Celebrating Diwali in the 'Dale: Should It Be a School Holiday?

Sushma Shadaksharappa with Diyas ( Clay Lamps)You may have read recent headlines announcing that NYC public schools will observe Diwali as an official holiday, or maybe you saw friends and celebrities posting photos of their Diwali celebrations on social media, or perhaps you took note of politicians wishing all who observe, a Happy Diwali! Whatever the case, it has been hard to miss the buzz around this important spiritual holiday.

Since Scarsdale is known to have ample cultural diversity, it may come as no surprise that there are a significant number of neighbors celebrating Diwali right here in the ‘Dale. The Scarsdale Public School District recognized the holiday with a message on their Facebook page, “Wishing you a Diwali that brings you happiness, prosperity, and joy…”. The post went on to explain “Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and even some Buddhists around the world are celebrating Diwali today. Using light as a metaphor for knowledge and consciousness, this 'festival of lights' celebrates the symbolic victories of good over evil and knowledge over ignorance with lamps, candles, feasts and sweets.”

Scarsdale resident Pallavi Mehta explained that Diwali is the “Festival of Lights” that celebrates the triumph of light over darkness and hope over despair. She said that Diwali honors the Goddess Lakshmi who symbolizes wealth, good health, and prosperity and that it is a high holiday in India that truly represents many Indian cultural traditions and beliefs. For the past fifteen years, Pallavi Mehta’s family has been hosting a Diwali celebration in keeping with many of these cultural traditions. Her family gathers wearing traditional Indian clothing, conducts a puja (an act of worship) for Goddess Lakshmi and exchanges Diwali gifts and sweet treats (called Mithai) with family and friends. Mehta and her family adorn their house with flowers and diyas (small, clay lamps) to invite Goddess Lakshmi to bless their home. For their children, celebrating Diwali each year has allowed the Mehtas to pass on the religious and cultural aspects of their Indian heritage.

Although she is no longer in a strictly Hindu family, another Scarsdale local, Shilpa Spencer, feels it remains important for her to honor the Spencer and Vora children dressed for Diwali.traditions of her childhood and to pass some of those traditions to her children. Spencer’s childhood memories of Diwali are centered on great feasts, great company and great celebration. She remembers the celebrations as boisterous, joyful events with fireworks and a lot of laughing and dancing. As an adult, these are the aspects of Diwali that Spencer chooses to focus on: warm company, great food, and a festive atmosphere which over the years has come in many different forms. This Diwali, the Spencers invited good friends over for a smaller, but very festive dinner and fireworks which she hopes created strong memories for all that were there!

For Sushma Shadaksharappa and her family, Diwali is a very special holiday. To celebrate the Festival of Lights they place glowing diyas all over the house to signify light overtaking darkness. In addition to diyas, the family draws elaborate patterns on the floor with colored sand and decorates with fresh flowers to welcome Goddess Lakshmi and to pray to her. Most years, the Shadaksharappa family likes to make Mithai at home and then pack them in little, sweet boxes that they decorate and exchange with each other as well as gift them to friends.

Hindu priest with Sheth FamilyWhen celebrating at home, Shadaksharappa prepares a traditional Indian meal for her family to enjoy after the puja but, before the pandemic, she and her family attended big, festive Diwali parties. In fact, for many years, Shadaksharappa and her friends organized a Scarsdale community Diwali party at a local Indian restaurant with food and lots of Bollywood dancing. Also for many years, the Indian community held a Diwali program showcasing cultural activities so both kids and adults could connect with their culture. Whether celebrating with friends or at home, the Shadaksharappa family likes to complete the Diwali festivities with firecrackers and sparklers and with lots of Mithai to end the evening on a sweet note.

For another Scarsdale resident, Minisha Sood, Diwali is a time to reflect and to be with loved ones. Sood begins decorating her home about a month before Diwali so she can get the Diwali spirit going and give her family a nice, visual cue to start thinking about the meaning of this important festival / holiday. During the days and weeks preceding Diwali, Sood talks often about family and choosing knowledge and wisdom over ignorance. In the week or so leading up to, and the week after Diwali, Sood takes part in local celebrations - some big and some small - which involve wearing new clothes, dancing, lighting fireworks and lights and eating delicious food. Sood and her family also say prayers for the continued wisdom to choose the righteous path in life.Handmade Mithai(Indian sweet) boxes.

For Sood, Diwali is such an important holiday that when her children were younger and it was easier for them to make up missed lessons or work, she would keep them home from school so they could fully participate in the celebration. Sood points out that as her children grow up and their deeper understanding of the meaning of Diwali crystallizes, they’d love to stay home and celebrate the holiday but they’d then miss very important academic work and so, are forced to make a tough choice. This year Sood’s children chose to attend school and were pleasantly surprised that some teachers chose not to assign homework, yet others still did. Sood argues that because of the inconsistent awareness, instead of being able to relax with family, pray and enjoy themselves fully when they got home from school, her children were focused on completing homework. Sood feels it is unfortunate that Diwali isn’t recognized as an official school holiday to reflect the broader community of Westchester and she hopes that this will soon change here in Scarsdale.

Sheetal Mehta wholly agrees with Sood and would like to see Scarsdale observe Diwali as an official school holiday. As Sheetal explains, “Diwali is THE most important festival for Hindus (also celebrated by some Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists too) and marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year. It is the time when, once a year, we come together as a family to offer prayers, exchange hope and give thanks. We thank God for our blessings and pray that our troubles go away. We celebrate by decorating the house, dressing in nice clothes, making traditional food and desserts, lighting sparklers and exchanging gifts. The mood is as if someone has sprinkled happiness all around. We cherish each other’s presence and relish the joyful vibes all around.”

Diyas lit for Diwali“However, when the kids do not have the day off from school, the spirit to celebrate our most important festival does not remain the same. The day starts off with calls/messages to wish family and friends, but when there’s no school holiday on Diwali, the kids are not able to exchange greetings. We decorate the house in the morning, which is a great activity to involve the kids in, only if they are at home. The kids want to stay home for this once-a-year celebration, but there’s the trade off of missing instruction/tests/quizzes/school work etc. if they were to miss school.” Without observing Diwali as an official holiday, Mehta says that her children “come home tired in the afternoon, with homework and tests on their mind. They are not as excited to get dressed in traditional clothes and participate in offering prayers in a timely way. It becomes a half hearted attempt at the most important part of the celebration…Not having a day off for Diwali presents a lot of challenges to keep our cultural identity alive.”

And finally, even though she is kept busy with her job as a realtor at Houlihan Lawrence here in Scarsdale, Bela Sheth still somehow finds the time to beautifully decorate her home with diyas, and flowers and to lovingly prepare a delicious Indian feast called an Annkut, with 60 different dishes! While she frequently opens up her home and warmly invites all friends and loved ones to join her family in a festive Diwali celebration, this year Sheth hosted a Hindu priest who performed a traditional worship service. Dressed in customary Indian clothing, Sheth and her family took part in a special puja where they kept with Hindu tradition and made several offerings of fruit, flowers, and sweets to Lakshmi and Ganesh. Sheth explained that there are different auspicious times of the day that are difficult to celebrate when children are at school so she and her family usually only celebrate in the evening. With smiles lighting up the room just as brightly as the glowing diyas, it is easy to conclude that Sheth and her family are indeed blessed with happiness, light, and joy and readily share it with others.

The author would like to thank all the families that shared their stories of celebration and allowed the greater Scarsdale community to gain a better understanding of the importance of this high holiday.

Wendy MacMillan is a former teacher and now a proud mom of two, school aged children. With a background in psychology, education, and mindfulness, Wendy has long been passionate about wellness and helping others.
Children light sparklers