Why Do We Burn crackers in India.

Why do we burst crackers? Of course, we burst crackers to celebrate happiest of the occasions and enhance the festivity of the atmosphere.  The Bursting of crackers and lighting up of arrays of Diyas are two most important and integral part of Diwali tradition. Diwali would be left incomplete without bursting of crackers to one’s heart content. From youngsters to the adults, we Indians are highly fond of bursting crackers to maximize the experience of the festive celebration.

Our Forefathers believed that bursting crackers on the festive occasion will drive away the evil spirit and simultaneously they lighted up the Diyas to welcome the goodness into their home. There are several legends that exist in India for the celebration of Diwali. Some of them are as follows:

• Victory of Lord Rama over the evil demon Ravana and he returned to his Kingdom after years long exile with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman. The People of Ayodhya celebrated the happy occasion by lighting up the Diyas in everyone’s home to welcome their king.
• Victory of Lord Krishna and his consort Sathayabhama over the evil and egoistic demon “Narasura” and the demon before his death pleaded to Lord Krishna for the forgiveness, and then he requested that his people should celebrate his death every year with joy, by waering new dress, exchanging sweets and bursting crackers.
• Victory of Lord Vishnu’s Vamana avatar over the arrogant but generous king bali and teaching a lesson to drive away the evil characters that resided inside the King bali.
• Lord Krishna protected the people of the Gokula village by lifting up the Govardhan Mountain with his finger and saving the people from the torrential rain caused by the wrath of the Demigod Indra.
• It is believed that the Diwali is the goddess Lakshmi birthday, she visits each and every houses on the occasion of the Diwali day, bless those house which are brightly lit with health , happiness and wealth;  remove the ignorance, greed, and other evils from the house.

In most parts of the India, The Diwali is the celebrated as “a victory festival”, the victory of the good over the evil. Whatever, maybe the reason for the celebration of Diwali, the central theme remains the same. Our forefathers believed that the sound from bursting of the crackers would reach the gods in the heaven and convey the message that people are commemorating the victory of the gods over evil.

The scientist believe that the sounds of cracker bursting awakens and alerts the subconscious system and bring the individual to an excited stated, creating a euphoric environment for the celebration.  It is also believed that there is a scientific significance behind the bursting of crackers on the Diwali occasion. In most parts of the India, the Diwali celebration coincides with the change of climate, a breeding season for the insects, during which the insects multiply at an exponential rate. It is believed that sulfur gas released while bursting crackers helps in controlling the breeding of the insects, hence preventing various diseases that may arise otherwise.