As we come to the Winter Solstice, it is interesting that so many cultures around the world have found this astronomical event to be so important to their spiritual systems. Certainly it was important for ancient cultures, as the hope for a return of the Sun and the eventual growth of plants and increase in the number of animals meant their very survival. Although survival today requires much larger societal cooperation rather than simply a tribal ritual, it is amazing that many such rituals remain today. For example, one of the most popular festivals in Hinduism (the world's 3rd largest religion with about 1.4 billion followers) is Diwali (or Deepavali). There are a lot of reasons given