Articles

ASU Celebrates Diwali, The Festival of Lights

By Madeleine Cerone

December 5, 2024

Every table in the Fillius Events Barn was filled on the night of Sunday, November 3rd for the Asian Student Union’s second annual celebration of Diwali, a holiday often called the Festival of Lights. Several students wore colorful traditional dresses called sarees, or long dress shirts called kurtas for the men. In the spirit of this joyous South Asian holiday, ASU provided traditional food from the Taj Mahal restaurant, diya lanterns for painting, and rangoli to decorate the floor. One of the most exciting entertainments of the night was a traditional dance, performed and choreographed by three students!

Diwali is originally a Hindu holiday, however, many different iterations of the holiday now exist across several cultures including Sikhism, Jainism, Bengali, and Islam. In Hinduism, the holiday specifically celebrates the return of Prince Ram, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya, their rightful kingdom. King Dasharatha exiled him and his friends because one of the king’s wives wanted to prevent Ram from becoming the next ruler. This exile ended when Prince Ram killed the demon Ravana in order to save Sita, and therefore good triumphed over evil once and for all. The people of Ayodhya celebrated their return by cleaning their homes and lighting diyas, oil lamps, making decorative rangoli designs with colorful sand, and cleaning their homes. However, the story of the triumph of good over evil changes slightly depending on the culture in which you celebrate Diwali. 

Thank you ASU for such a wonderful celebration! See you next year!