Last Updated on January 18, 2016 by Babita
It was a hectic last week for me and you must have seen me MIA from blogging. Last weekend was Diwali and in fact today is the last day of Diwali. As someone who is Hindu by religion, this is one of the most important festival for us. It usually lasts between 3 to 4 days. As a celebration it is our version of Christmas but without all the gift-giving aspect to it. Diwali is our festival of lights and during this festival we literally fill our house with all kinds of lights (traditional diya, electric lights and candles). Diwali is a celebration of “Good over Evil” and “Light over Darkness”. Although we worship most of our gods, special reverence is given to Goddess Laxmi who we pray to fill our household with wealth and prosperity.
We also cook up a storm with different kinds of treats (sweet and savory), which we then share with our family and friends. We shop for new clothes and maybe jewelry, and let’s just say the whole vibe is very festive and electric. As a NJ resident I have to say I am extremely lucky. I can celebrate Diwali the way I used to in Bombay (Mumbai). The only thing I miss is my extended family in India and I always wish they were here.
Now that Diwali is almost over its time to unwind and share a few of my personal snapshots with you. I will end this post with ‘Happy Diwali and a have a Prosperous New Year’. Enjoy!!!
TEE and S helped me with making the rangoli. Since we did not have the traditional rangoli powder, we improvised and used Crayola chalk
We lit up our house with all kinds of lights.
I made all kinds of traditional treats. Each of them took me about 4 -5 hours, but they disappear within minutes..:):)
and finally us…our family…all dressed up…
Mr and Mrs Pumpkin for Halloween 2013
We have a big Indian community in our town, so we know all about Diwali. The kids even have the whole week off this week as part of the celebration.
What a beautiful family 🙂 it looks like you had so much fun!
What fun, I love to learn about the celebrations of other cultures! “Light Over Darkness” – I love that.
What great memories to be able to look back on as a family.
i like your chalk rangoli. happy diwali
Such a fun tradition! I love how you decorated the porch 🙂
It looks like you and your family had a great Diwali! Love the photos, and thank you for a little education too! I love hearing of other culture’s celebrations xxx
Wow the steps lights look amazing and those treats look tasty thank you for sharing these lovely pictures 🙂
I want to participate in Diwali one year with my Indian friends. Sounds like a great celebration 🙂
The porch looks amazing! Wow!
the snack looks yummy! and that photo looks great!
What kind of snacks are those? They look yummy! I also love the rangoli that the kids did, it came out beautiful!
Those snacks are savory and sweet. Hopefully I will have time to put up the recipes.
What a great celebration you had with your family! The food looks good and liked the last photo.
Very nice! I love learning about religions. What a great time to get to experience something important to someone else. Thank you for sharing this post!
Blogging must be set aside for family events. It looks like your family really enjoyed the holiday.
What a festive and wonderful time for you and your family!
What a beautiful family! It looks like you celebration was a success!
Thanks for sharing, I love the pictures of the lights and you are going to have to share those treat recipes they look great
Sounds like a great time! And the snacks look amazing! Thanks for sharing!
I am so happy that you were able to celebrate your Festival pf Lights the way you are supposed to (minus your family unfortunately)–Your home looked beautiful and full of light!
I had not heard of this, I love learning about other cultures so thank you for sharing. I am sure it was really beautiful, I would love seeing all the different lights.
Oh wow what some beautiful pictures I love the flower you made 🙂 x
Those treats look amazing. I can imagine they would have disappeared in minutes at our house too!
Oh how fun! I would love to try some of those delicious treats you created! Happy Diwali Celebrations!
Happy Diwali to you! It looks like you’re having a fabulous time!
What an awesome family picture. You should be very happy with the way it came out 🙂
And thank you for explaining a little bit about Diwali. I had never heard of that holiday, so it was interesting to learn.
How fun! I love your lit entryway. And I can so sympathize with you on the treats. They really do take forever to make, only for them to be gone in a flash!
I did see you were missing in action but knew you would be back sooner or later.
All your little treats look so good…and you are right about it taking forever to make food and it is gone like the wind.