Students Celebrate Diwali: The Festival of Lights

On October 31 fell this year’s celebration of Diwali. Diwali is a celebration of light over darkness and is celebrated on the darkest night of the year following the lunar calendar.

This annual Hindu festival is intended to start a new year, to celebrate and symbolize the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

Diwali is one of the biggest celebrations in Hindu culture. To celebrate and educate students, the Hindu student council here at OWU, in collaboration with Horizons, hosted a Diwali event in Merrick on the weekend of Diwali. This event has been hosted every year since I arrived at OWU in 2021, and has continuously grown in educating and encouraging students to learn about this beautiful festival of lights.

Hosted at the beginning of the celebration was the Diwali prayer Lakshmi puja and this session encouraged students to listen in and experience the blessing of the Hindu tradition.

After the prayer, there was a singing and dancing performance by students, which then led to the sparkler event held outside. Lighting off sparklers is one of the ways to showcase and celebrate the Festival of Lights.

After lighting many sparklers, guests were invited back inside to enjoy delicious Indian cuisine along with a rangoli crafts table and a henna table.

All of this showcases parts of the Indian culture and aspects of Diwali that the Hindu student council wants to immerse the students of OWU in. A beautiful festival with the wonderful meaning of starting a new shift in the lunar calendar.

Here are some additional photos from the Diwali event:

All Photos By Maya Koob