Children dressed as deities as they celebrated Diwali 2016.
The community came together at Huddersfield Hindu Temple to mark the festival that celebrates the triumph of light over darkness.
The children dressed as deities – a divine being – and lit candles to symbolise light.
Kiran Bali , general secretary of the Hindu Society of Kirklees and Calderdale, said: “In Hinduism we believe there is one God but different deities so the children wore their best clothes and hoped to emulate them.
“They had candles which is a symbol of light and they had a nice time with their friends and had fun.
“The temple was open all day long and it was lovely to welcome the wider community in.
“While it’s a religious festival for us it has a wider scope. It’s about bringing communities together which is very relevant in today’s world.
“It’s about seeing light over evil, knowledge over ignorance, hope over despair and how we bring that into our everyday lives, so it’s a message anyone can relate to.”
Diwali is a universal festival of the light of love, and Kiran said the purpose is not to glorify the light of the candle, but to glorify the eternal light of God.
She added: “This light connects us with God, and guides us during our arduous journey through life.
“In Huddersfield we always celebrate Diwali with unbounded joy and charm through strengthening bonds of family and friends.
“We celebrate with brothers and sisters of all of cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds to signify the importance of peace, prosperity, communal harmony and social justice.”
The date is decided by the position of the moon.
According to the Hindu calendar, Amavasya or ‘no moon day’ is considered as the perfect day to celebrate Diwali and this year it fell on Sunday, October 30.
However, it’s a five-day festival.
The first day marks the beginning of Diwali celebrations, at sunset Hindus bathe and offer oil lamps with sanctified food to the Lord of Death and pray for protection from untimely death.
The second day is the fourteenth lunar day of the dark fortnight – on this day, Lord Krishna destroyed the demon Narakasura and liberated the 16,000 princesses which the demon held captive. The day marks the end of evil and the beginning of joy and laughter.
Day three is the actual day of Diwali and Hindus cleanse themselves and join with their families and worship the Goddess Lakshmi.
Day four sees money or gifts of clothes exchanged, with temple’s offering 56 different foods which is blessed.
The fifth day of Diwali is called Bhratri Dooj and cherishes the affectionate relationship between brothers and sisters, with gifts exchanged.
