Each year I bemoan that Indian holidays come and go, without much fanfare. On Diwali, the stores are decorated with scary Halloween stuff, if anything, and there is no sign in the air that Diwali is even around the corner. Not being religious, we rarely go to the temple, consequently we are not very well connected with the local Indian community. As kids grow, I am afraid about losing traditions and they are indeed growing up very fast.
This year I went out and made an extra effort. I took half the day off on Diwali, and nagged my husband to hang lights on the house. I made mithai and festive food, decorated the house, got dressed up and ensured that the kids dressed up in new clothes, and lo and behold Diwali day felt quite festive to me! Over the weekend, we invited a few friends, had good food, danced, gambled a bit, and it felt even more festive. OK, so it took a lot of extra effort and I am still doing dishes from the party but it really felt like a holiday this year. My lesson in this very Gandhian - Self-reliance. My current environment isn't supporting it but with a little effort Hindu holidays can be as festive as I want them to be. I feel all aglow! I am sure you are wondering why it took me this long to figure something this simple out.
Raising kids in a non-native environment while constantly worrying about striking the right balance.
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