Festival of Lights

                      Festival of Lights

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a great Diwali this past weekend! I know I did! My favorite part was the fireworks, but we will get to that later.

November 4th

We celebrated Diwali after school on Thursday. It was pretty fun. We got new clothes, cleaned the house, and had sweets piling up in the fridge. We filled the house with light. I made colorful rangoli, made marigold garlands, and made poori for the very first time. After Lakshmi Pooja, in the evening, we ate delicious food and sweets.

November 5th

This year, we had family friends come over from Michigan and Pennsylvania. Quarter one had ended, so I did not have school on Friday. I got time to catch up on things and relax. At around 5 o’clock, the guests started to come. Serene, Samaira, Aryav, and Opal and their families came first. We played in my room and did fireworks. The whole evening, we watched movies, played games, cracked jokes, and more. After dinner, we all went outside with our jackets on. First, we got the sticks for our sparklers. Then, my dad lit them with help from the uncles. It was pretty fun when we ran around with our sparklers. We started with small sparklers, then used the big ones. My dad lit the big one too. We all took a few steps back and watched them burst out into flames, possibly waking the neighbors. Then we took pictures with the sparklers and lights. Arohan and Diya were going to come late at night. So I couldn’t see them until the morning. The grown ups played rounds of cards, caught up on things, and cleaned the kitchen. The young ones fell asleep or read a book. Serene and I  continued watching funny videos on Youtube until we got so tired we also fell asleep. I was so tired from a long week of school, so I enjoyed every moment of my break.

November 6th

The next celebration was Bhai Tika. Bhai Tika is a day where we celebrate the beautiful relationship of brothers and sisters. We put on seven different tika colors. Tika is a colorful powder the siblings put on the forehead of another sibling. Sisters put the tika on brother or brother figures. Then the brothers do the same for sisters. Then we both exchange gifts. In the end, everyone gets a tray to themselves filled with candy, nuts, fruits, and more. In our group, Arohan and Aryav were the only boys.

Early in the morning, Serene and Diya barged into my door to tell me they were getting the first dose of the Covid vaccine that day.  If you have read my past blogs, you know I’m fully vaccinated. Sanjay Uncle, Soni Aunty, Arohan, and Diya were there when I went down for breakfast. I greeted them before helping the aunties clean up the house for Bhai Tika rituals. 

Since I was the oldest, I had more responsibilities. I taught all the kids about our culture and traditions. We got things from closets and created the space. Those who were getting the vaccine went first. Everyone got ready and prepared for pictures.  I dressed up in clothes my aunt got me from Nepal. The kids got dressed in traditional clothing. My dad got sweatshirts for the uncles as a gift to wear after the tika. My mom also got the kids customized Tihar shirts that say their name and Tihar 2021. The kids all took pictures. We sat on the mat one on one. Then, we put on flower garlands. Serene and I made them the day before and gave them as gifts. Then we went to get Jeeya, Aryav, Arohan, Diya, Samaira, and Serene for the first dose. We went to Nova and Abby’s house, where a nurse distributed the vaccine for ages 5-12. The kids were nervous about the possible side effects, but I reassured them they didn’t have to worry. Medicine fixes any symptoms of pain and fever. After the vaccine, they all took more pictures before going home. We opened our Tihar gifts. I mostly got games, and we played them later. We also did art and ate pizza for dinner. A couple of minutes later, my friends Lili and Sophie came over with their dad to hang out. The grown-ups played cards while the kids played. We went up to my room and talked. We had snacks and played more games with the girls until my dad told us to get ready for the fireworks. So we put on our jackets and went outside again. The uncles got the sparklers. Lili and I got out our phones to take videos. My dad lit up the sparklers, and he ran a few steps back. Everyone got out their phones to take pictures of fireworks, videos, or selfies. 

  After a lot of games, fireworks, and food, the festivities were officially over. I had a great time and was happy to get a break from school. It was nice to see everyone again.