During Diwali, Hindus want the goddess Lakshmi to visit them, but they also celebrate other important days concerning other gods. Over the five-day span of Diwali, Hindus celebrate the return of Lord Rama, the birthdays of many gods and goddesses, and the deaths of some demons (Canton). Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, so it makes sense that its holidays reflect this polytheism. In contrast, Christmas celebrates Jesus’s birth as the coming of the Messiah, the sole savior of Christians. Another difference between the two holidays is how they have been celebrated. For over 3,000 years, there has been relatively little change to how Hindus celebrate Diwali: the only changes have been minor, such as giving more expensive gifts, lighting different types of lights with improvements in technology, and creating different types of decorations. In comparison, there have been countless changes to how Christmas has been celebrated. From its start as an unrecognized holiday to a fully commercialized holiday today, Christmas has been constantly evolving. Despite some initial similarities, Diwali and Christmas have many deep
During Diwali, Hindus want the goddess Lakshmi to visit them, but they also celebrate other important days concerning other gods. Over the five-day span of Diwali, Hindus celebrate the return of Lord Rama, the birthdays of many gods and goddesses, and the deaths of some demons (Canton). Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, so it makes sense that its holidays reflect this polytheism. In contrast, Christmas celebrates Jesus’s birth as the coming of the Messiah, the sole savior of Christians. Another difference between the two holidays is how they have been celebrated. For over 3,000 years, there has been relatively little change to how Hindus celebrate Diwali: the only changes have been minor, such as giving more expensive gifts, lighting different types of lights with improvements in technology, and creating different types of decorations. In comparison, there have been countless changes to how Christmas has been celebrated. From its start as an unrecognized holiday to a fully commercialized holiday today, Christmas has been constantly evolving. Despite some initial similarities, Diwali and Christmas have many deep