Divali

The first night of the new moon in the month of Kartika is greeted with fanfare anywhere with a large Hindu community. On Divali — the Hindu festival of lights, celebrated this year on 14 November, and commemorated as a public holiday in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname — people venture from far and wide to enjoy the spectacle of tiny deyas — clay lanterns — arranged in hundreds or even thousands, to symbolise the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Hindu families prepare traditional vegetarian feasts and sweets such as gulab jamun, khurma, and barfi, much to the merriment of neighbours and friends. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic means typical large celebrations must be scaled down, but every observant Hindu household will perform time-honoured prayers to the goddess Lakshmi, light their deyas, and look forward to the time when their doors can once again be opened to guests for the season of joyful sharing.