The Festival of Lights Away From My Motherland
You just cannot say no to sweets and food when it is Diwali. Diwali is a traditional Hindu festival which started in ancient India and has now spread across the globe. Diwali is a festival where we meet and greet our loved ones. It is a festival where we embark on the start of a new year and a new beginning. This festival is a celebrated in honour of the goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity) and is celebrated for 5 days. Yes, you read it right! This festival is basically celebrated because Lord Ram became victorious and returned to his kingdom after winning the war against the evil Ravan and rescuing his wife, Sita, from his clutches. During this festival we wear new and traditional clothes and light diyas (oil lamps) as a sign of peace and purity of the day.
Since birth, I have been celebrating Diwali with my family in India. This year was my first time celebrating Diwali away from home. This Diwali was a special one, a very different one. I had an amazing night of celebrations with friends in Surrey, and this festival took me back to the time when I was a kid and I received a lot of gifts from elders. I was with my loved ones here and that made this festival joyful and different from the rest.
Here are some thoughts from my friend Prabh about this auspicious festival:
“Festive season always makes me homesick. I know there is social media and everything but it doesn’t feel the same, especially when you are away from home and all the excitement back there.
Celebrating Diwali away from home is obviously hard but since I have been here for a long time, it wasn’t too bad. That’s why I like to get together with my Indian friends and wear traditional clothes to feel closer to my home and culture. I guess it is true that we live in a global village and Diwali is just as special here. It might not be the same, but that is the thing about living in two places! You got to compromise a bit.”
This festival always reminds me of the rich culture that I belong to and I miss that, but Douglas College and my friends here made this festival colorful and memorable.
One Comment on “The Festival of Lights Away From My Motherland”
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Thank You for sharing about your culture with us. Knowledge of cultures other than our own makes it possible for us to share the joy of the celebrations. I hope I am right in saying that Canadians celebrate diversity, while still stand strong to Canadian values. Thank You