Tradition: Hinduism
Link: http://www2.hds.harvard.edu/spiritual/multifaith_about.html
Perhaps the most popular of all Hindu festivals, also known as the Festival of Lights, it is dedicated to the Goddess Kali in Bengal and to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, in the rest of India. As with several other festivals, Diwali is associated with one of the stories about the destruction of evil by Vishnu in one of his many manifestations. In Jainism, where the festival is also known as Mahavira Nirvana, Diwali celebrates the attainment of Moksa by Lord Mahavira. A burning lamp symbolizes the “light of knowledge” that dispels the darkness of delusion and ignorance.