Lakshmi Puja News

Lakshmi Puja to honor the goddess of wealth and prosperity. This main event follows Dhanteras and will precede Bhai Dooj, with each day bearing its own rituals.

Diwali 2024, an auspicious celebration for Hindus worldwide, will be observed with great enthusiasm both in India and in communities around the globe, including the United States. This festival of lights will be marked by gatherings in community centers, temples, and homes, where families and friends come together to celebrate with traditional sweets, music, and cultural performances. Observed on the 15th day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu lunisolar calendar, Diwali typically falls in October or November. This year, Diwali will be celebrated on Thursday, October 31, 2024. This day commemorates the return of Lord Rama and Mata Sita to Ayodhya after vanquishing the demon king Ravana, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil and marking the end of their 14-year exile.

Mumbai: Spare a thought this Diwali for stockbrokers and their staff—they’re feeling a little less cheery this festive season. Blame it on T+0, also known as same-day settlement, and other reforms. Every year, the start of the Hindu calendar year is marked by the Muhurat trading session, a bit of Diwali ceremony carried over from the days of open outcry. Brokers and their employees had asked the BSE and NSE to advance the hour-long session to 10-11 in the morning from the traditional 6-7 pm, as this would allow them to complete post-trading operations by noon and give them enough time to celebrate Diwali with their families on Lakshmi Puja. That request has been rejected by the exchanges, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Lakshmi Puja on Sharad Purnima or the autumn full moon. At the turn of the 20th century, there would have hardly been a Bengali house without an evening puja for the goddess of good fortune and abundance being conducted by the matriarch of the family. It could be described as Bengal's Thanksgiving Day, asking for Ma Lakshmi to shower divine benevolence on all. Whether She is represented as a figurine or painted on a clay plate (shora), Ma Lakshmi is adorned with flowers, and alponas featuring conch shells and lotuses are drawn on the floors with rice flour paste, with the goddess's feet etched at every doorway to welcome her. Similar to the more widely known Santa story, "Kojagori" Lakshmi is supposed to come late at night to see who is still awake and bestow her blessings on them. Durga Puja became a largely community celebration by the 19th century, barring those in the homes of rajas and zamindars, but Lakshmi Puja remained a family affair till the end of the 20th century. And, importantly, it was most often woman-led. Nearly every Bengali has memories of grandmothers, aunts and mothers prepping for the evening puja, making narkel naru (coconut-jaggery ladoos), arranging fruits and flowers, keeping fasts and reciting the panchali.

Significance of Diwali: Deepawali carries profound significance in Hindu culture. It embodies the victory of light, goodness, and purity over the forces of darkness and ignorance.

Today, October 2, 2023, due to Gandhi Jayanti banks in all states in India will be closed. Even though bank branches will be closed, online banking services will be available, allowing you to conduct transactions, check balances, and accomplish other necessary financial operations from the comfort of your home or on the go. The next bank holiday where many banks will be closed is for the festival of Dussehra. Also read: Bank holidays in October 2023: Banks will be closed for up to 18 days in October; check state-wise bank holiday list

Banks in October are closed on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Mahalaya, Kati Bihu, Durga Puja, Dusshera, Lakshmi Puja, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Birthday.

Diwali is a time of celebration for the entire country. What also makes IT unique is that it is quite interestingly a time when the country’s material aspirations are most visible. This can be seen in two ways: one, Diwali season has slowly become the de facto shopping fiesta for the country with incredible deals across online and offline platforms leading to crazy levels of shopping and two, we can see a fascinating array of religious activities that are geared towards building wealth creation. One among them is Lakshmi Puja, a special ceremony to invite Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity into their homes. This is done in the hopes that they will be blessed with prosperity. This fascinating connection between Diwali and wealth has also seemed to be an auspicious time to acquire new assets and make new investments. And, what better asset for wealth creation during this auspicious time than the best-performing one over the last decade — Bitcoin?