As a child, on Diwali mornings, we would wake up bright and early at 5 am. Despite the chill in the air, waking up early on this day was never met with a complaint. We would then light a diya, and take a nice oil bath (a tradition perhaps unique to India). In my home, there was a longstanding tradition of the girls performing aarti for the men of the household, post which they would give us little gifts. Mom would have made a lot of homemade sweets, a Diwali tradition. We would carefully wrap these, and walk over to the homes of friends and neighbours to deliver them personally, one of the little joys of Diwali. Come evening, we would light dozens of oil diyas, often making a little competition of it with neighbours to see whose house had more. And then, of course, the signature part of Diwali — the fireworks. We would light piles of firecrackers, lighting up our driveways and the skies with showers of sparkles! This year, I celebrate a silent Diwali with home made food and togetherness of my family. I wish you a joyous Diwali, filled with the most important thing in life - memories of togetherness and love. …see more