Celebrating Diwali at GumGum
GumGummers share what it means to celebrate Diwali and the importance of this holiday for the Indian community
Can you share what Diwali is for those that might not know?
Diwali is a festival of light, it is a celebration of victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance.
How do you celebrate Diwali?
The preparation for Diwali starts few days prior, with cleaning our house/workplace, discarding things/ thoughts that are old and useless. Then we decorate with flowers, lights, diyas (lamps) and rangoli (designs made with dry colors on the floor). A lot of emphasis is put on decorating entrances to welcome guests. At night we would get dressed and pray to goddess of wealth(Lakshmi) for prosperity. Like all other Indian festivals there is food/sweets enjoyed with friends and family. We would typically end Diwali celebration with fireworks.
What does Diwali mean to you and your family?
Ever since I remember Diwali is the most awaited festival for me and my family. It is an opportunity for us to come together and indulge in household activities, decorating, dressing up and enjoying sumptuous meals. It is a festival for us to reflect how successful we were in current year and wish for growth and prosperity in the coming year.
How has your Indian heritage shaped your perspective and influenced your life?
It’s interesting how festivals in India have a back story with a life lesson. As part of my upbringing I have been taught to reflect on these life lessons and celebrate our culture with family and food. I feel every year the festivals are a reminder to be grateful of how far we have come and how we can still continue to improve.
After moving to US, I have continued to celebrate festivals in the same spirit as I used to back in India. Even though I miss my parents a lot on festivals I feel happy sharing these festivities with extended family and friends.
Happy Diwali everyone!
by Ruchi Singh, BI Developer I, Data Engineering Team
Right: Reena Rai, Director of People Operations
For the Rai household, when we were younger…we celebrated Diwali by going to our local Gurdwara (a Sikh Temple) and celebrated by lighting lots of candles and eating yummy food as a community! For many Sikh’s It is also a time when they may choose to make a pilgrimage to the Golden Temple (Sri Harmandir Sahib) which is the most important pilgrimage site our religion.
