The Diwali Festival is an important annual event for countless people around the world. Originating from India, the five-day celebration is celebrated by several religious groups and is widely associated with the Lakshmi – the Hindu god of prosperity.
This Sunday, the Multicultural Resources Hub will be hosting an online Diwali celebration via Zoom from 3.30-4.30pm. Click the link at the bottom of the story for access.
Reesha Parekh is a community youth ambassador from the Multicultural Resources Hub Inc in Sunbury. She shared her personal affinity for the Festival of Light, which this year is running from today until November 6.
Diwali would have to be one of my favourite celebrations. I love the look of my home lit up, creating designs with rangoli (traditional Indian decorations, made with ground rice) and of course all the wonderful sweets we get to share with our family and friends.
The name Diwali also comes from the Sanskrit words deepa (light) and vali (row). We light our houses up with rows of diyas made of clay lamps filled with oil and colourful candles. These are said to help Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, find her way into households to bring blessings and prosperity.
Celebrating Diwali at our place is great fun as it also keeps us connected to our culture and gives opportunities to share our traditions with our friends.
It brings us closer to our families and we get to invite our school friends to come celebrate with us. My friends usually come over and we light sparkles and candles together. Diwali is also a time we all help my grandmother make all the yummy sweets, and hear about the importance of keeping my room clean. Not that it’s very dirty. I also help my grandmother with the pooja (pray) on the day and help cook our families favourite food like Poori and aloo ( small round bread with potato curry), kheer (sweet rice pudding) and my favourite coconut Barfi (coconut milk sweet).
This Diwali is going to be extra special as we get to celebrate with our family and friends. However we still need to keep in mind we are in a pandemic and need to still take extra care in keeping ourselves and loved ones safe.
To register for the Multicultural Resources Hub’s Diwali celebration, contact: mcrhubinc@gmail.com
For Zoom access: us02web.zoom.us/j/86902596478?pwd=VjduTEk2bkFrRkN1YmlESFkrNWJzZz09
