Galt museum hosts Diwali festival of lights celebration

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on November 7, 2023.

Herald photo by Justin Seward Winston Churchill High School dance club members perform during the Diwali Festival on Saturday at the Galt Museum.

The Galt Museum and India Canada Cultural Association hosted many community members to celebrate India’s biggest holiday, the Diwali festival of lights over the weekend.

People could experience rangoli dancing, soulful music, decorative and cultural displays and enjoy food such as samosas, laddo and chai.

The Festival of Light is celebrated in the Hindu month of Kartik, which begins in mid-October and ends in mid-November.

“The thing which I like about Diwali is that no matter how much money a person has in their pocket, they celebrated this festival to the best of their ability because this means a lot,” said Priti Maheshwari, ICCA vice-president.

“This festival symbolizes that no matter what, goodness will always prevail and the good deeds will always win over evil. So this is a strong message that comes with the festival.”

Jewelry is a big part of the decoration of the festival.

“I would not be lying if I say it’s the largest collection of gold jewelry with the women folk in India and gold is the symbol of prosperity,” said Maheshwari.

A snippet of foods were on display for people to sample.

“Each family has their own special recipes and these are prepared only on Diwali day,” she said.

Diwali special sweets are a big part of the festival.

“I think sweets mean joy in life, sweetness means happiness in life,” she said.

One could taste up to 300 varieties of sweets in a day by visiting families, friends and neighbours during the festival.

It shows how much sweets mean to our life,” she said.

Maheshwari said dance is about joy.

“I would say that during all the Diwali days, mostly anytime time of the day, there is dancing,” she said.

She said dance brings people together.

“When you dance to a single tune, you don’t realize how different you are and just you dance,” she said.

Diwali days is celebrated over five days with the third day being the festival and most significant day and is done in various variations in other Indian religions.