Dhan Teras | Essay by Kush,13, Kolkata
Diwali is almost here! 13 year old Kush tells us what festivities await us this week starting with Dhan Teras.
Dhanteras : The start of Diwali
Dhanteras, also known as Dhanatrayodashi, is considered as the start of the festival of lights, Diwali, in India.
It translates to ‘Dhan’, which means money and ‘teras’, symbolising the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksha in the Hindu calendar month of Ashwini. Ashwini month is regarded as an auspicious period of time in the Hindu calendar. Just like Sawan month is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Bhadrapada month to Lord Shree Krishna, Ashwini month is dedicated to Maa Durga.
A list of events take place during the auspicious month of Hindu calendar and they are as follows-
Diwali is a festival of lights and is one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. The festival usually lasts five days, or six in some regions of India. This year it’s going to be celebrated on 24th October, Monday so the week is going to start with a lot of happiness celebration and joy. A few days before Diwali, people celebrate the festival of Dhanteras.
Dhanteras is going to be celebrated on 22nd October, Saturday. This day is a celebration aimed at increasing wealth and prosperity. Dhanteras engages themes of cleansing, renewal, and the securing of auspiciousness as embodied by Lakshmi. In the villages, cattle are adorned and worshiped by farmers as their main source of income. Dhanteras is considered as a very lucky day to buy gold so people usually buy gold on this day.
