Opinion: Here's why Diwali needs to be a school holiday
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A Diwali celebration in Richmond Hill. File photo by Christina Santucci
By Polly Singh
Even with the challenges of being a working mother of three during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m working hard to make Diwali a joyous celebration for my Hindu family.
I want my three children to know and have a connection with where they come from and to be proud of it.
Like every other parent or anyone raising children, I hope I’m doing a good job. I want them to have more than fond memories of celebrations but to understand the cultural significance of Diwali. Despite being known for embracing diversity, and despite recognition of the major holidays in other faiths, New York City still has not recognized Diwali as a major holiday on the school calendar.
My children know all about Christmas and Hanukkah, and a school holiday was recently named for Eid. I am glad children of these faiths are recognized, and as a Hindu mom, the exclusion feels degrading to my family and faith.
Diwali or the festival of lights, as it is commonly known, is celebrated by more than 1 billion Hindus, Jains and Sikhs around the world and the over 200,000 of us living in NYC. The holiday itself symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness, which is especially timely this year.
For us New Yorkers, we might know it’s Diwali when 1010 Wins announces that alternate side of the street parking is canceled—one coworker wishes me “Happy Diwali” every year because of that announcement.
Despite my best efforts, Diwali doesn’t quite feel like it used to when I was in Guyana. It felt like Christmas, everyone celebrated because it was and still is a national holiday in Guyana. I recall us spending the day cooking and preparing for the evening celebrations. We would light diyas or tiny oil lamps and stay up late until they all burned out.
But here, in New York City, the most international city in the world, it feels relegated to something second-class or a minor holiday or event, and I’m not okay with that. I’m not okay with anything that signals to my three children that they are less than.
In normal times, we do several things to celebrate. We go to temple and to Liberty Avenue to see the Diwali motorcade and cultural show at the Arya Spiritual Center Grounds in Richmond Hill, Queens. The show is free and there isn’t an entrance fee but there are booths where you can purchase cultural items and activities. But this year I avoided the crowds because of COVID-19 and safety concerns.
I noticed my neighborhood is in a yellow zone per the COVID tracker, so my family stayed put. My 13-year-old daughter reminds me the motorcade is canceled when I mention our Diwali preparations. We won’t see the show reenacting the religious aspect of the holiday or get henna at one of many booths at the cultural show because of CDC crowd limits. Instead, my kids and I have plans to paint diyas, make a rangoli, an intricate pattern made with colorful rice, watch videos about Diwali’s significance, video chat with our family members and eat a lot of delicious Indian pastries like jalebi. I do my best to make it memorable and special, but like every parent, I wonder if I – and we – can do more.
Especially in a year when moms like me struggle with virtual-schooling, do our own jobs, and protect the health of our families, I need this day to be an easier one, where I don’t have to juggle or choose between lesson planning and teaching.
I need to have the time to make preparations for my family’s religious observance. And, I need my city to affirm for my children that they belong here and that their faith is respected. I hope the New York City Council and Mayor de Blasio will finally make Diwali a school holiday.
Polly Singh is a resident of Queens and a member of the Steering Committee of the Jahajee Sisters.
