The oncoming conclusion of the year is full of holidays and festivals found in all different cultures. Many students at Selma High School partake in these celebrations and look forward to different festivities depending on their cultures.
Junior student Simran Kaur celebrates Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, which began on October 24th this year. The date for Diwali changes every year because it is determined according to the Indian calendar.
The five day long celebration of Diwali is something that Kaur was born into as she is from India herself, and also because her religion is Sikhism and her culture is Punjabi. Having spent some time in her life in India, she was raised with the culture alongside with the presence of her family.
But even after moving across the country to the US, Diwali is still something that is valued in her life, regardless of whether or not she is exactly in the place she originated from.
Many celebrations are a time where family plays a part in making it what they are, and for Simran it is exactly that. This time of the year where they all come together to celebrate and enjoy it with each other is what makes this celebration special for her
“I enjoy the food and the people,” Kaur says, “especially in the time of Diwali because friends and families come over to make the most delicious food.”
From the delicious dishes of her culture, to the company of the people around her that she values, it doesn’t end here.
The festival of Diwali is a religiously based celebration which is not only celebrated in Sikhism.
“Diwali is more of a religious thing, it is celebrated in three different religions, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sikhism,” explains Kaur. This celebration is not to be mistaken for the celebrations found in other religions as well. It is something special and important to these religions because of what it is meant to celebrate and appreciate from the religious background.
The celebration of Diwali is considerably one of the biggest holidays celebrated in India, and with this being said, it is special to not only appreciate it, but also know the importance of it.