Having lived in North America for almost two decades,I have added a few more holidays to my list.Easter,July 4th,Thanksgiving and Christmas to name a few. Spring brings in colorful flowers and delightful Easter bunny.Who could escape the Easter egg hunt if you have small children?As the Easter bunny jumps away,our next major holiday break comes in a snail's pace after 3 long months. As soon the school closes in the North eastern part of US, we kick off the summer vacation with American Independence day. July 4th fireworks reminds us all of "Diwali".I would never say no to lighting those sparklers under the clear summer sky.Then comes September,which not only summons a new school year but also our Indian festive season.The season starts with "Navarathri" which got a new platform in US lately. South Indians still enthusiastically bring their authentic "Golu"dolls from back home and proudly display it in their living room.The nine day celebration is usually cut down to the weekends.While the Golu goers in Chennai went door to door without an invitation that open door policy does not seem to exist anywhere these days.Dates are fixed in advance and attendance strictly by invitation only! In the past few years most of the towns with sizable Indian population in US have launched electrifying "Dandiya" nights in a mega scale.The event is marked by heavily packed halls,ear splitting music,ladies and men in the best Indian attire dancing to the beats of Dandiya music until daybreak.
Before we could recover from Navarathri, Diwali follows.Did I forget to mention about the spooky festival of Halloween? I have gone from designing my son's warrior costume to carving a pumpkin like many parents.While we fight hard to get over the sugar rush from Halloween candies our willpower is put to another test by the mouth watering Diwali delicacies.The North American Diwali includes grand Diwali melas to elaborate week long festivities in our temples to small scale neighborhood parties.We are lucky to have some school districts declare it as a holiday here.It has been a tradition for many desi families in New Jersey to make a quick trip to our local "Sivakaasi" in a town named Easton in Pennsylvania to get the fireworks.While "Diyas" brighten our dark fall nights, Diwali sweets help us beat those Fall blues.As our folks in India wrap up their holiday season soon after Diwali, we start another session of "Adopted Holidays".What's interesting about them is the Indian touch the Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration gets in our desi families.Indian Thanksgiving meals gets Americanized longer you stay here but I still frequently find our Tandoori dishes next to Turkey on Thanksgiving dinner table.No one cares as long it satiates your holiday appetite! Anyway we have come a long way from what the pilgrims ate.I absolutely love the way we first generation immigrants have added a new flavor to the American holidays.We bring in the Christmas cheers by following the rituals of an American Christmas as closely as possible so that our kids too can share their holiday stories with their friends, be it taking them to "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" or merely giving them a spectacular icicle lighting at the house.We show the same enthusiasm in putting the Christmas tree as we do for lighting the Diyas on Diwali.Every Indian mom puts on her best culinary effort to make the gingerbread house as they do for making "Laddos"during Diwali.
Holidays in any culture has one meaning,that's bringing the families and friends together.Of course food is an integral part of any celebration.It's a time to break the monotonous daily chores and add a little excitement to otherwise mundane lives of many.It's time to clean up the clutter,embellish the house,and to adorn oneself.We immigrants seem to have assimilated the quality of bringing the best out of both cultures.While our motherland inculcated outstanding hospitality, our adopted motherland polished it with an international touch but both taught us the importance of the family and friends.Holidays celebrated with kith and kin has a special meaning.They not only kindle childhood memories but also create new ones with no expiration date.Holidays are heart warming and emotionally uplifting.As we step into this holiday season let's all be thankful for the loved ones in our lives who make our everyday special and our holidays extra special.Happy Holidays!!
