It’s Diwali

 

Growing up in India, you’re never short of festivals. If you search Wikipedia for festivals in India, you’ll be presented with over a 100 results.

However, not everyone in India celebrate all of these festivals. Most are specific to specific cultures, and even sub-cultures. Each state in India, and each region within a state has its own set of festivals. There are just a handful of festivals that are celebrated throughout India.

Of these, Diwali was one of my favorite festivals as a kid growing up in India. Diwali meant waking up early, lighting up firecrackers on the streets, and having fun with friends. That was mostly all we ever did the whole day, except for maybe, reluctantly, go home to eat. Yes, I know Diwali sweets are delicious, but when you’re a kid, it’s streets over sweets.

Lighting firecrackers were a game of one-upmanship. The objective for each set of friends, each gang, was to create a bigger bang, and have the fireworks last longer, than the other set of friends in the neighborhood.

The reason for celebrating Diwali as a festival varies, yet again, from state to state, and culture to culture, but at its core, it remains the festival of lights. The lights symbolize the removal of darkness. We, at Hinduisms, wish you and your loved ones, lots of love and laughter, and may your lives be filled with joy.May Ganesha, remove all obstacles from your life, may Lakshmi grant you all the wealth you desire, and may Saraswati grant you all the knowledge your mind can soak up.