11122023-04
Diwali, which, much like Easter, is timed each year based on the lunar cycle—in this case, landing on the day of the new moon each autumn. (Ironically, this scheduling is directly tied to rituals and traditions of Hinduism, whereas in the case of Easter, the timing—in that case, the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the spring equinox—is derived from early Christians' desire for the holiday to occur around the time of Jewish Passover, and Passover is determined by the lunar cycle.)
Diwali is actually a five-day festival, but with the third (middle) day being the main celebration, the one that occurs on the new moon. Clearly this would be related to the whole "Festival of Lights" idea, given there is no moonlight reflected off a New Moon.
And: November 12 was the New Moon. Shobhit came home from work, we lit a bunch of candles, including the two clay lamps Shobhit actually bought at Seattle Center the day before. Those were the two more authentic lights we lit that night, but then lit a whole bunch of other candles, which Shobhit went out of his way to make sure were placed all over the condo—at least one in every room, but a bunch in the living room.
11122023-04
Diwali, which, much like Easter, is timed each year based on the lunar cycle—in this case, landing on the day of the new moon each autumn. (Ironically, this scheduling is directly tied to rituals and traditions of Hinduism, whereas in the case of Easter, the timing—in that case, the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the spring equinox—is derived from early Christians' desire for the holiday to occur around the time of Jewish Passover, and Passover is determined by the lunar cycle.)
Diwali is actually a five-day festival, but with the third (middle) day being the main celebration, the one that occurs on the new moon. Clearly this would be related to the whole "Festival of Lights" idea, given there is no moonlight reflected off a New Moon.
And: November 12 was the New Moon. Shobhit came home from work, we lit a bunch of candles, including the two clay lamps Shobhit actually bought at Seattle Center the day before. Those were the two more authentic lights we lit that night, but then lit a whole bunch of other candles, which Shobhit went out of his way to make sure were placed all over the condo—at least one in every room, but a bunch in the living room.