As we approach the start of another Diwali season and wonder what the year brings to us, one of the more difficult decision is what gifting ideas should one pursue? Most people will look to gift their loved ones something for Diwali. Even those living abroad frequently send cakes to India for their loved ones to celebrate the occasion. Yet what is it that Diwali symbolizes more than just the sharing of sending of gifts to your loved ones?

For me, Diwali is the time for families to come together and to take pleasure and joy in the celebration of life and happiness. It is a time where each light in our lives should be on and where we can enjoy the beauty of that light as a source of happiness. As such, we should all put on all the lights in the home as those symbolize the bright happiness that we aspire to bring in our lives. One should distribute sweets and gifts to their families and even others who affect our lives. We tend to forget the neighborhood pan walla or our favorite grocery store. But many of these people have a profound impact on our happiness by providing the acknowledgement or greeting that we naturally desire when go past them.

A lot of people spend Diwali playing cards, board games or even drinking games together. The more important question is how can we keep these good joyous times going throughout the year. I always have wondered why we just play these games at one particular time of the year. Yes, we have to celebrate the occasion but what if we inculcated this into our daily lives. How about playing a game every week with the family. Could Sunday evenings be changed from being days we fear the next week to a day where we celebrate the family by playing games and enjoying ourselves. Some people I know make it a point to go out on a Sunday night just to take them away from the Blues that normally set in from the end of the weekend.

It is great to be at the beginning of the festival season that will start in a few months. However, there is no reason why we can’t convert Sunday afternoons to celebrations. Just think about how joyous you feel at the start of any festival time and try to replicate that during the week. Christmas every Sunday? Eid celebration every Sunday? Why not is what I would argue!