Every year as Diwali approaches, I find myself thinking about time. Not the time it takes to light a diya or fry a batch of sweets, but the time it takes for a family to simply be in the same room.
“Lakshay se Lakshmi aati hai, I hope this Diwali you find your lakshay so Lakshmi comes to you.”
That is why I find it striking that Diwali is an official public holiday in around ten countries, including India, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius and Fiji. In those places, the whole country pauses for the festival of lights. Shops close, offices empty, and families have what the celebration has always needed most: time.
An extra day this year
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This year Diwali falls on Sunday, November 8. Several countries, including Singapore, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Fiji, add Monday, November 9 as a day off. For families who spend the week before Diwali cleaning, cooking and shopping for sweets, an extra day means the celebration does not have to end the moment the last diya burns down. It can stretch into a slow morning, a visit to an elder, or a long lunch with cousins who traveled a long way to be there.
What a holiday really gives a festival
I believe that is what a holiday really gives a festival like this one. Diwali is not a day for doing things alone. In so many homes, it is about the grandmother who wants everyone seated before she serves, the uncle who arrives with too many boxes of mithai, and the children who are put in charge of lighting the lamps. None of that can be hurried, and none of it works without time together.
There is a deeper reason it matters. Diwali celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, and in many homes, lamps are lit at the doorway to welcome that light in. I think of it also as a celebration of showing up. A day off from work is a society’s way of saying that showing up for the people we love is worth stopping everything for.
When there is no day off
Of course, for millions of families Diwali does not come with a holiday. In places like the UK it is not an official day off, and in the US it is not a federal holiday. Families fit the festival around work and school. They light the diyas after the commute, eat dinner a little later than usual, and call relatives between meetings. Many take leave of their own so they can be home.
They make it work because the festival is worth it. In some ways I admire them more, because they have to protect that time themselves rather than being handed it.
What I hope we remember
Time is the one thing none of us can manufacture, and it is what every festival ultimately asks of us. So, whether Diwali comes to you with a day off or only an evening, I would offer three small suggestions this year.
That is what a holiday really gives a festival like this one. Diwali is not a day for doing things alone. It is about the grandmother who wants everyone seated before she serves, the uncle who arrives with too many boxes of mithai, and the children who are put in charge of lighting the lamps. None of that can be hurried, and none of it works without time together.
The most valuable gift you can give a festival is your time. Diwali has always been about being with the people you love.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed in this article/column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of South Asian Herald.
