Wednesday is Diwali, the festival of lights, and a day filled with celebrations, lights, and foods for many students on campus.

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is celebrated every autumn as one of the most popular festivals of Hinduism.

The celebration symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

Hindu families across the world celebrate Diwali on this day, including students on campus.

“In the mornings, we usually do like a pooja, which is kinda like a offering to god and saying a couple of prayers,” senior Shivani Amara said. “Then later in the night we have a couple of people over, kinda like a gathering, and we just play with fire crackers, cause its the festival of lights, and stuff like that.”

“So we usually just have a celebration with the family,” senior Maanas Dogga. “Then we have family friends over at our house, and we just have food. “

For both Shivani and Maanas, Diwali is more of an opportunity to meet family that they don’t see often.

“When I was little we used to read the story of Diwali, where a god, Rama, slayed a demon, Ravana,” Amara said. “But now it’s just basically a gathering where i can see all my family, have fun, eat good food, and celebrate the new fiscal year in India.”

“It’s like I said before, it’s a celebration,” Dogga said. “It’s once a year, so it’s kinda fun to see family that I haven’t seen in a while.”