This year, Diwali fell on Oct. 31—making the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain celebration fall on the same day as Halloween. For students who celebrate both Diwali and Halloween, this presented quite a conundrum. The Tribune talked to South Asian students to see how they commemorated the joint festivities.
For Keya Tyagi, Vice President Academic of McGill’s South Asian Studies Student Association (SASSA), the days around Diwaloween were hectic as she navigated exams, family celebrations, and school events.
“For me personally it’s been a bit chaotic, especially considering it’s still kind of midterms season for me as well,” Tyagi wrote in a statement to The Tribune. “As someone who’s from Montreal and currently lives at home, I definitely have a different experience from students who are celebrating far from home, but for me, the struggle has been in balancing family commitments/celebrating Diwali at home [versus] everything that is going on for Halloween and going out with friends.”
Tyagi also explained that it can be difficult for South Asian students to balance both Diwali and Halloween events offered by campus groups. SASSA offered a Diwaloween event on Nov. 1 in the Morrice Hall Theatre, with dance, music, and food for attendees.
“I think with [the SASSA Diwaloween event] and other similar ones I’ve seen happening around here you can find a way to combine the two holidays [and] celebrate Diwali in a way that’s very unique to the diaspora,” Tyagi wrote. “At first, [SASSA event organizers] were scared that we wouldn’t have as good of a turnout for our event due to people having conflicting Halloween plans, but so many people showed up which was a nice surprise!”
Tia Sharma, U3 Arts, acknowledged that it can be difficult for South Asian students to find community in Montreal, especially if they don’t have friends from the same origin.
“We live in North America currently, [and] naturally the culture is more western-centric so it’s hard to make time for your own festivals in between Halloween,” Sharma wrote in a statement to The Tribune. “South Asian students with multiple brown friends like me are fortunate on that end that we do have an option to skip things together to celebrate Diwali but for students that don’t have any brown friends from their own culture, they’d have to just go along with their friends’ plans.”
Nonetheless, Sharma explained that she has found a way to make a home away from home for herself, which helps when it comes to celebrating holidays such as Diwali. She strongly encourages students to create safe spaces where they can retain their cultural values.
“For example, a friend of mine made everybody who entered his house light diyas, even his non-Indian friends and explained the concept to them. Most people (with a few exceptions [of course]) are willing to learn about and appreciate your culture. I personally always find things to do like eating an Indian meal, buying sparklers, facetiming my mom and sitting through her Diwali pooja to feel like I’m home,” she wrote.
Bhavya Kalra, Co-President of the Indian Students’ Association, explained that for some students, Diwali has been a lifelong tradition, whereas Halloween is a new addition, meaning that Diwali takes precedence when it comes to celebrations.
“With Halloween being something that I personally started celebrating very recently (since I moved to Canada 3 years ago), I’ve celebrated Diwali every single year since I’ve been born and so the festival means much more than anything. It keeps me connected to my roots and my family and I think this is how all the brown kids, who are miles away from their homes feel,” Kalra wrote in a statement to The Tribune.
She added that she hopes more events such as SASSA’s Diwaloween are hosted in coming years to foster a sense of community for South Asian students.
“It would further create a sense of belonging for South Asians far from their homes in this country while also being connected to their own cultural identity,” she wrote.
