Celebrating Dashain and Diwali this month at Hill Street
Hill Street is proud of being an international family welcoming team members from all over the world. Many of our team from Nepal and India will be celebrating the important festivals of Dashain and Diwali this month. Read on to find out how these are celebrated and how to wish our team members a happy Dashain and Diwali!
Dashain
This year the Hindu festival of Dashain started on 3 October and runs until 13 October. It’s the longest and most important festival celebrated by Nepali Hindus around the world. In Nepal it’s celebrated with a 15 day-long public holiday, and families return from all over the world to celebrate together. It’s also celebrated in the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, South Indian, and also in Sri Lanka, and by Hindus in Bhutan and Myanmar.
Dashain represents the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. The first nine days of Dashain symbolise the battle between the forces of good and evil, culminating in Mahah Navami, the ‘great ninth day’, when Durga finally defeats Mahishasura. Religious sacrifices of buffaloes, goats, hens and ducks are made, and once offered in observance of rites, are then taken home and cooked as prasad, food blessed by the divinity.
On Day 10, Bijaya Dashami, elders put tika, a mix of rice, yoghurt and vermillion, on the foreheads of their younger relatives and give them dakshina, a small gift of money, to bless them for the coming year. Visiting relatives and giving gifts continues for the following five days until the full moon.
During Dashain include flying colourful kites to remind the gods not to send any more rain. While the youngsters fly kites, older family members gather to play cards
Our Store Manager at Blackman’s Bay, Sandip, tells us that he’ll be celebrating Dashain by spending quality time with his family, playing cards, visiting relatives and receiving blessings from elders. The highlight will be enjoying a feast of delicious food.
This period is indeed a time of great feasting. There are many traditional foods served during Dashain, including sel roti, a sweet, ring-shaped rice bread or doughnut. Bara is a deep-fried lentil patty served as an appetizer or snack. Khasi ko masu or goat meat curry is a staple dish in Dashain feasts, fragrant with spices and herbs, garlic and ginger. In fact the demand for meat increases considerably to the point of many stores in Nepal selling out. At Hill Street our Nepalese team members and their families have created quite a demand for goat, so we always have plentiful supplies around Dashain! Popular side dishes include gundruk (pickled leafy green vegetable) and aloo dum (baby potatoes in a spicy yogurt-based sauce). For dessert kheer is served - rice pudding made with rice, milk, sugar, and a touch of cardamom.
Other important traditions during Dashain include flying colourful kites to remind the gods not to send any more rain. While the youngsters fly kites, older family members gather to play cards. Another tradition is the construction of large bamboo swings on which children swing to heights of up to 20 feet. Some villages and towns have fairs with other rides such as ferris wheels.
It’s traditional to wearing new clothes during Dashain so shopping is also a popular activity in the lead up and during the festival. Most stores have special discounts and promotions during Dashain.
An appropriate Dashain greeting might be: ‘Wishing you a very happy Dashain – may you be blessed with joy, good health and success!
Diwali
Diwali falls on the 29th of October and is the Hindu festival of lights, which lasts five days. It’s celebrated in the northern hemisphere’s early autumn, after summer harvest, and coincides with the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar calendar.
Diwali is celebrated across India and Nepal as well as other places with a large Hindu population, such as Fiji, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Diwali is celebrated in different forms by other groups including the Jains, Sikhs, and the Newar Buddhists of Nepal.
The festival is celebrated by the lighting of diyas (oil lamps), candles, lanterns and fireworks. There’s lots of feasting as well, as this is also a traditional homecoming time for families and communities. At this time Hindus eat vegetarian food such as Poori (fried round bread), aloo curry (potato curry in tomato sauce), suji halwa (granulated wheat pudding), kheer (rice pudding) and malpua (sweet wheat-based pancakes). Sweets are offered first to the Goddess Lakshmi Devi, then distributed as prasad or ‘holy food.’
During Diwali sweets are offered first to the Goddess Lakshmi Devi, then distributed as prasad or ‘holy food.’
The lead up to Diwali involves lots of cleaning, preparation, decoration and shopping. It’s a major shopping period comparable to Christmas in the Western world, during which time new clothing, jewellery, chocolates, and other gifts are bought and given. Families can spend a substantial proportion of their income of gifts which are used to strengthen bonds and renew relationships.
We wish our Nepalese and Indian team members a bright and happy Diwali!
