I arrived in SA just in time for holiday season! The streets are decorated with lights and lanterns, and everyone is out buying new things for Diwali (this Festival of Lights was the week of Nov 13 this year), such as jewelry, furniture, and new clothes. Every family makes sweets and welcomes guests into their homes. Everyone is in a good mood during the season. It's a great time to learn about the stories behind the festival, and also to be able to share a few of our own! In the neighborhood we visit several times a week, everyone was out on their porches making rangoli designs. I will post a picture later, but it's a design made with colored sand or powder that they use to decorate their doorsteps. It stains too as I learned the hard way! I'm thinking about making a Christmas design with it...we'll see.
The only thing about Diwali that some people don't like is the fireworks. I'm talkin' war zone level fireworks. All week kids shoot off firecrackers. Technically they aren't allowed to shoot them off while people are working, so this means it starts early in the morning and picks up after dinner until late. Perfect timing, right? They have the pretty colorful fountain fireworks that stay on the ground, but really they like the ones that make loud noises the most. Not even colors, just big booms! And living in a concrete jungle amplifies and echoes everything. Seriously there was no use trying to watch TV or sleep at any decent hour. But what can you do? Just embrace it. We even joined in the fun on one of the festival days. We went to some friends' apartment – even had CHEESE DIP – and shot of some fireworks. Some is an understatement. We had a few backpacks full of fireworks, and I mean heavy duty ones. We took them down to the parking lot and park in their complex and shot them off along with every other family that lived there. We had about a 15 yard radius to ourselves before you would run into the next group of adults, kids, or teenagers firing off their own cannons and bottle rockets. Talk about being aware of your surroundings! But it was a blast, and we only started two fires (one was on purpose)! It was not quite aligned with the American safety standards we're used to, but it was a blast. Pictures and videos to come!
The only thing about Diwali that some people don't like is the fireworks. I'm talkin' war zone level fireworks. All week kids shoot off firecrackers. Technically they aren't allowed to shoot them off while people are working, so this means it starts early in the morning and picks up after dinner until late. Perfect timing, right? They have the pretty colorful fountain fireworks that stay on the ground, but really they like the ones that make loud noises the most. Not even colors, just big booms! And living in a concrete jungle amplifies and echoes everything. Seriously there was no use trying to watch TV or sleep at any decent hour. But what can you do? Just embrace it. We even joined in the fun on one of the festival days. We went to some friends' apartment – even had CHEESE DIP – and shot of some fireworks. Some is an understatement. We had a few backpacks full of fireworks, and I mean heavy duty ones. We took them down to the parking lot and park in their complex and shot them off along with every other family that lived there. We had about a 15 yard radius to ourselves before you would run into the next group of adults, kids, or teenagers firing off their own cannons and bottle rockets. Talk about being aware of your surroundings! But it was a blast, and we only started two fires (one was on purpose)! It was not quite aligned with the American safety standards we're used to, but it was a blast. Pictures and videos to come!
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