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Diwali – celebrate victory of good over evil

Published:Tuesday | November 14, 2023 | 12:06 AM
A Hindu woman holds a clay lamps during a ceremony to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of lights, at Somi Narin temple in Karachi, Pakistan.
AP
A Hindu woman holds a clay lamps during a ceremony to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of lights, at Somi Narin temple in Karachi, Pakistan.

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Let us take time to celebrate why we are truly Jamaican and put into practice what we know about who we are as a people.

When we look around our various communities of our island home, we see people who have a part in our personal growth and development by one measure or another. They have motivated us with their positive, or otherwise, energy to become better persons on our walk through this life.

‘Each one teach one’ comes to mind as we stood together to better our country, by facing our reality and coming together to rise up to help each other achieve literacy as a country. Children teaching grandparents, parents and each other how to read and comprehend the written and spoken word, to take our place and advance our country together as a competitive and influential leader in the world.

We rallied together to support our students, artistes, athletes, scholars, workers, statesmen and stateswomen. Today, we celebrate the victory of the good over the evil that has evolved from the crime and violence that is trying to become the norm of our environment.

Let us begin today to change this threat as we join our brothers and sisters who are of Indian descent and a country where myriad of festivals are celebrated. One of the major festivals celebrated all over India is Diwali, which is also called Deepavali. This festival symbolises the victory of good over evil.

People in India and Indians overseas celebrate Diwali with full enthusiasm and various things, such as rangoli (coloured patterns drawn on the floor), cleaning of homes, lighting of the diya (earthen lamp) and bursting firecrackers, are done across all the regions in India.

Many people distribute sweets to each other on this day and then wish them well on this auspicious occasion.

Let us embrace this celebration by offering the sweets of our love for one another, starting with a simple smile, offer greetings, respect each other and live in harmony.

PATRICK BROWN

Pembroke Pines, Florida

pbrown_436@yahoo.com