Pratima Acharya, a religious secretary of the Medicine Hat Hindu Association (Photo Courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Prina Atwal

Medicine Hat Hindu and Sikh Communities celebrate Diwali

Oct 24, 2022 | 5:28 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The annual Diwali Festival is the most important festival of the year for the Hindu and Sikh community. It is a five-day-long celebration that will conclude tonight.

“Diwali is actually a celebration of light, as I said, it actually depicts the welcoming of lord Rama, of Ram from Ramayana, so there’s a long story behind that. He was sent to exile, his wife, and his brother Lakshman accompanied him, where they spent 14 years. During the whole process, to cut the story short, the wife was kidnapped by the demon, Raavan, and he took her away to some island, and Ram had to find Sita. With the help of Hanuman, and his army, Hanuman is one famous character in the whole of Ramayan… they finally found Sita, and it then ensued a long battle between lord Ram and Raavan. So Raavan depicts the evil and lord Ram depicts goodness. So, when he finally defeated Raavan, that was the victory of goodness over evil. Diwali signifies the victory, the triumph of good over evil, the triumph of light over darkness, and the triumph of knowledge over ignorance,” says Pratima Acharya, a religious secretary of the Medicine Hat Hindu Association.

Acharya adds, each state in India celebrates Diwali differently in their own traditional way, but the most popular significance still remains the same, defeating the negativity and dispelling darkness from within us, so as to to allow positivity and happiness to thrive in our life . . .

Diwali falls on the darkest night of the Lunar calendar, making it fall on different dates each year.

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And tonight, those celebrating will be cleaning their house, praying to God, distributing traditional sweets, and lighting clay lamps and sparklers.

“By doing this, we welcome goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth, and the goddess of light,” says Acharya.

A grand Diwali celebration will be taking place on Nov. 5 at the Wyndham Garden in Medicine Hat. Citizens of Medicine Hat from every religion are encouraged to attend.

“For the very first time in Medicine Hat we will have a grand portrayal of Lord Ram story which holds a major significance of Diwali, where the whole story of Ramayana will be enacted,” says Acharya.

Acharya adds traditional dance performances will take place as well.

The capacity is limited to 250 people, so individuals are encouraged to buy tickets by contacting the Medicine Hat Hindu Association through their Facebook Page quickly.