The greatest Hindu festival named Diwali is kick-started with Dhanteras. In Nepal, the Tihar Festival starts with Dhanteras. 
The word Dhan is referred to wealth and Teras is referred to Thirteenth. Summing it up, the thirteenth lunar day of the Dark Fortnight or 
Krishna Paksha in the Vikram Samvat Hindu Calendar month of Ashwin is the day known to be Dhanteras. In every nook and corner of India, this is 
celebrated but the rituals may vary. Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped, utensils and gold/silver jewelry are bought, and new business deals are done on 
this day for more wealth and prosperity.
Like all of our religious festivals, this festival is also linked with some famous mythological anecdotes. 
The story of King Hima is the most popular one. As per the legendary stories, an astrologer told King Hima on the fourth day after marriage. 
Upon hearing this prediction, his wife laid all her dazzling ornaments made from precious gold and silver at the threshold of the sleeping 
chamber and lit oil lamp in the evening. The Lord of Death, Yama was disguised as a serpent while he came to kill King Hima. The serpents' 
eyes were blinded by the shining jewelries and the brilliance of the lamps. Instead of killing King Hima, he climbed up the pile of jewelries 
and started listening to the stories told by the king's wife all through the night. Yama had to return without taking the life of King Hima. 
This day later came to be celebrated as Dhanteras and till today people lit up lamps and deck themselves with jewelries. 
To keep the family members safe from the hand of death, diyas or oil lamps are lit up.