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Dhanteras
The first day of Diwali, when it is auspicious to buy gold, silver and new things, including a festive saree.
What is worn for Dhanteras
Dhanteras falls on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight, two days before the Diwali new moon, and opens the festival. It is the day to buy something new that lasts: gold and silver coins and jewellery, brass and steel vessels, and increasingly appliances. Shops stay open late and jewellers are crowded. Families clean the house, light lamps at the door and worship Lakshmi and Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods. It is more a day for buying than for dressing up, but many families time the purchase of the festive saree and its jewellery for Dhanteras, so saree shops are busy too.
The sarees
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Dhanteras" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sari: Suyash.dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source