sweet made with chopped cashew nuts, almonds,pistachio nuts, cereal-corn flakes, rice crispies ,cocoa and golden syrup .Topped with delicious smooth milk chocolate. 

Rose Barfi-Rose flavoured Milk Fudge

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