"People in different regions of India have different customs and holidays, but Diwali is a holiday that is celebrated throughout the country," says Narayana Swami, one of the four priests at the Hindu Temple and Community Center. "It is a time of family get-togethers."

Half a world away from their native country, local Indian residents celebrated Diwali with even more enthusiasm.

The Diwali fair in the Temple and Community Center, which featured singing contests, dances and crafts, attracted between 3,000 and 5,000 people every day of the Diwali celebration.

In Cupertino, where the Indian community is the fastest-growing population, the Asian American Business Council under the umbrella of the Chamber of Commerce held its first-ever Diwali festival at Quinlan Community Center. In fact, Diwali is the first Indian festival ever celebrated by the community.

Diwali is the 15th day of the Hindu month of Ashwin every year. The actual date of the festival varies from year to year, but it always marks the beginning of a new fiscal year.

Indians celebrate Diwali by exchanging gifts and sweets, cleaning the house, applying a new coat of paint, and shopping for new clothes and accessories, as well as starting a new set of accounting books.

"The festival of Diwali brings the message of love and wisdom, of triumph of good over evil," says Mahesh Nihalani, organizer of Cupertino's Diwali festival "It celebrates prosperity, knowledge and everything desired and noble in life. It is a pleasing festival that people express hope for another prosperous and happy year to come."

The word Diwali comes from the Sanskrit word deepavali: deepa means light and avali a row. During Diwali, every home is lit with candles and lamps to welcome Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity.

"Just the mention of Diwali conjures images of the glow of light against the background of a dark, moonless night," Nihalani said. "Electric lights and lanterns go up days before the arrival of Diwali."

The image of light inspired Cupertino resident Sahana Ravindranath to design a logo of an earthen lamp with four small flames for the Diwali festival at Quinlan Community Center.

"The earthen lamp represents our community, and light from the flames signifies knowledge and purity," says Ravindranath, who moved to Cupertino four years ago. "The series of small flames represent different ethnic groups glowing together as a single light, symbolizing harmony and unity."

The active participation in Cupertino's Diwali festival illustrated the Indian holiday's harmonious theme. City officials, council members, school board members, and even Akhilesh Mishra, acting consul general of India, attended the event.

Since the goal of Cupertino's Diwali festival was to introduce Indian culture to the community, the program, organized by Cupertino Fine Arts Commissioner Hema Kundargi, featured Indian fashion shows, folk dance and a slide presentation of tourist attractions in India.

In private celebrations of Diwali, people traditionally started the festival with pooja, prayers to Lord Ganesh and Lakshmi. In a Diwali community gathering in Mountain View, about 70 residents from Sunnyvale, Saratoga, San Jose and Cupertino sat in front of a shrine of Lord Ganesh and Lakshmi. Each couple had a plate of a Lord Ganesh symbol, candles, flowers, fruits, red tilak, coins with Lakshmi and a brand new checkbook.

"We first washed the feet of Lord Ganesh and poured water down his head, a ceremony we call abhishek," said Sharad Dadbhawala of San Jose. "We believe Lord Ganesh can remove obstacles. We worship him before we do anything."

Another tradition of Diwali is the rangoli, a folk-art design drawn by women near the entrance and courtyards of their homes. Rangoli signifies welcome. Rangoli powder is a mixture of white stone, lime, rice flour and paste. Small flowers or petals, grains and rice are also used to create intricate designs.

The art of rangoli is passed on from one generation to another and neighbor to neighbor. Each region of India has its own style of drawing. Most of the designs are inspired by nature but are usually geometric. In the evenings of festive occasions, oil lamps are lit and placed on the rangoli to create a colorful ambiance.

Meena Mehta, who flew from India to visit her daughter, made an intricate rangoli in a community hall in Mountain View. The symbol of Ganesh was surrounded by symbols of the universe, weapons of God and the number zero. "Indian people believe the universe starts with zero," Mehta said.

The Diwali festival can last only one day or up to five days, and each day has its significance, with its own myths and legends. People are supposed to worship in the temple every day to receive blessings.

The first day of Diwali is called Dhana-Trayadoshi, during which doorways are adorned with the rangoli. Houses and businesses are renovated and decorated. Lamps burn all night each night.

The second day is called Narak-Chaturdashi. On this day children compete, rushing to be the first to bathe before sunrise, because the first clean children are the first to begin setting off firecrackers outside their house. Back in India, the sounds of firecrackers can be heard as the sun comes up.

Day three of Diwali is called Laxmi-Pooja, and is celebrated with religious joy and prayer to welcome the goddess of wealth and prosperity. On this very day, the Sun enters its second course and passes Libra, a symbol of balance. Therefore, this is a day to balance account books.

Padwa is the fourth day, during which the deities are given a milk bath and dressed in shining attire with ornaments of diamonds, pearls and rubies. It is also a custom for the wife to put the red tilak on the forehead of her husband and pray for his long life.

Bhayya-Duj is the last day of Diwali, when people exchange sweets and gifts.

In Silicon Valley, few Indian people have time to celebrate the festival for five continuous days. But it has become a holiday people of other ethnicities begin to appreciate. In Cupertino, the Chamber of Commerce has begun talking about preparing for a one-day-long Diwali festival next year and engaging the whole community to celebrate the traditional Indian festival.

The 1913 Nobel Prize laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore said of Diwali in a poem, "the night is dark. Kindle the lamp of love with thy life and devotion."