IT IS A SMALL WORLD

My parents and I migrated to Canada when I was a year old. My family and I celebrate lots of cultural events like Diwali and Ganesh festival. We celebrate these festivals on a small scale; a small scale means that we celebrate these festivals with a small group of people. My grandparents in India celebrate all the festivals. In India these celebrations are social; meaning that most of the Indians come together for these celebrations. In Canada we celebrate Diwali by calling friends and family over, having fun and having terrific Indian food and lighting some lights. In India my grandparents light up their house and clean it and decorate it with flowers. Diwali is the story of how Rama came home from the war in Lanka and returned home to Ayodhya and became king. Diwali is celebrated for 4-5 days. We celebrate Ganesh festival by calling friends over, then we do a Pooja, where we pray to god and I know two prayers of the Pooja. My grandparents also keep a Ganesh idol at home for ten days. They do a pooja every day and have friends and family come over for the Lord’s blessings. In India they have a big parade on the last day where they carry Ganesh statues. When they are done the people in India immerse Ganesh into the water and the idol disintegrates in the water. We say that God has returned home.  This is how we celebrate these festivals in Canada and how India celebrates these festivals.