The end of the holiday season is fast approaching! The size and scope of Diwali makes it a good comparison for Chistmas. It's that important.
It is also called "The Festival of Lights" and I've seen amazing pictures of places where it is celebrated where there are strings of lights everywhere and oil lamps burning. It's very beautiful. The word Diwali is actually Deepavali and it means "row or lamps" in Sanskrit, so that's why it is the festival of lights.
There are a lot of different stories and significances about this day. For me, I see the lights as a metaphor for our inner light, for discovering the bright Truth within. It is also supposed to be the day on which Sri Ram returned from his exile in the forest.
Wearing new clothes is part of the tradition, as well as giving gifts of sweets to everyone.
I have a new silk sari given to me by a woman on Ravelry that I will be wearing. I also need to get working on some Diwali candies! I want to bring some to work, to study group, to game group, everywhere I can I think of.
I got this recipe for chocolate burfi from my favorite Indian cooking website. What a great blend of India and America! Burfi is one of my favorite sweets.
I have a string of lights on my balcony and a rangoli pattern on my front door. I'm going to a party in Virginia on Saturday. I am ready for Diwali!
Hi Aamba. Just wanted to say that I'm still working my way through your blog. There are so many posts that I'd like to engage with, but as the conversations are long over I just chew on them myself. Your blog is a great comfort to me.
ReplyDeleteI've figured out how to see comments on old posts now, so you can feel free to engage with the material and leave your thoughts! I don't know who else will come back to discuss them, but if there's something in particular that you'd like to get a conversation going about, I've added a discussion board to my fan page on Facebook and no one has used it yet! You could get it started :)
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