Diwali is the biggest festival in Hinduism, and is celebrated on a large scale all over the world. This festival also marks the new year and brings in prosperity for all the people. The mythological truth of the Diwali celebration, it is the day when Lord Rama with his wife Goddess Sita and brother Lord Laxman returned to Ayodha after beating Lanka King Ravan.
Cleaning & Diwali:
Diwali is an auspicious festival and also brings in age-old traditions that people still follow, and one of them is deep cleaning the entire house and workplace as it is believed that success and wealth do knock at the doors. Goddess Laxmi is worshipped on Diwali and believed to shower the blessings on people whose abode is clean. Apart from religious belief, there are many logical reasons to deep clean the house on the occasion of the Diwali festival.
Every tradition we follow is backed with scientific reasons and logic that we are completely unaware of. Therefore it is very important that we practise to explore the 'why' behind our rich traditions and culture and pass it on to our next generation so that they will learn its values and richness.
Logical Reasons for Deep-Cleaning Home on Diwali:
1. Diwali marks change of Temperatures:
Diwali festival often falls in October or November, and that is the time the temperatures start to drop in the tropical region. With these many lifestyle changes taking place, Diwali is the perfect time to reset your home items so that you can easily access necessary items. Such as heating devices like water heaters, room heaters, covering all the open areas.
2. Reshuffle Wardrobe:
As the winters start approaching one needs to pack all the summer clothes and make way for the winter clothes. Though summer clothing takes less space we need to make space for winter clothes as they are bulky, and one may need layered clothing to keep oneself warm and comfortable enough. The dust accumulated in the wardrobe gets cleaned in this process and the moistness that the rainy season sets in the wardrobe is brushed off.
3. Preparing for the winter season:
As we brace ourselves for the chill weather, we also all need to pack the thin blankets and make a place for the rugs and thick blankets that keep us warm in the winter season. Skin and hair care are also required for the winter season. By this, one is making sure that all the blankets are washed and then pulled up in the bag to store for the next few months.
4. Get rid of bacteria and fungus:
In the deep cleaning of the house, we not only get rid of the dust particles but also the bacteria that gets collected on the items. Few household items are vulnerable to fungus formation on the surface also can be taken care and cleaned thoroughly. The bacteria and fungus are responsible for many lung diseases and allergies therefore, deep cleaning ensures healthy environment at home.
5. Welcome Visitors:
Diwali is the time when we host extended family and innumerable guests and spread happiness and joy on this occasion. Everyone likes the place clean and upkeep, so this is also one of the reasons your house needs an extra shine and the glitter all over the house and of-course the spark beaming in the family’s smile too.
Deep-cleaning is a manganous task and maybe a tiresome job, so one must do it step by step and with the help of the family and helpers. You can read the post, Festive Mantras for Glowing Diwali with family. Also, one must keep the emotions at bay while collecting the items which are no longer required.
CLEANING :: KIDS
Cleaning is a time taking task and either you can take help of the kids or make kids busy in the activities so that they are indulged in their work and you peacefully complete your tasks. Children can be made part of Diwali preparations, look at these 10 creative , colorful & Fun DIY activities for Children by Vartika, also you can you can get Free Printables of How to Celebrate Diwali by our blogger friend Kinshoo .
Why Getting Emotional while Cleaning the house is not advisable:
It is obvious that in the process of the deep cleaning of the house one may encounter the stuff that is no longer required. Thus we either donate it, or we pass it on to the friends and family to whom this stuff would be useful. One may get emotional with the things and heart would say to keep up those things stacked up in your boxes, but thinking logically how many materialistic things you can store on the onset of emotions, it has to leave your house one day or the other.
Additionally, these things get hoarded year after year and bring in the overhead of placing the stuff in the home. Giving away these items may be a little difficult but in the end when you see the joy of another’s face that is much higher over the attachment emotion.
You would like to read this poem ‘Jumble Trouble’ that will share the happiness when we shun off a few things from life.
Now that we have discussed all the logical and traditional reasons for deep cleaning the residence there should be no delay in making your house sparklingly with shine and beaming with happiness.
Every year I clean the house from up to down, clean out each closet and drawer. But not knowing why, it was just a ritual for me. But now it's more clearer
ReplyDeleteSo true. Seeing Diwali time as a time to reprioritize our needs and wants and then seeing it form that point of view can make the decluttering process more meaningful.
ReplyDeleteWe try to deep clean every corner of the house every three months normally. But during Diwali, though I don't celebrate it or consciously do it, I tend to clean the house one day one room at a time during those days.
ReplyDeleteI am thick in the middle of our Diwali deep-cleaning right now so this post really resonated with me! I've never thought about it from the perspective of your pointers though- very interesting!
ReplyDeleteNoor
Thanks Noor, these pointers help us to do things more logically.
DeleteAbsolutely true! The pointers explaining the connection between the cleanliness and Diwali are so rational. How can I forget the epic Moment of being emotional while decluttering the stuff of the storage boxes.
ReplyDeleteArchana
archusblog
I am doing the cleaning this week and just today I was trying to get rid of the last kurta I have of my husbands but I couldnt..I kept it back again. It is a denim kurta of his that I wear when i miss him too much
ReplyDeleteFestive season and especially Diwali definitely asks for deep cleaning. It's a custom and a necessity as well.
ReplyDeleteDiwali is the biggest festival and is as famous for its celebration and it most popular #diwalikisafai.. Deep cleaning is essential for so many reasons, good to read these
ReplyDeleteDeep cleaning during diwali is a ritual for everyone to welcome Goddess Laxmi home. I also agree that the real reason behind it is to ward of old and unnecessary things to welcome new things.
ReplyDeleteDeep cleaning is a big part of Diwali and I agree that it's for lot more than 'shagun' like it's said. No better reason than the change of season to get rid of dust and bacteria from the house.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we should explore the scientific and logical reasons behind every tradition & pass it on to our next generation so that they learn the important values. I will be starting the cleaning from Monday, don't have much time left.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of Hindu traditions that we are following blindly these days are backed with a logical reasoning that we are exactly not aware of. Thanks for sharing this informative article with us.
ReplyDeleteEvery YEar I got so many waste material out while cleaning and so much to give up things. Cleaning in Diwali is like a ritual.
ReplyDeleteExhausted with the cleaning but it is a satisfied exhaustion..your reasons for it are very logical actually. The season change in the north, airing out everything, having visitors during Diwali..even though we dont have both here right now I went ahead with the cleaning.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of these things while cleaning the house, i liked how you have mentioned them precisely and yes getting emotional while decluttering is something i really need to work on. I have moved to a new flat recently and it was difficult for me to throw a lot of things as I was attached to them. Good reminder :) Happy Diwali to you and your family, girls - Vartika.
ReplyDeleteDecluttering and cleaning are very important for all of us. Our festivals are so nicely designed that they prepare us for everything coming ahead change of weather, emotions, food, everything
ReplyDeleteSome valid reasons why one should clean house before diwali, we usually distribute work and complete it together.
ReplyDeleteNot just Diwali, but any festival requires cleaning & gives the same type of message.
ReplyDeleteMy home is ready for Diwali.
Deep cleaning is a part that is weaved in our tradition. Anything that we Indians do has some scientific reason behind. You habeentioned the reasons quite tactfully.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that we should obviously keep our house clean all the time and do a deep cleaning around big festivals like Diwali. This year I bought a Dyson home purifier to get rid of the PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollutants.
ReplyDeleteFor me, cleaning and decluttering happens on a regular basis but Diwali increased the cleaning by a notch and we include everyone to make sure the hse is spic n span.
ReplyDelete