The Krishna Temple at 8628 S State St. in Spanish Fork invites everyone to come celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights, on Sat. October 17 from 6 pm. The event will include classical and folk dancing, live music, dramas, a ceremony of lights, huge vegetarian feast, and offering of respects to a live cow.
    Diwali is a shortened version of "Deepawali" (Deepa=lamps, Wali=row: rows of lamps). Households in India put lamps in every window and temples brightly illuminate altars to bring in the best for the upcoming year. The date of the festival coincides with the return of the avatar of God, Sri Rama, to His ancestral kingdom after an exile of 14 years and many adventures. All the citizens welcomed Rama home by brightening up the entire city of Ayodhya and setting off fireworks.
    The Festival of Lights occurs during the lull between fall harvests and the onset of the monsoons. Thus it is a time of thanksgiving, and that corollary festival is called Anna Kuta (literally meaning, "heaps of food") Lord Krishna inaugurated this festival by inspiring the inhabitants of His village (Vrndavan) to worship the cows on this one day per year and to prepare a huge celebratory feast consisting of no less than 108 preparations.
Guests are encouraged to prepare vegetarian dishes at home (without onions or garlic) and bring them to the temple to augment the devotional offerings. Optionally, one could bring fruits, or flowers.

Observing  the above traditions, the schedule of events for this dual celebration is as follows: Read more