By: Jingwei Zhao
October 24th marked a very important event, Diwali! Diwali is also known as the festival of lights. People gather in groups so they can light up lamps and set off fireworks for the event.
Why? To symbolize light winning over darkness. India takes this holiday very seriously and holds a giant celebration for the holiday. The special occasion also worships Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, which marks the beginning of a new fiscal year in India. Due to Covid-19, the country did not have a “normal” celebration for Diwali until this year. During the pandemic, temples organized online ceremonies, so people did not need to go there and spread the virus. Not only was this year’s celebration held in person, but it also led to a new world record!
That is right! In recent years, groups of people in the Indian city Ayodhya spread oil lamps into the Saryu River on Diwali. They do this by letting the brightly glowing lamps drift off and beautifully illuminate the river. In 2019, they managed to set adrift around 410,000 lamps and in 2021, they spread twice as much. This year, the citizens of Ayodhya managed to absolutely smash the record with a total of 1,576,955 oil lamps spread throughout the Saryu River. That achievement took over 22,000 volunteers, most of whom were college students.
While Diwali celebrations in India might seem all fun and games, it can cause significant air pollution. Over the past years, the government has noticed the severity of air pollution due to fireworks, so this year, they banned their sale. However, that did not stop the citizens as they continued to bring fireworks into the country. After the celebration, the air became severely toxic, but not as detrimental as in the years before.
India isn’t the only country to celebrate this special occasion. The U.S. White House held its biggest-ever Diwali celebration, which included figures such as Kamala Harris and President Biden himself. In the UK, Rishi Sunak was chosen as the Prime Minister on Diwali. Given that Sunak is Hindu, the choice of truly meant a lot to him.
Speaking of holidays, why should we even celebrate them? What value do they bring into our lives? For starters, it is a way for a whole country or even the entire world to celebrate. It is a way for people to express their religions or recall history. Holidays unite all sorts of people, which is something that cannot be done by the average human. Plus, they are something that humans look forward to and often result in a small vacation from work. Without them, life would not be as meaningful and happy.