alskuefhaih
asoiefh

Thursday, November 08, 2007

HAPPY DIWALI



To all my friends, Indian and otherwise,
I wish you a Happy Diwali.

May your life be filled with truth and light.




26 comments:

Ginnie Hart said...

The photos aren't lining up, Ruth on my page, so I'm not sure what's happening? BUT the tribute is very sweet. Now you've got my curiosity about what all it is!

Ruth said...

Um, well, I was kinda using artistic license. They weren't supposed to line up. :|

The wiki link explains it better than any other site I was able to find. It's probably the biggest holiday in India's year, I think anyway. rauf can correct me.

Ginnie Hart said...

Ohhhh. Okay! It just looked like one photo was hiding that I wanted to see. I get it. :)

Ruth said...

Boots, are you saying on your screen they are overlapping? That's NOT what I intended. I wanted the first to be left, then the second right, then the bottom centered. Is that not how they appear to you?

Ginnie Hart said...

I can see that there are 3 pics, Ruth, but the second 2 are both on the right, with the smaller one behind the larger one (with just a tiny edge showing--can't see the pic), and the larger one is showing only the top left corner of fireworks. So clearly something is not right.

Ruth said...

Owee. Can you tell me now, is this better?

(Do you remember Dr. Bell asking us that after trying all the different eyeglass lenses? "Is this better, or is this better?" And he would enunciate those "tt"s so clearly and distinctly. :))

Ginnie Hart said...

Now it's perfect, Ruth! So glad I can see the gorgeous pics now--all 3 of them!

But no, I really don't remember that about Dr. Bell. Isn't that crazy what we remember?!

Ruth said...

Good, Boots, I'm so glad you said something.

Mrs. SwedeHart said...

I like the composition, it draws the eye down perfectly to the comments link!

Anonymous said...

WoW...some very beautifully captured shots...I like all three of them & you have captured the spirit of Diwali wonderfully well...A very happy Diwali to you too!

Anonymous said...

It is always interesting to learn about other cultures. Thanks for the link to more information about this festival.

Ruth said...

Thanks, RK, it takes an artist to see that (I didn't). :)

Ruth said...

Kalyan, thank you for your visit and kind comment. Diwali is new to me this year, although I remember seeing it at rauf's blog last year. But this is the first year I've started learning about it. So I appreciate you saying the spirit of it is captured here.

Again, I think your post on Diwali was the most thorough explanation I read, even after reading quite a bit elsewhere. I've learned a lot from your blog about Indian culture. Thank you.

Ruth said...

Thank you, Britt-Arnhild, and you're welcome.

mystic rose said...

Ruth,
thank you, and for the wishes on my blog.

We did have a nice diwali..more on the quieter side this year, but it was a happy day.

Wishing you a prosperous year ahead full of happiness and peace. (Diwali is the start of the new year in the old Indian calendar, and htis is what people wish each other :) )

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi my dear friend RUTH,
We were having the same thoughts, a Happy Diwali to you too and.....

I am very pleased by your friendship and therefore I want to NOMINATE you with My own designed "THANK YOU" Award, its in my sidebar (the white face "thanYOu" , than copy and paste it inside YOUR side bar, your freindship makes me smile, I am so happy to know you! Thank you, for you kind and sweet friendship!

(maybe you are able to post this award on this blog?)

have a good weekend and next week (I'm leaving for Paris 4 a week)

JoAnn:)

Ruth said...

Thank you for the new year/Diwali wishes, Mystic Rose. Now I understand a little more why there are "crackers" (what we call "sparklers" I think) and fireworks at Diwali. Another version of New Year's.

Ruth said...

Dear JoAnn, what a generous heart you have, thank you so much for this honor!

My blog friends are a treasure to me too, JoAnn, and that includes you.

Please have a Café Crème for me in Paris! Enjoy, and bon voyage!

Inge said...

Ruth--isn't it amazing that so many (all?) cultures seem to have a major holiday involving light? Maybe Pierre Bonnard got it right when he said: "Our God is light!"

In Germany children celebrate St. Martin's dy today, Nov. 11. They create their own lanterns and then walk in a procession through town, singing a traditional song (translated): "Lantern, lantern, sun, moon, and stars! Glow, my light! Glow, my light! But don't burn my lantern." :-) Afterwards, we used to go home and eat a special sweet pastry called "Martinsbretzel." My mom used to bake her own.

Ruth said...

Oh, Ink, this is so so sweet. It touches me so much. I love the image of the children with their lanterns, and their prayer that they not be burned.

And you know what my thought is?

Each child, each earth child, IS light, IS God.

rauf said...

Sorry i was in pollachi for a few days.
oh yes Ruth, let me correct you.
there are many big holidays in India. The calender decides which is a big holiday. If diwali falls on a sunday all are disappointed, believe me even the sales are down.
If Diwali falls on a friday or a Monday, continuous holidays and i am in trouble Ruth. i can't get any ticket to go any where. They are booked months in advance. the shopping Malls are full, no space even to walk. that year diwali marketing goes full swing.
Same thing with durga puja and other festivals.

Easter and Christmas are equally important. but Christmas is marketed well, and you spend more money on Christmas. Waiting for christmas or the road to christmas is very enjoyable. This is effective marketing. The joy of Christmas is created by marketing.
Death and resurruction to heaven in fact is more important than the birth of Christ actually. Crusifiction and resurruction is the real essence of Christianity, not the birth of Christ.

Ruth, i will not give you the list of all the festivals and holidays in India, you will wonder when do these people work ? the list is endless if you add regional festivals and holidays. Like different harvest festivals.
Krishna Jayanthi, Ram jayanthi (birthdays of gods) Ganesh puja Durga puja and Diwali are all India festivals. Out of which Diwali is marketed most if it falls on a right day.
thank you for your wishes Ruth

Aarti said...

Hey Ruth

Thank you for the lovely pictures and diwali wishesss~~ very sweet of u...

have a lovely week ahead~~

Ruth said...

rauf, thank you for the correction. Yes you are so right about the importance of the death and resurrection being more important to the Christian faith than the birth. I've thought about that a lot.

It's gotten pretty bad here in the U.S. in the stores. It used to be goods would be stacked up in displays for holidays a couple of weeks before the holiday. So Christmas would be put out after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving would be put out after Halloween. Now, stores have a non-stop display. As soon as one holiday is over, the next one is out. So, after all the flags and sparklers are put away after the 4th of July, Halloween is out. Now, even before Halloween Christmas was out. People love stuff.

Ruth said...

Dear Aaarti, you are welcome, I hope your celebration with family was a big success. I think you were cooking a lot and had lots of guests.

I hope your week ahead will be restful and you can catch up on some solitude.

Oswegan said...

Nice shots. I enjoy your images.

~Oswegan

Ruth said...

Thank you very much, Oswegan, for taking time to comment and for your kindness.