We’re excited for Deepavali, are you? Not just for the extra public holiday we get to enjoy, but also the joyous occasion for celebrating one of the big 3 cultural celebrations in the nation.
Deepavali, or also known as Diwali, is a festival of lights celebrated by those of Hindu faith. It is one of the most important festivals of the year for the Hindus who celebrate by performing traditional customs at homes. Just like most major celebrations by other communities, Deepavali is a time for family reunions.
Here are 5 ways that you and I can prepare for Deepavali.
- Clean House Equals Wealth
According to popular Hindu belief, deities will shower blessings to those with clean house – the cleaner, the better! As such, spring cleaning in preparation for Deepavali is compulsory for all families. Now that we have more time on our hands, it’s the perfect opportunity to declutter and do a big clean-up of our living spaces.
Swing by Harvey Norman (L1.10) or Ace Hardware (L1.02) for a wide variety of cleaning tools and appliances you may need of your housekeeping.
- Festival of Lights
Decorate your house to honour Festival of Lights! It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant and can keep it as soon as possible. Think coloured craft materials like paper, fairy lights, tea light candles, mason jars and other homely, inexpensive and sustainable things that you could find at home or from nearby stores. If you have ample space at your home, you may set off firecrackers to scare evil spirits away too, but do be careful when handling these flammables.
Check out Spotlight (L2.02) for various crafts and decorations; Natural Home Décor (LG1.01) for candles and oil lamps; or IKEA Damansara to purchase new furniture for your home.
- New Clothes For Renewed Style
We’d always want to look our best during festive celebrations, Deepavali is no exception. Furthermore, it’s tradition to wear new clothes for Deepavali as it is thought to bring about good luck and attract prosperity for the coming year. Since we get to have small gathering this year, why not put on new garments to show it off to family members and friends that we haven’t seen in a long time!
Pamper yourself with fashionable clothes and shoes at Padini (G.03), Skechers (G.13a & 15) Focus Point Concept Store (G.12) or other fashion outlets here in IPC.
- Scrumptious Indian Food All Day
Don’t you just love it when our Indian friends and family invite us over for good traditional Indian food? It’s very often that celebrants will hold open houses to share conversation, enjoy snacks or meals and celebrate the beginning of a new year together. Of course, we will still need to remain vigilant in making sure all of us practice the required SOPs when visiting someone else’s house during this celebration.
Deepavali is also a festival feast for the eyes, stomach and soul! It’s also customary to prepare and make the dishes at home, so you can get the snacks, spices and groceries all from Ben’s Independent Grocer (LG1.19 & 20).
- Gratitude For The Present
Deepavali is also a time for reflection and gratitude that Hindus thank Goddess Lakshmi for all the blessings and ask her to continue showering the same on us. Some of us may have lost something precious due to the pandemic, but it is also through this hardship that we prevailed and are now heading towards a better future. After a yearlong battle with the pandemic, Deepavali will certainly be a much-needed mood booster and this year we can expect to see people’s positive attitude light up and brighten up much more than the lanterns, diyas and rangolis combined.
Like all festivals in Malaysia, Deepavali is a great occasion for people of all races and religions to come together to celebrate culture over tasty food and good companionship. With that, we wish all our Indian friends and Malaysians a ‘Happy Deepavali’ filled with joy and positivity together with your loved ones!
