Over 2,500 years ago, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Muslims across South Asia began celebrating the festival of lights. This festival is celebrated for different reasons in different cultures but the celebration itself is similar across cultures. In many cultures, Diwali is celebrated with festive gatherings, fireworks displays, prayer and feasts including halva, palak paneer and more. With the rising South Asian population at Solon High School, the Board of Education has granted students the day off of school on Nov. 1 this year to allow students to celebrate Diwali.
SHS senior and president of the school’s Hindu Student Association (HSA) Olivia Nath helps organize events and opportunities to celebrate Hindu culture.
“To celebrate Diwali, HSA has a meeting to have fun and make crafts such as diyas to hang around the school or take home,” Nath said.
HSA Vice President Satya Parameswaran also celebrated Diwali with her family.
“To celebrate Diwali, my family and I go to Graba which is a large Indian dance and navratri poojas which are religious events,” Parameswaran said. “We also go to temples for fireworks and light diyas in our house.”
Additionally, getting the day off is a big step for the Hindu student population at SHS.
“I think more people just acknowledge the importance of other cultures’ holidays since for a long time we had only recognized Christian and Jewish holidays,” Nath said. “Having the day off kind of shows the same respect to our holidays that has been shown to Christmas or Hanukkah for years.”
Senior and HSA member Sneha Nayak also said that having the day off gives her and her family more time to celebrate freely.
“I think getting school off on that day will be nice because I’ll actually get to spend the day doing things I couldn’t previously do such as having a big lunch of traditional food or spending time lighting fireworks,” Nayak said.
The holiday is not just another day off of school for those who celebrate. Having the day off of school has allowed Hindu’s to be able to celebrate the holiday more traditionally.
“I think having the day off really helps families come together and make the holiday more enjoyable,” Nath said. “Before, when we had school, we’d come back home all tired with work to do for the next day which made me sometimes feel guilty for wasting time on the holiday rather than doing my school work.”
Diwali is a holiday that holds important meaning in the Hindu culture. Now, SHS’s Hindu students will have more time to celebrate the holiday.
“I think Diwali is all about finding light and hope,” Parameswaran said. “It emphasizes the value of community and celebrating the people closest to you.”
