Dewali

The boys and I attended a Diwali festival at a former students home. They are here from India and invited us to experience their most celebrated holiday. The house was filled with incense burning and behind the boys you can see the candles, baskets of bounty and flower petals. Diwali is a time when people get together to celebrate the god and godest coming together and over coming the evil demon. We were open-minded to this new way of thinking. We also had a great discussion about tolerance and how some of our beliefs are similar yet different.
We tried coconut water, which is suppose to be the purest form of liquid on the earth. We each received a small spoonful on our hand to drink. This pure water is considered holy water and will rejuvenate our bodies.

We had the chance to try new foods. The women of the house fasts during this time of year for one month. Yes she can eat and drink after dark, but during the day it is her responsibility to cook and cleanse the home of all bad memories, feelings, and unclean things.
They cook a lot with spices that are different from which we are acustom.

Some of the foods included a sweet pumpkin flavored ball, rice, rice tortilla type thing, and several different sauces used for dipping. My older boys kept eating out of politness and the women of the house kept filling their dishes over and over. I finally explained to them to eat slower and leave just a little of each thing on there plate until she starts to serve dessert. This was a great opporitunity to talk about missionary edict and how we put on a happy face and show our appreciation even if we don't really care for the food.

At the end of the celebration the women of the house gave us a silver plate of bounty. This was to represent good well, good health and sharing of what they have. What a unique experience this evening was. We learned a lot about a different culture.