Chatham Families Celebrate Diwali, 'Festival Of Lights'

CHATHAM, NJ — Diwali, also known as the "festival of lights," is one of India's most important festivals, and is celebrated by millions of Indian-origin people around the world.

In Chatham, the Chatham Indian Community hosted its yearly Diwali celebration last weekend at Aashiwaad Palace in Randolph, with nearly 250 residents in attendance.

Hundreds of community members gathered to celebrate the festivities of Diwali alongside their family and friends, including Chatham Borough Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz, who joined the celebration to partake in the festivities.

In honor of the occasion, children and adults performed lively Indian dance routines that they had been training for the past month. Aside from the traditional displays, there was a buffet of Indian cuisine and a DJ who played Bollywood music.

Millions of people worldwide celebrate the five-day Festival of Lights. In a spiritual sense, Diwali represents the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. People dress up for the festival, decorate their homes with rangoli, and light up their homes with diyas (oil lamps). Additionally, they hold Lakshmi (the goddess of prosperity and wealth) worship rituals and light fireworks while enjoying meals with their families.

Chatham Borough, along with many other towns, counties and states, recently declared October as Hindu Heritage Month.

The Sewa Diwali food drive is now in its fourth year and is being organized locally by the Indians in Chatham. Last year, the group was able to collect 1,300 pounds of food for the Morristown Food Pantry.

The group is currently accepting shelf-stable items like pasta, canned soups, bags of rice, peanut butter in plastic jars, pasta sauce, coffee, tea, sugar, canned fruits and vegetables and cereals. Donations will be accepted through Nov. 19 and can be dropped off at 665 Fairmount Avenue, Chatham Township.

To cap off the festivities, the Chatham Indian Community will host a fireworks display in collaboration with Chatham Township on Nov. 12, the main day of Diwali, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Chatham Municipal Building.