What is Diwali? Here’s the Facts
MUMBAI, INDIA - OCTOBER 23: A family celebrates Diwali with firecrackers at Parel chawl, on October 23, 2022 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Satish Bate/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
We were talking about the Diwali holiday this today on Joel and Maryann in the Morning and realized there’s a lot about the holiday that most people (especially those who don’t celebrate) don’t really know what it is. My kids have a day off of school and many others in Central Jersey have the day off today for the Indian Festival of Lights, Diwali.
TOPSHOT-A Pakistani Hindu family offers prayers and light candles as they mark Diwali, the Festival of Lights, in Lahore on October 30, 2016. Diwali, the Festival of Lights, marks victory over evil and commemorates the time when Hindu god Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana and returned to his kingdom Ayodhya. / AFP / ARIF ALI (Photo credit ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty Images)
Here are the basics. Diwali celebrates the triumph of light over dark and good over evil. The festival is celebrated for five days and involves lighting candles, exchanging gifts, and other celebratory and religious rituals. Diwalifestival.org says Diwali (also called Divali or Deepavali) is “the most awaited and the most celebrated festival of India.” The holiday is celebrated worldwide, and according to Almanac.com, “Diwali is primarily celebrated by followers of the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain faiths. However, the holiday is celebrated throughout India, Singapore, and several other South Asian countries as a national holiday, meaning that people outside these religions may participate in Diwali celebrations, too. Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and elsewhere around the globe also regularly celebrate Diwali.”
Wishing someone well during the holiday is as simple as saying “Happy Diwali.”
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This NJ City Is The Most Ethnically Diverse In The U.S.
Jersey City has retained its No. 1 ranking as the nation’s most ethnically diverse city for the sixth consecutive year, according to a report released by the financial website WalletHub.
In order to come to this conclusion, the financial website surveyed 501 of the largest U.S. cities. They were examined based on ethnicity and race, language and birthplace. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most ethnic diversity. Below is how they categorized a large, midsize, and small city:
- Large city: More than 300,000 people
- Midsize city: 100,000 to 300,000 people
- Small city: Fewer than 100,000 people
They also explained how the points were given out to represent the ethnoracial, linguistic, and birthplace diversity. The financial website also broke down what languages, ethnicities, and how birth origin were considered and categorized.
Ethnoracial Diversity: Total Points – 50.00
- Hispanic or Latino
- White (not Hispanic or Latino)
- Black or African American (not Hispanic or Latino)
- Asian (not Hispanic or Latino)
- All Others (American Indian and Alaska native; native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander; some other race alone; two or more races) (but not Hispanic or Latino)</
Linguistic Diversity: Total Points – 33.33
- English
- Spanish
- Other Indo-European Languages
- Asian & Pacific Islander Languages
- Other Languages
Birthplace Diversity: Total Points – 16.67
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- In State of Residence
- Northeast Region
- Midwest Region
- South Region
- West Region
- U.S. Territory & Abroad (if born to American parent(s))
- Foreign Nation
Jersey City ranked third in ethno-racial diversity, second in linguistic diversity and 164th in birthplace diversity, the report said. The combination of all three categories gave the New Jersey city the highest score of the nation with 72.69.
Take a look at the other cities that made the list:
Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.
