Diwali Festival

On Saturday, Nov. 6th, I decided to take the kids at the last minute to an Indian celebration being held at the Hare Krishna temple called the Diwali Festival (Festival of Lights). Diwali is a combination of words "deepa", meaning lamps, and "wali", meaning row. Homes in India are decorated with rows of lamps in the windows and places of worship to bring in the best of the New Year. This is what I read that morning in the newspaper about the festival. Part of the Diwali feast is in remembrance of Krishna lifting a mountain and using it as an umbrella to protect his people from devastating rainfall. Part of the ceremony was honoring a live cow, which symbolize abundance and the sanctity of life. We never saw that part of the celebration, not sure if we missed it.

We were able to participate in one of the rituals which I am not very familiar with, and they didn't explain it to us and I didn't read about it in the paper. They had this wooden cart with a wheel attached that steered it and a rope on the other end for people to pull. It was decorated with flowers. We followed the cart around with others in the crowd and clapped along to the singing and music. Every once in a while we would stop and they would sing and dance. Then we would follow it around again, around and around the temple. We did this for a while before venturing off to explore other activities and the temple grounds. We enjoyed traditional Indian dancing and music also.

At the end of the festival we gathered around a gated pond with a statue, that I believe is of Krishna(not sure though), for the lighting ceremony. They lit tiny lamps of cotton balls placed on leaves and then placed them in the pond and made a wish. The kids really wanted to do this, but it was just too crowded and I didn't feel like ushering 5 kids in the small confined space and most likely have one of them end up in the water, so we just watched. Then we watched the fireworks which were pretty cool. They were set off just on the opposite side of the pond directly across from us, so they were very close, loud, and smoky.

We had a really fun time and I enjoyed having the kids participate in another culture and religion. It was exciting to have something like this so close in our own backyard. I think it's important for them to understand and experience different people, cultures, and religions. We also got interviewd by a BYU reporter, so we may be in an article there. She probably was wondering who this crazy lady with 5 kids is and what she was doing there. We did get a lot of stares and many offers to help us, especially as I'm trying to carry the baby and stroller up the temple's flight of stairs and then traversing down the steep hill back to the parking lot in the dark. It was a lot of fun and it was a great experience for our family. I hope my kids learn to appreciate other people for who they are, despite our differences.

On the stairs at the front of the Hare Krishna Temple in Salem, UT.

Part of the temple.

Side view of the temple. It was lit up really pretty, but as it got darker my camera started to rebel.

This is Pedro. He could say "Bye, Bye" and something else in their religion. Some boys from the Hare Krishna religion came over and were telling us about the parrot and the llamas, they were very nice. There was also a smaller gray parrot in a cage next to Pedro, but the poor thing was largely ignored, or maybe lucky for him Pedro got all the attention.

Pedro showing us is pretty blue feathers. He kind of made me want to get another bird...almost, but then I remembered our psychotic pet bird "Crispy".

Ok, so it was dusk again, so you get some pictures of the llamas looking evil eyed and some spots as well. I really need a new camera.

The kids petting the llamas.

Addie petting the llamas. They kind of lost interest once they realized we didn't have food and the people with the carrots next to us left.

The boys that talked to us though had insisted that the llamas don't spit, unless they are scared or angry or something like that. We were fortunate not to have any spitting. They were very friendly and the kids were able to get really close and pet them.

Kids looking into the pond with the "Krishna" statue behind them. There were these huge fish in the pond, not sure what kind, they were orange and white and humongous. I couldn't get a very good picture of the fish because of the lighting and my stinky camera.

Elephant statue at the foot of the stairs of the temple.

The decorated, wooden cart that was driven around the temple that we followed behind.

Following the temple leader (I think), as he drove the cart around the temple.

The cart driver, maybe temple leader, not sure.

Bailey, and Cam following behind the cart.

Emery clapping along as we followed the cart.

Addie clapping along.

Kids up at the top of the temple.

Top of the temple.

Kids overlooking the balcony at the top of the temple. Addie dancing to the music being played. Again, everyone looking evil-eyed, my red eye editing couldn't even save this picture and a few others.

Inside the temple on the top floor. This is a picture I took from outside, since it was so crowded we could not get inside.

Another picture looking in from outside.

16 yr old dancer, she was very good, and her costume was exquisite.

Performers in traditional dress.

Lighting ceremony.