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Kaarthigai Deepam is a unique  festival of lights, and  is celebrated on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Kaarthigai.  If you are in Tamil Nadu , you cann’t miss this wonderful decoration in all houses around . I became curious to know more about this . As usual , I find all rituals in Tamil Nadu has a profound background   and significance .Irrespective of whether one believes in them or not , one can easily understand why Tamil Culture is  regarded to have evolved from a very ancient civilisation and is still retaining its rich culture and heritage  . On this day, people decorate their houses with beautiful kolams, offer special prayers to the divine and light lamps known as Agal (diyas) and place them  inside and outside their homes. 

The festival is celebrated in a special way in a temple town called Thiruvannamalai; Where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Jyotir Linga. According to puranas, Lord Shiva takes a huge form and Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu set on a journey to determine the origin of lord shiva, and they return back defeated.  Lord Shiva then appears in the form of Jothi (Agni tatva or the fire principle) and blesses them.  Karthigai Deepam is celebrated on account of this, so on this day special pujas are performed and a torch is lighted on the hill which is known as “Annamalai Deepam”.

It’s a wonderful sight to see most of the houses and streets glowing with these lamps. Delicacies like Appam, Pori Urundai (Sweet made out of puffed rice and jaggery) are then shared with neighbours and friends. While festivals like Ganesh chathurthi, Janmashtami, Ram Navmi and Dusshera  promotes the worship of divine in a specific form , Kartikai Deepam is unique in a way  promoting  the worship of omnipresent and formless divine.