Diwali is the Festival of Lights and celebrates good triumphing over evil. This year, it started on November 2, but November 4 is when the main celebration took place. While Diwali has ended, it is never too late to learn more about the sacred holiday celebrated by many families here at Barstow.
Dharti Ray, the coordinator of co-curricular programs at Penn State Scranton, said that “[Diwali] celebrates the progress thus far along with the new beginning. It is celebrated with a lot of food, family and friends gatherings, temple visits, lights and so much more. The best part of Diwali is that the celebration lasts for five days.”
While there are no in-school celebrations at Barstow, there are schools that do. In New York City, there is a push to make Diwali a public school holiday. Such a move would also make sense for Barstow considering the number of Barstow families that celebrate the holiday.
“I love that Barstow has such a diverse community in many respects. With regard to holidays and family traditions, the more we can educate ourselves and each other, the better. I believe this will help us achieve a more inclusive environment for everyone. The ID+E department is endeavoring to be supportive in this area by providing resources to faculty members that they can share with students and also use to deepen their personal knowledge.” said Ryann Tacha, Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity
Diwali is one of the major religious celebrations in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The tradition varies depending on religion and region. Hindus light diyas, which are small lamps filled with oil, to invite the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. People in Bengal worship Kali, the goddess of death. Northern Indians have a festival to honor Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman coming to the city Ayodhya after defeating the 10-headed king of demons, Ravana. In South India, they have a festival to commemorate Krishna defeating the demon Narakasura.
The celebrations go on for five days and start after harvest season, according to the Hindu calendar. The first day is called Dhanteras; it is believed that buying jewelry on this day brings luck. The second day is Narak Chaturdashi, which is the 14th lunar day. People will light 14 diyas to keep evil away. Diwali’s most important day is the third day which is celebrated with family by lighting 21 diyas. The fourth day celebrates Govardhan pooja in honor of Lord Krishna who lifted Govardhan Hill to shelter people from heavy rain. Diwali ends on the fifth day with Bhai Dooj, a day to celebrate the bond between siblings.
How Diwali is celebrated differs, but the most common practices are family gatherings and lighting clay lamps to protect houses from spiritual darkness. This year, with the pandemic, temples are offering to stream services, and family gatherings will not include as many people. New Delhi has banned firecrackers to decrease the effect of air pollution on people’s respiratory systems.
Some other traditions are cleaning the house, making and giving sweets, setting off firecrackers, and decorating the house. Before Diwali, it is common to throw away unwanted items and renovate houses. People do this to welcome the goddess Lakshmi as it is said that she visits those whose houses are completely clean. Making sweets is another tradition, and different regions will have different specialties, but they are still distributed among family and those visiting the house.
Firecrackers are also very common since they celebrate good beating evil. The sound and light are also believed to help ward off evil spirits. Rangoli is a decoration for the entrance of the house. Making it beautiful is very important since it is where Lakshmi enters. Rangoli is a decoration on the floor in front of the main entrance of the home. It is meant to bring in good luck, prosperity, and to welcome guests. The design is made of colorful rice flour or white rice flour, lentils, or beans.
Diwali is one of the many holidays that go unrecognized at Barstow, and the community should strive to learn more about different holidays.
