LAWRENCE:Rider students celebrate the diversity of the holidays
Sarah Perez-Klausner was aware of Hanukkah and Christmas, and she also knew that there was another holiday called Kwanzaa but she said she never really understand that holiday until Rider Universityâs annual Celebration of Lights festival.

Read more on The Lawrence Ledger

Diversity spotlight: Linda Avant-Deishinni
Linda A’vant-Deishinni

Read more on The Providence Journal

The country that represents the cultural potpourri of a variety of religions and festivals is none other than India. One can witness vivid colors, well lit homes, traditional clothes, sweets, dances and unwavering excitement among the people while celebrating all the festivals of the country. The diverse religions including Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity have their own set of festivals that signify different events in the course of their history. The spirit of universal brotherhood and bonding is the gist of

Indian festivals

that attract people from around the globe. One can see the beautiful blend of cultural diversity and oneness in spirit in the Indian festivals.

Beautifying the homes, offering prayers, seeking blessings, feasting, wearing new apparels and celebrating together are considered to be the essence of all Indian festivals. India can be called the land of festivals with each religion having a set of festivals all year round. In fact the list of festivals can go on forever. Some major festivals include Holi, Ramadan, Raksha Bandhan, Deepawali, Eid, Baisakhi, Christmas, Mahavir Jayanti, Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti and a lot more. There are a lot of regional festivals like Pongal, Bihu, Onam that mark celebrations of the events in different regions. The best part about the Indian festivals is that they are celebrated with great pomp and show despite of cultural multiplicity.

Every festival has an interesting folklore attached to it. Like Deepawali is one of the most popular festivals that is celebrated throughout the country, marks the day  when the legend, lord Ram returned to his native land Ayodhya after exile of 14 years. Deepawali also called festival of the lights is celebrated for honoring his return to the native land. It is basically the festival of Hindus but people of all the religion celebrate this auspicious day together by lightning crackers and offering prayers to Goddess Laxmi. Every festival finds the expression of the celebration with the unique festivals. Holi is yet another festival of colors that celebrated throughout the

Indian Astrology

. It is considered as the festival of colors where everyone puts colors on each other. This festival marks the victory of the positive forces above the devilish ones. This festival inspires people to live virtuous life. This festival also has a lot of mythological stories connected to it. Holi is celebrated when harvest is in the full bloom that adds to the delight of Indians. Apart from it Eid is celebrated especially by Muslims who fast for the whole month of Ramadan and end it with great feasting on Eid.

Pizza man: Midland native becomes CEO at Domino’s; credits education, diversity
Midland native Patrick Doyle takes on the top job at Domino’s Pizza this week.

Read more on Midland Daily News