Students filled the St.Thomas Create[space] to celebrate Diwali, the Nov. 4 festival of lights, taking part in lantern making and henna during a Desi club event on Nov. 2.
Diwali is an annual holiday celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Newar Buddhists. It symbolizes the triumph of good over evil, or light over darkness.
“Diwali is different for different religions but overall it’s just light over darkness and the lighting of candles and brightening your house and brightening the night,” Desi club President Jasmine Kaur said.
Students were reminded of what Diwali is really about by coloring lanterns to light up later in the week.
“This whole festival is like lighting a path back home or like lighting a path to a God, so that’s what you do,” first-year Panya Anand said. “You light enough lights to show them how much you love them so fireworks are really, really big during Diwali.”
Though Diwali is different for each religion, there is one commonality; the victory of good over evil.
“For Hindus, it’s just a day of victory between two sides,” Desi club treasurer Keerthi Karri said. “On Diwali we cook a lot of food, we celebrate, we light a lot of candles, we do fireworks.”
Diwali is a time of celebration, but it is also a valuable holiday to spend time with those close to you.
“Diwali is typically celebrated by re-establishing friendships and spending time with family,” Anand said. “So people go to houses and give Diwali gifts to them. It’s usually like candies or something and there are a lot of card parties where you go to people’s houses and play card games.”
Camarae Good can be reached at good4796@stthomas.edu