Dhanteras

The festival of Diwali begins with the worship of Lord Ganesha, Mata Lakshmi and Kuber ji on the occasion of Dhanteras. According to the belief of the Puranas, when the gods and the demons were churning the ocean, at the same time 14 gems came out from the churning of the ocean. One of these Lord Dhanvantari appeared on the day of Dhantrayodashi with a brass nectar urn in his hand. This is the reason that buying brass items on this day is considered very auspicious.