To celebrate Diwali alone goes against the very core of the Hindu celebration of light.
Yet that is exactly what thousands of families across the Metro Vancouver have turned to amid a rising tide of pandemic restrictions.
“It’s been disheartening not going to the big celebration and feeling the cultural energy. A lot of us who have immigrated from different parts of the world, our traditions have become westernized,” said Vishad Deeplaul, who immigrated to Coquitlam from South Africa five years ago with his son and husband. “It’s nice to go to these because it grounds you in who you really are.”
Celebrated every year in October or November when there’s no moon in the sky, Diwali marks the triumph of light over darkness, hope over despair and knowledge over ignorance. Often running five days, it is for many the single most important celebration in the Hindu calendar.
Families light clay lanterns known as diya and adorn their homes with bright colours. One of the most important parts of the celebrations is to renew social connections by visiting family and delivering sweet meats, chocolates and gifts.
For Deeplaul, all of that is off the table this year.
Instead, he’s hired companies to deliver chocolates, painted lanterns with his son with the help of a YouTube workshop, and even helped lead a symbolic lighting of the diya at Coquitlam city hall in the lead up to Nov. 14.
“It’s finding the silver linings and finding ways to connect. There’s nothing wrong with FaceTime, making it work,” he said.
Part of his enthusiasm comes from his work with United Way in the Tri-Cities. Since the start of the pandemic, he’s been helping people stay connected, as well as organizing volunteers to help shop for others who are short on groceries or medications.
But with the arrival of Diwali, the community building has taken on a more personal meaning. Back home in South Africa, Deeplaul said a few of the elders in his family have passed away due to COVID-19. In a country where there are limited resources to fight a public health crisis, it’s made him appreciate how good the community has it here.
“We will take safety over gathering because that’s more important,” said Deeplaul.
Or as a friend in the Tri-Cities put it to him recently, “This Diwali we need to stay apart so when we come together no one is missing.”
The father has already noticed some positive sides to socially distant celebrations. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, his son celebrated a birthday but, instead of inviting friends, the parents put on a massive Zoom party with all their family back home in South Africa.
“It doesn’t stop us from reaching out to our families across the world,” he said.
The whole experience offers a glimpse of what the upcoming holiday season may look like if COVID-19 cases don’t begin to fall across the Lower Mainland. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, the New Year or just enjoy a good meal with family, those navigating their way through Diwali also offer a lesson in patience and humour.
“Christmas, no matter what religion or culture, celebrates in some shape and form. I said this year, COVID is like the Grinch who stole Christmas,” laughed Deeplaul.
How are Vancouverites celebrating Diwali this year?
Like Zrav's birthday celebrations, much of the Diwali festivities are embracing a virtual format for 2020. For example, those celebrating this year can head online to take part in a virtual Diwali Fest.
The annual celebration of South Asian arts & culture, produced by the Diwali Celebration Society. originated in 2004 as the "Vancouver Celebrates Diwali Festival," but has grown into one of the largest Diwali-themed events in the Lower Mainland over the years. It began as a one-day, volunteer-driven event that, according to its website, has since evolved into a professionally-staffed festival that has become a destination event on the City’s cultural calendar.
This year, the festival is transforming again to host online events, for example, virtual "Chai House" Diwali celebration featuring performances from a variety of genre-spanning artists, or virtual storytelling sessions.
Festival organizers also pre-recorded outdoor performances from talented artists throughout Surrey and Vancouver, in celebration of the holiday. The videos are posted Diwali Fest’s YouTube channel.
The India Cultural Association of Vancouver (ICAV), meanwhile, is marking the occasion with an online "Diwali Contest."
Participants are invited to submit their best attempts in up to five categories: Rangolis, Diya decorations, Diwali family selfies, videos of your kids sharing their thoughts about Diwali, and children's artwork, with prizes available for the winners of each category. (For details on how to enter, head on over to ICAV's website.)
Vancouver's Punjabi Market Regeneration Collective (PMRC) is also encouraging customers to stay home and stay safe by enabling shoppers to make a purchase from the Punjabi Market from the comfort of their homes.
“We wanted to make it easy for people to prepare for Diwali, while keeping safe during the pandemic. So, we decided to launch the Virtual Punjabi Market,” said Gulzar Nanda, ahair of the PMRC in a release. He added that, “The e-shop will make it so that people all over the world can shop in the oldest Little India in North America, and, by doing so, ensure that we can continue to preserve this Canadian treasure we call the Punjabi Market.”
Partial proceeds from the sale of goods on the website will be reinvested back into the community to fund public art and cultural events.
How to celebrate safely, according to Vancouver's local health authorities
B.C.'s public health officials are urging residents to to take advantage of these online options and celebrate Diwali virtually this year, as the province reports a new daily record number of COVID-19 cases.
The province recorded 617 new cases on Friday, for a total of 20,985.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that the number of cases shows it is a critical time for B.C., and residents need to work together to slow the number of infections.
They say people who would normally be gathering to celebrate the South Asian holiday of Diwali this weekend should stay home and connect virtually with family members and friends.
The plea comes a day after modelling data showed the number of cases has doubled every 13 days in the past few weeks, making it harder for contact tracers to keep up and break the chains of transmission.
"As (Thursday's) modelling update clearly showed, this is a critical time for everyone in our province. We need to act now to protect our loved ones, our elders and our communities," Dix and Henry said in their joint statement.
With the majority of those new cases occurring in the Fraser Health region, that health authority is similarly urging its residents to celebrate safely this year, even publishing a list of guidelines to help revellers plan accordingly.
Its advice?
- Celebrate only with people you live with in your home and please do not invite guests into your home.
- Connect virtually through a video call or by phone with extended family, friends and loved one and say no to in person invitations.
- Wear a mask when shopping for festival celebrations.
- If you are feeling unwell please stay home, ask a person you live with in your home to shop for you.
- Sharing food is not safe right now. If you are preparing festive meals for your household, pour Daal and Sabji, and place Pakoras, Samosas, Barfi and Besan on a separate plate for each person.
- Celebrate Diwali by joining live stream prayers and lighting Divaa or Diya at home.
The health authority has also produced a series of videos aimed at getting that message across, in both Hindi and Punjabi, in addition to an English version.
Fraser Health has even compiled a list of virtual prayer options, from live videos to apps, available here.
- With files from Megan Lalonde and the Canadian Press
