Today is the first day of Deepavali (or Diwali). This is an important holiday for Satya’s family and for many other Indian families. I don’t know much about it at the moment. I know it celebrates light and the victory of good vs evil.
Here is what I do know:
Accessories: small votive candles put around yard and home, large lit star for front of the house, new clothes for family. In India, people set off firecrackers.
Preparation: cleaning house, decorating home, buying new clothes, cooking sweets.
Food: As this is a very holy time of year the vegetarian diet gets stricter. Eggs are not supposed to be eaten (they aren’t supposed to be eaten anyway, but especially now).
What we’ve done:
Satya cooked carrot halwa yesterday and Saturday. He says this is something that is usually made for Deepavali and other festivals.
Similarities to other religions:
The lit star reminds me of how around Christmas Christians often put lit stars on their homes. The lamps remind me of Hannukah.
As you can see, I have much to learn!
How will you celebrate the holiday?
1 response so far ↓
Gori Girl // January 11, 2009 at 8:49 pm |
We didn’t celebrate Diwali this year, mainly ’cause we were too busy. Dada, who lives in California, puts Christmas lights around his house for Diwali, though, as do a lot of other Indian families I know who live in the US.