Diwali with a Twist!

According to the Hindu Calendar, Diwali fell on October 28th this year. Although we are not Hindu, the message that is celebrated during this festival of light is good prevailing over evil and light over darkness. The hope is that the year will be prosperous and full of good things. In an effort to help Devi feel connected to her roots in India, we have chosen to make this one of our traditional holidays to celebrate and we are learning and forming our own traditions for our version of Diwali along the way. With a looming election, and with the state of the economy such that it is, it seems like some Diwali celebration is just what we need.

We started our celebration with rangoli drawings on our doorstep. The cheery, colorful chalk drawings are our symbolic invitation for good to enter our home. Unseasonably warm rays of sunshine were bestowed upon us for the occasion too...perfect for enjoying some outside play time before the rain hits later this week :(


I prepared an Indian meal of tandori chicken, vegetable korma, ghee rice and naan bread. Yummy, yummy, was the general consensus. Gold foil wrapped sweet treats rounded out the meal, as sweets generally play a large part of a traditional Diwali gift giving.


Aglow at dusk, candles and small lanterns were lit, both inside and outside of the house. In India they are called diyas. This is our way of honoring our friends and family who have brought light to our lives, which is another of our small twists to the original Diwali story. We all enjoyed the beauty of the flickering flames for a while before sending our little turnip up to bed. Tonight's bedtime story was "Lighting a Lamp" which she appropriately picked out herself.

As I cuddled Devi and we said our last night night "God Blesses", I had to add one more to our long list. God Bless our family through Diwali. How fortunate we are to have found each other and through our union, have come to learn a little about the cultural diversity of the world. That brings light to my life.

Namaste