Instructions: Diwali, the Festival of Lights, with its religious, cultural and social nuances, embodies the spirit of India. It has endured for thousands of years as a celebration of family, of life and of hope.

Celebrated by Hindus around the world, Diwali - which this year falls on Nov. 14 - marks the beginning of the Hindu new year. It is one of the biggest festivals of the Indian subcontinent.

According to Hindu legend, King Dashratha of Ayodhya in northern India had three wives and four sons. A day before the coronation of the eldest son, Rama, one of the queens demanded that her son be made king instead and that Rama be banished to the forest for 14 years. The king had promised that wife a favor, and Rama was forced to leave, taking his wife and younger brother with him. Soon after, King Dashratha died of a broken heart.

During his exile, Rama waged a war against the demons, killing their king, whom even the gods had thought invincible.

Diwali or Deepawali - deepa means light, and avali means row - gets its name from the diyas or small earthenware lamps that illuminated Ayodhya when the victorious Rama was welcomed home 14 years later. The festival also honors Laksmi, the goddess of wealth, who is said to travel to Earth on this day.

Because she will not enter a dirty or dark home, preparations for Diwali begin weeks in advance with cleaning and fresh paint.

For the religious, Diwali is one of the holiest occasions. But prayers do not start until evening, and during the day, people dress in their finest new clothes to symbolize the renewal of life. They go out to greet neighbors, family and friends and exchange boxes of mithai, or sweets, and nuts. As dusk falls, the best part of the festival begins: Diyas lit in memory of Rama begin to twinkle in the twilight. These small lamps are a symbol of the victory of good over evil, of knowledge over ignorance. Then, it is time to prepare for pujas, or prayers, before the festival comes to a colorful close with fireworks.

As with all Indian festivals, food plays a key role. While dinner consists of numerous sumptuous entrees, Diwali would not be complete without mithai, described in Hindu scriptures as food of the gods.

The five ingredients that form the core of Indian sweets - honey, milk, ghee

(clarified butter), sugar and water - are combined with spices, dried fruit and rose petals to create a variety of delicacies. In India and the Bay Area, you can buy dozens of types of mithai throughout the year from sweet shops.

In the Hindu pantheon, different gods are said to prefer different mithai.

Vishnu, preserver of the world, and his consort, Laksmi, prefer an offering of rice cooked in milk. Ganesh, the elephant god of auspicious beginnings, is said to prefer ladoos, made from gram flour and sugar. There are gulab jamuns, the spongy brown dumplings swimming in sugar syrup that are frequently served in Indian restaurants, and rasogullas, soft cheesy balls in sugar syrup. But my favorite is kheer, fitting for Diwali since it uses all five of the ingredients for the food of the gods.

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