Diwali, the major holiday for the Hindu community, is a five-day festival of lights.

It's a time of cultural celebrations, feasting, family reunions and special gifts for children, so Hawai'i's Indian community is celebrating the annual event with a festival, including keiki program, tonight at McCoy Pavilion.

Diwali celebrates the triumph of good over evil.

While the exact origin of the Diwali festival is not known, different regions have different symbolism. For example, the northern and western regions of India attribute Diwali to the return of Lord Rama (or Ram) to his kingdom after defeating the demon king, Ravana, according to the Society of the Confluence of Festivals in India.

Ram was an ancient idol of the heroic ages. Legend has it that the warrior hero was the son of Dasaratha, the good king of Ayodhya, who had three wives. Dasaratha promised his second wife a great wish. She saved her wish until her husband's beloved firstborn son, Ram, was about to take the throne, asking her husband to send Ram away for 14 years. She hoped her own son, Bharata, would rule in his place.

Bharata was devastated to hear of his mother's wish. When Ram decided to fulfill his father's obligation without being ordered to do so, he took himself away in exile. But Bharata refused to take over as king. Bharata left a pair of Rama's wooden shoes on the throne while Bharata ruled as a representative and lived a monk's life.

During those 14 years' exile, Ram fought many battles and when he returned in triumph, garlands of flowers were said to pour forth from the heavens, and the streets of Ayodhya were lined with houses lighted with candles.

Other regions link the festival to other stories, but most communities follow the custom of lighting lamps, and some use fireworks to chase away evil spirits.

In Hawai'i, the Diwali festival takes a universal tack, bringing the Indian community and its friends together without religious separations, said Papia Sengupta. The annual event is geared to families.

"This is the time to bring people together," she said.

Dr. S. Ramanathan, a past president of the Hindu group known as LOTUS (Lord of the Universe Society), explained that in India, fireworks are "all over."

"It's a lot of fireworks, like Fourth of July or Chinese New Year," Ramanathan said. "It's done all over India, from north to south, east to west."

Where he's from — Madras, in southern India — the custom is to get up early in morning, shower, wear new clothes and give gifts to close family, especially children.

With his children grown and his grandchildren on the Mainland, he still remembers the days he'd wake his children early for Diwali.

"We never had firecrackers," he remembered with a laugh, "but we used to have some sparklers."