All these are used during Diwali, which starts on October 26 this year. Diwali, which is an especially joyous holiday, primarily focuses on worshipping Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. On the day before Diwali, Hindus shop for delicacies and fine clothes, and clean their houses and decorate them with flowers. On the evening of the first day, a single lamp is placed in front of the house as an offering to Yama, the god of death. On the second day, Hindus rise earlier than usual, rub perfumed oil on their heads and bodies before bathing, then have a large breakfast with relatives and friends.
Lunch is a feast with special sweet dishes, and oil lamps illuminate the house in the evening.
On the third day, all doors and windows are kept open so Laksmhi can enter the house and the front door, or the floor in front of it is often decorated with drawings or paintings of lotus flowers. Instead, a husband visits his sister, who applies perfumed oil on his head, arms, and back before he bathes, after which she moves a lamp in a circular motion in front of him to ward off evil. He then gives her a present, and they share a midday feast. We all pray to those beings or spirits or gods to whom we relate and in whom we believe. That surely would be inappropriate, just as it would be improper for her to ask you to go to daily services in a synagogue, put on tefillin and a tallit, and pray for her.