Happy Deepavali

Today is Deepavali, also known as the "Festival of Lights". (Don't other religions claim that title for their celebrations too? I wonder who's the copycat here.) Deepavali is predominantly an Indian holiday, however it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe. Don't even ask me what all those religions are because I have no clue.

Lights or lamps are the decoration of choice during this festival as it represents the victory of good over evil in each person. (Hence the Festival of Lights name.) There's also a story about King Rama of Ayodhya defeating the evil demon Narakasura, but as the naiive little American girl, I feel wrong telling it. Read it here on Wikipedia.

To celebrate in Singapore, they have a parade of some sort and a bunch of night festivities in Little India. The last time we were there, they were making beautiful necklaces out of fresh flowers and such and setting up major shopping extravaganzas. Also, every business is closed in the country which lets us Americans know that it's a pretty big deal.

Aaron and I were invited over to Simon's tonight for a Deepavali dinner celebration. If it's not frowned upon or awkward to do so, I'll take pictures for you all to see. I'm excited at the possibility of Indian food. I love that curry stuff.