<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The day after is Kali-Chaudas. Thats not considered auspicious.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The day before Deepavali is called Naraka-chathurdasi in Southern India (esp Tamil Nadu.) It is on this day that Deepavali is celebrated and not on the amasya (new moon) day. I do not know why, but in jest, we used to say that Tamilnadu celebrates it as long as Narakasura lived, and stopped celbrations once he died..
In the North, Deepavali is the celebration of Raghuvamsa Rama's victorious return to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. In South India, Deepavali is celebrated for the following reason:
Narakasura was the son of Sri Krishna and Satyabhama (who is also Bhudevi.) He was a demon king and a delinquent one. His capital city was Pragjyotishpur (Guahati?).
Narakasura's evil deeds got out of hand to an extent that Krishna decides to finish him off. Satyabhama, who is an excellent charioteer herself, comes with Krishna. A fierce battle between Krishna and Narakasura takes place in which Ranchodrai (aka Krishna) is 'knocked unconscious'. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Unable to take it anymore, Satyabhama takes over the command and kills Narakasura.
http://www.umich.edu/~isa/aboutindia/ima...akasur.jpg
The day Naraka died is an occasion to Celebrate, with ppl wearing new clothes, distributing sweets, and performing a ganga-snanam early in the morning. Ganga snaanam aacha is the standard greeting amongst tamils on Deepavali.(Or atleast amongst Tamils in Hyderabad.)
Along with that, there is also Yama-tharpanam which is done by the head of a clan amongst Brahmins. This is to offer libations to Yama, who was 'killed' by Shiva when he came to take away Markandeya. (This pose of Shiva is called Kalasamhara Murthy.)
http://www.vaaaksounds.com/diety_images/Ka...mharaMurtne.gif
So, we celebrate Deepavali on Naraka-chathurdasi, and on Deepavali Day.
The day before Deepavali is called Naraka-chathurdasi in Southern India (esp Tamil Nadu.) It is on this day that Deepavali is celebrated and not on the amasya (new moon) day. I do not know why, but in jest, we used to say that Tamilnadu celebrates it as long as Narakasura lived, and stopped celbrations once he died..
In the North, Deepavali is the celebration of Raghuvamsa Rama's victorious return to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. In South India, Deepavali is celebrated for the following reason:
Narakasura was the son of Sri Krishna and Satyabhama (who is also Bhudevi.) He was a demon king and a delinquent one. His capital city was Pragjyotishpur (Guahati?).
Narakasura's evil deeds got out of hand to an extent that Krishna decides to finish him off. Satyabhama, who is an excellent charioteer herself, comes with Krishna. A fierce battle between Krishna and Narakasura takes place in which Ranchodrai (aka Krishna) is 'knocked unconscious'. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Unable to take it anymore, Satyabhama takes over the command and kills Narakasura.http://www.umich.edu/~isa/aboutindia/ima...akasur.jpg
The day Naraka died is an occasion to Celebrate, with ppl wearing new clothes, distributing sweets, and performing a ganga-snanam early in the morning. Ganga snaanam aacha is the standard greeting amongst tamils on Deepavali.(Or atleast amongst Tamils in Hyderabad.)
Along with that, there is also Yama-tharpanam which is done by the head of a clan amongst Brahmins. This is to offer libations to Yama, who was 'killed' by Shiva when he came to take away Markandeya. (This pose of Shiva is called Kalasamhara Murthy.)
http://www.vaaaksounds.com/diety_images/Ka...mharaMurtne.gif
So, we celebrate Deepavali on Naraka-chathurdasi, and on Deepavali Day.