Diwali is one of the two most important festivals in Hindu culture along with holi. Also, it is a major festival in Buddhist, Sikh and Jain culture. in autumn season, Diwali is celebrated on the darkest night i.e. the new moon night of Hindu month of Kartik. The festival celebrates the return of lord Rama to the kingdom Ayodhya, symbol of righteousness, after conquering the evil king Ravana after a violent and long war.
Traditionally, people used to celebrate Diwali by lightening earthen lamp overnight. Nowadays, people celebrate Diwali with fireworks. Emission from fireworks contributes to air pollution. However, reducing use of fireworks, which help to reduce pollution, would be a small step towards overall air quality improvement.
Fireworks cause air pollution as their production requires use of dangerous chemicals. Ignition of those chemicals leads to production of lots of harmful gases like Carbon monoxide and carbon di-oxide etc. Reduction in use of firework displays would be a great way to reduce air pollution. Fireworks pose an immense risk to an individual’s health, especially for people with pre-existing respiratory issues like asthma. The US government has even issued a warning about fireworks cause serious damage to eyes and can also cause permanent blindness.
The US Environmental Protection Agency recommends that people with damaged eyesight or respiratory problems avoid breathing airborne particles during fireworks displays. Celebrating Diwali with fireworks is not even the actual and traditional way to celebrate. Using fireworks for Diwali would be a huge step backwards as Hindu culture reveres air as one of the major deity. Pollution caused by fireworks only deteriorates air Instead. People should switch to traditional way i.e. lightning earthen lamps overnight or to other less harmful methods of celebrating. For example, they could use candles, sparklers and star lanterns instead of fireworks.
Fireworks also produce gases like Carbon monoxide, carbon di-oxide and nitrogen; some of those gases are primarily greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Reducing pollution by celebrating Diwali with fewer to no fireworks would be a step towards reducing air pollution. Firework explosions not only cause air pollution but it also lead to serious structural damage and even loss of life.
Many people died by burning because of fireworks. Therefore, reducing air pollution would be an excellent way to honor the god Lord Ram along with Hanuman the monkey god, who fought against and killed the demon king Ravana. Decreasing air pollution would also honor his brother Lakshmana and army of monkeys, who helped lord Rama in his struggle against Ravana’s army.
Fireworks are not only constrained to Diwali. Many people, outside Indian culture, treat firework displays as a way to honor their heritage and their culture’s traditions. For example, Chinese families often use fireworks to celebrate their ancestors’ contributions to society. In addition, many people in South America use firework displays to celebrate their Catholic heritage and remember the Immaculate Conception- the conception of Mary free from original sin.
In addition, celebrating Diwali with fireworks is a way for people to show their gratitude for the blessings of the god i.e. goddess Lakshmi, goddess Saraswati, and god Ganesha. People show their respect especially to the goddess Lakshmi. Goddess Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Lakshmi came out of ocean as result of ocean churning to marry Lord Vishnu was usually resting on the bed of 1000-mouthed serpent during his yognindra meditation in the milk for four months according to Hindu calendar.
Apart from that, people show gratitude towards lord Ganesha, remover of obstacles in one’s life and god of wisdom. He was created out of ubtan; paste used cleansing body, by the goddess parvati, wife of lord Shiva. Also, people pray to goddess saraswati, the goddess of intelligence, learning and eloquence. She sits of Kamal (Indian lotus) as her abode and rides a pure white swan as her vehicle. She plays veena (an Indian musical instrument).
Fireworks not only pose serious risks to an individual’s health but also contribute to air pollution which in turn deteriorates the environment. Reducing use of firecracker can reduce pollution which could help improve overall air quality. Use of green cracker which causes less pollution can help in fighting the battle against air pollution.
Also, Switching to less harmful ways of celebrating Diwali could help improve overall air quality and help protect future generations from respiratory problems and global warming’s negative effects. This decision is not easy since many people hold very specific cultural views towards firecrackers and fireworks as part of their heritage and culture’s traditions. However, for the sake of future generations’ health, people should start thinking about their children’s health now so that they can make healthy decisions when they become parents.
By: Soham Garg
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