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The following
article was originally published by The Oakland Tribune,
Tri-Valley Herald, San Mateo County Times,
Alameda Times-Star, and Vallejo Times-Herald on
Nov. 11, 2004. It is reproduced here with permission
from ANG Newspapers.
This article was written as a result of HAF's efforts to educate
journalists about Hinduism and Hindu issues and encourage accurate and
positive coverage of our community. |
Shining a Light on the Hindu
Festival Diwali
By Candace
Murphy
Nov. 11, 2004
IMAGINE a favorite holiday. Perhaps it's Thanksgiving. Passover.
Christmas.
Now imagine if that holiday never appeared on the calendar. No one
other than you, your family and your like-minded friends even knew
it existed. The bulk of the community treated it like any old day:
just 24 hours out of the 8,760 in a year.
For the most part, that's what it's like every autumn in the
Indian American community when it comes time to celebrate Diwali.
Observed in October or November (more precisely, it falls on the
15th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartik, or
the last day of the last month in the lunar calendar), Diwali is
the Hindu festival of lights. It's the most significant religious
holiday in the Indian American community.
"Some people might say that every day is a festival of some sort
in India," says Mihir Meghani, a Fremont-based physician who is
also president of the year-old Hindu American Foundation. "But
Diwali is definitely the main holiday." As the festival of lights,
Diwali is traditionally celebrated these days by gathering for a
feast, wearing new clothing, setting off fireworks and either
lighting candles or stringing up lights. It's New Year's Eve,
basically, and the time to wish others a happy New Year. And while
Diwali passes mostly unnoticed on these shores, that's not the
case in other communities that have large Hindu populations. In
Trinidad, Guyana, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, the island of Bali,
the United Kingdom and more, Diwali is, for lack of a better word,
huge.
"Christmas, Hannukah, Yom Kippur, even Kwanzaa is now nationally
recognized," says Neha Shah, 30, who just moved to Coral Springs,
Fla., from Cupertino. "Diwali is a holiday that's so central and
important, but really, very little is known about it outside our
community."
In an effort to bring Diwali to the attention of more Americans,
the Hindu American Foundation has made an appeal to Congress to
make Diwali the first Hindu festival day to be honored in the
United States. And on Oct. 5, New York Congressman Joseph Crowley
introduced Resolution 816 to recognize the historical and cultural
significance of the day.
"It's very important to us that Diwali be recognized," says
Meghani, 32. "It's important not that everyone follow it, or
celebrate it, but that they understand it. We're a mild community.
We're not asking for time off work ... just that people know about
Diwali instead of only finding out about it from a random story in
the newspaper."
As is the case with most historically rich cultures, Diwali's
roots run deep in the Indian community. Diwali, a variation of the
Sanskrit word Deepavali, refers to the rows of earthen lamps that
celebrants place around their homes. Hindus believe that the light
from the lamps represent the dispelling of ignorance, and the
illumination of truth. While that's the significance of Diwali to
Hindus, the day is also important to Sikhs and Jains.
Knowledgeable holiday celebrants realize that the Sikhs are
reveling in the release of the Sixth Guru, Hargobind, from
captivity by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. Jains, meanwhile,
commemorate Diwali as the day Lord Mahavira, the last of the
Tirthankaras, attained Nirvana after his death in 527 BC.
Lost? Well, so are those speed-shoppers on Dec. 24 who are
scrambling to buy last-minute gifts. Far from their minds is that
the following morning is an homage to the birth of Baby Jesus, at
least in Christian circles. The point is, Diwali, like Christmas,
is important to different people for different reasons.
"This resolution introduced by Congressman Crowley captures the
essence of its spiritual and historical importance to Hindus,
Jains and Sikhs," praised Aseem Shukla, a member of the HAF board
of directors.
The ultimate hope is that Americans become more aware of how
Diwali is celebrated. That Diwali is when women wear colorful
saris, or men dress in either a traditional kurta or a dhoti. That
Diwali is when homes are awash in candlelight, or when wealthy
homes are lit up by neon as they are in India. That Diwali is when
sweets are exchanged and fireworks are ignited.
Shah, celebrating her first Diwali in Florida as well as the first
Diwali with her 9-month-old son, Keshaz, plans to invite people
over for a big feast and decorate the house with strings of
lights.
"They're sold as Christmas lights," says Shah, "but to us, they're
Diwali lights."
Perhaps in time, the rest of the country will be similarly
illuminated.
"A country like U.K. seems to be five or 10 years ahead of us --
the House of Commons has a big celebration of Diwali," says
Meghani. "Maybe we'll be there in five or 10 years ourselves." |
