Happy Diwali!

Today is Diwali - the Hindu festival of lights. Diwali is an ancient festival that celebrates the victory of good over bad, or light over dark. To celebrate, Indians clean and renovate their homes, decorate them in all sorts of lights (to remember that light always overcomes darkness), they also decorate with beautiful colourful designs. They celebrate by wearing new clothes and eating special sweets.

How do I know all this you ask? Well, approximately 50% of Dubai's population is Indian, so Diwali is very widely celebrated here. Many homes are decorated with lights, the supermarkets are decorated and sell special Indian sweets. This morning I attended a special assembly at the girls school where the Indian teachers wore their beautiful saris is a rainbow of rich colours. They lit tea lights (diyas) and explained to the kids about the significance of Diwali. At the end of the assembly the kids got up and danced to Bollywood music. There was a real feeling of celebration. It was wonderful to see the teachers from all nationalities wearing saris and abayas and dancing together.

Later in the class the kids will share Indian sweets and do Diwali arts and crafts. I truly love how the girls (and I) are learning so much about the richness of other cultures and getting the opportunity to share the celebrations.

At work today, Skip's office will order in an Indian banquet from everyone to share. So, Darbs and I don't miss out, I think we too will have Indian for lunch and buy some sweets to share tonight with everyone.

I know there are many Diwali celebrations around the globe, including a Festival of Lights in Federation Square in Melbourne this weekend, so I hope you get to celebrate too. If nothing else crack out the Bollywood music and have a dance.

Happy Diwali!