Diwali

The Festival of Lights, otherwise known as Diwali, is a traditional family celebration for Hindus. Small oil filled lamps are lit during the night to "cleanse" ones house in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. The party starts late. Our Diwali celebration started at 10 pm with dinner at 11pm. Another friend of mine went to a Diwali that started at 10pm but dinner wasn't served til 0200. With any great celebration there is a ton of food. Our Diwali happened to serve Chinese food with an Indian flare. I asked Niti why they served Chinese food. She said during Diwali they eat Indian food all day long and needed a change. I never had to search for Matt. He stood next to the desert table with gulab jamun. Most of the Indians spoke English but there were a few elderly women who couldn't be taller than 5 feet coming up to me and kissing my cheeks smiling and hugging me. It goes to show you that you don't have to understand the language to show others kindness. After the dinner, music was played, people danced and sparklers were lit in order to drive away evil spirits.