FAMILIES ACROSS THE BAY AREA CELEBRATE DIWALI WITH LIGHT, FOOD AND MUSIC
Families and community members across the Bay Area came together over the weekend to mark Diwali – the festival of lights, celebrated in India and other South Asian countries. This year, Sunday marked the main day of Diwali, and Bay Area residents had a wide range of free and public celebrations to choose from.
The holiday is widely celebrated by Hindus, but it is also celebrated by people of other faiths, including Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. One of the largest celebrations in the region on Sunday was at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple in Milpitas. "Diwali is like the celebration of light over darkness," explained 13-year-old Devan Joshi of Fremont. Attendees held candles at the Milpitas festival before an elaborate offering of 451 vegetarian meals, designed to represent food from different parts of India and the globe. Detailed archways and ornate displays decorating the festival were all made by hand by volunteers in the days and weeks leading up to the event.
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