Happy Deepavali!

Having lived in San Francisco, Daly City, Belmont, San Mateo, and now Fremont I am reminded of exactly why I love living in the Bay Area. I do need reminding because I often question why the heck I remain in ‘Simolia’ (my favorite computer game The Sims term for $$) land. It’s the diversity, plain and simple. I have traveled the world and the Bay Area is famous for this.

I live near the Hindu temple in Fremont and it seems like they are always having family events there. I just love walking by because of the very positive vibes. Lately I have noticed several houses putting up their lights for what I thought must be early Christmas decorations. Then I found out that some of these are for the Deepavali (Diwali), the Indian Festival of Lights. In Sanskrit Deepavali translates to ‘row of lamps’, symbolizing the victory of light over darkness, good over evil or knowledge over ignorance. Because it is a lunar festival it is celebrated on different days each year during the months of October and November, and this year it fell on November 9^th.

Deepavali is celebrated from one to five days. It is when family and friends meet, forget quarrels and enjoy and establish closeness to one another. Apart from India (and Fremont), Deepavali is celebrated in many other countries including the United States. So I am going to put up my ‘Christmas’ lights early to celebrate the positive influence of living in such a wonderfully diverse area of the world.