I first learned about the festival of Diwali from two friends that I met when my son was in pre-school. That is why I love that I live in NYC, where all people get to meet and share their holidays and cultures, if they so choose. And we do. I learned the difference between Hindu and Sikh. And I am glad to be able to learn this information and also have my son become educated in the world that exists outside his door, and around the world. This is the only way for us al to come together and try to learn to share our planet!
And my one friend just lost her dad. So when I wished her a Happy Diwali, she mentioned that when you lose a close family member, you do not celebrate for a year. I was shocked. Do you know why? This is the same tradition in the Jewish religion. Yet another instance where we are more similar than different!
To encourage Americans to celebrate the Festival of Lights, Chime [www.brewchime.com]—the world’s first authentic chai brewing machine—is sharing 5 surprising Diwali facts. I am thrilled to support my readers learning these fun/important facts.
1: 10% OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION CELEBRATES DIWALI
800 million people across the globe celebrate Diwali. 7 in 10 Indian Americans also plan to celebrate—that’s almost 2 million people!
2: AMERICA’S LARGEST DIWALI FESTIVAL IS IN TIMES SQUARE
Disney’s California Adventures also hosts a popular Diwali festival, as does San Antonio, Texas (15,000 attend its celebration yearly).
3: INDIA BUYS $1B WORTH OF FIREWORKS FOR DIWALI EACH YEAR
Fireworks are so popular that this year there are bans on firecracker sales and restrictions on when they can be set off.
4: DIWALI HAS BEEN CELEBRATED FOR 2,000 YEARS
A Hindu holiday, it celebrates the return of Lord Rama and his family to Ayodhya after a 14 year exile.
5: DIWALI IS A HOLIDAY ‘STEEPED’ IN CHAI TRADITIONS
An essential part of the Diwali celebrations is its huge feasts, where neighbors bond over food, home-brewed chai, and gifts.
* Also known as the festival of lights, Diwali is the biggest holiday in India. Popular celebrations include feasting, lighting millions of lamps, setting off fireworks, and shopping for new clothes and presents. Celebrate October 19-22!
How awesome! Thank you for doing this 🙂
I have been fortunate in being able to participate in some of the events with my neighbor and it was so enjoyable to learn about the traditions.
Thanks for teaching me something new. I love learning about different cultures and celebrations.
What an interesting collections of facts. We probably all learned something new,