Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali! If you didn't know, Diwali in its original sense, is the Hindu celebration of when God Ram defeated the villain Ravan in Lanka, and rescued his wife Sita. I think that's the main gist of it... am I right my Hindu brothas?

But since then, Diwali has become to mean a lot for Sikhs as well. Essentially, Diwali for Hindus and Sikhs means the same thing, a start of a new year. This isn't necessarily based on any calendar like the Chinese or our regular New Years. But its based more on the recognition to start new, start fresh, and embrace all that is good and begin a new attempt to leave behind all that is bad. (Again, a very generic description).

Even though Sikhs have their own New Years celebration which we call Gurupurab, which is based on the Gregorian calendar, we still embrace Diwali as it holds a special meaning for us. Sikhs celebrate Diwali to remember the release of one of our Guru's and 52 other kings from imprisonment by a Muslim emporor. Since this was a peaceful release of our Guru, this day marked the day when Sikhs were given their religious freedom, and thus was a very special day for all Sikhs. Since then, it has been celebrated very enthusiastically by Sikhs all over the world in order to remember our freedom from religious persecution and to remember what our religion is all about, so that we can all have another crack at being better people.

Now, we all know that I'm not very religious. But I am a Sikh, not only by birth, but also by choice, and so sharing this with people that read my blog was my duty!

Now, go light a candle! :P