Diwali Ki Safai

About

Diwali Ki Safai is a catchphrase referring to the tradition of deep cleaning one's house in anticipation of the festival of Diwali, one of the major religious events celebrated by people of Hindu, Jain and Sikh faith. In the days leading up to Diwali, offerings are made and rituals are followed to pray to the Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity, and the house is cleaned with the understanding that the cleaner the house, the more likely it will be graced with a visit from the Goddess. The annual tradition of deep cleaning, as well as the practice of roping the whole family into aiding with the task, has led to a series of memes being made by internet users about the trials and tribulations involved in the "diwali ki safai," meaning "diwali cleaning," of the house.

Origin

Background

The etymology of the word "Diwali," also known colloquially as the "Festival of Lights," comes from the Hindi word for "diya," meaning small wicker lamp. The festival is generally observed between mid-October and mid-November, and is meant to symbolize the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance."^[1] The day commemorates Lord Rama, a reincarnation of Lord Krishna, and his return to his kingdom after the defeat of the demon king Ravana and the rescue of his wife Sita, in the Hindu mythological tale The Ramayana. As per legend, the Rama was guided back to his kingdom with the help of his subjects lighting candles and diyas.

Other deities commonly associated with the festival are the Goddess Lakshmi, symbolizing wealth and prosperity, Lord Ganesha, symbolizing wisdom and the removal of obstacles. A common practice amongst Hindus in the days leading up to Diwali is the deep cleaning of one's home in order to attract a visit from the Goddess Lakshmi.

References in Memes

The hashtag "#DiwaliKiSafai" began to trend on Twitter towards the start of October 2022 as Indian internet users made jokes about the trials and tribulations of cleaning their homes or being made to clean their homes by their elders.

For example, on October 9th, 2022, Twitter^[2] user @Nanditeshmishra posted a video joking about their mother trying to wake them up to help with cleaning on a Sunday, gathering over 500 likes in two weeks (seen below).

My mom trying to wake me up for diwali ki safai on sunday: pic.twitter.com/TLn3k6z3BM

— Nanditesh Mishra (@Nanditeshmishra) October 9, 2022

Spread

The catchphrase and underlying concept of "Diwali Ki Safai" continued to spread and be memed online in October 2022, primarily on Twitter. For example, on October 9th, 2022, Twitter^[3] user, @aneetta_joby_ posted a tweet about cleaning out her messages with her ex as part of "Diwali Ki Safai," gathering over 1,000 likes in nearly two weeks (seen below, left). On October 9th, Twitter^[4] page @RVCJ_FB posted a meme about Diwali Ki Safai, gathering over 1,000 likes in two weeks (seen below, right).

On October 20th, a video of a woman cleaning her windows by standing on a precarious ledge went viral, with Twitter user @sagarcasm^[5] posting a tweet that read, "Agar inke ghar Laxmi ji nahi aayi toh kisi ke ghar nahi aayegi Diwali pe," which translates to, "If Goddess Lakshmi doesn't come to this woman's house, then she's not coming to any houses." The tweet gathered over 50,000 likes in nearly a day (seen below).

Agar inke ghar Laxmi ji nahi aayi toh kisi ke ghar nahi aayegi Diwali pe pic.twitter.com/SPTtJhAEMO

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) October 20, 2022

Various Examples

Me going home on Friday evening knowing entire weekend ahead would be spent on Diwali cleaning pic.twitter.com/yd1agz5132

— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) October 16, 2022

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References