THUNDER BAY – Lakehead University celebrated Diwali, a festival of light and joy originating from the Indian subcontinent, virtually on Nov. 2,
Diwali, is India's biggest and most important holiday of the year and is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians.
Over the centuries, Diwali has become a national festival that’s also celebrated by Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, notably Newar Buddhists.
With Lakehead University having such a large number of international students, school officials said it’s important to help students celebrate their traditions when so far away from home.
“Internationalization of the university is very important to Lakehead and that means bringing in students from around the world to study here, one of the advantages of that is it exposes us here at Lakehead to cultures from around the world,” said James Aldridge, Vice-Provost, International Department,
“So, by giving the students a chance to show off their culture on a day like Diwali, the festival of light, we not only internationalize our own community and expose them to ideas and festivals from around the world, we give those students from India the feel of a little bit of home.”
This online cultural celebration provided students with the opportunity to learn about Diwali cultural traditions including some of the competitions and displays that were featured in Lakehead's Agora in Thunder Bay.
“As a student, I see other students participating in these culture related activities, and they’re doing this stuff, it makes me feel good to be very honest,” said Mann Koner, Lakehead student,
“Because, last year I was in India and I celebrated Diwali with my family, and we all did the same thing, with the Rangoli, with all the festivities, the lights, the colours, everything,.
Teams of students from Lakehead International displayed their Rangolis, which are intricate artistic mosaic designs made of coloured rice with cultural significance and meaning, in the Agora.
