Today marks one of the biggest Hindu’s festivals, Diwali. This festival celebrates the triumph of Rama against Rahwana; good against evil and light over darkness. in the nation of India, Malaysia, Singapore, Srilanka, Suriname, Fiji, Guyana, Myanmar, Nepal, Mauritius, and Trinidad Tobago have an official holiday of Diwali. The festival lasts for around 5 days and the main celebration is of Diwali night on the third day.

As one of the most celebrated festivals, people mark Diwali as the day to start everything fresh. They clean and decorate their houses, office and neighborhood before Diwali night. On Diwali day, people dress up in new and beautiful colorful clothes, cook a lot of foods, buy a lot of sweets, and host friends and family at their houses to exchange gifts between family members and close friends. Spiritually speaking, they celebrate Diwali by lighting up inside their houses as well as outside lamps or candles called diyas, which are decorated with colorful sand, and by praying or calling puja to Lakshmi, the goddess of fertility and prosperity.

So, if you know someone in your neighborhood or office who celebrates Diwali, you can start simple by lighting some candles or send them some small gifts like cookies or sweets. Start conversation on what is important to them about Diwali and how they celebrate it in the family, which we are sure they will happily share with you. You never know, you might end up tasting delicious Diwali foods and super sweet candies while watching festival of lights and fireworks. Happy Diwali everyone!