Beastmomma

Over the weekend, Partner and I celebrated our first Diwali as a married couple.  By way of brief explanation, Diwali is known as the "Festival of Lights" and is a time to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.  It also marks the end of the harvest season and is a chance to celebrate abundance and offer thanks and prayer for continued prosperity.   The first Diwali after marriage has special significance in both Northern and Southern India which is where Partner and my families are from.  In both cultures, it is a continued celebration of a new beginning and the new daughter son in-law are again welcomed into the family with prayers and sweets. 

Since we do not live near our families, we adjusted our celebrations slightly.  Both my father-in-law and mother were in town for a conference.  Partner and I spent the day with my mom and we went on a cruise along the Charles River which was pretty, but not as good as we hoped.  Then, we all went to my sister-in-law's future in-laws home for dinner.  To prepare for the festivities, we purchased some sweets to give to everyone.  I got homemade bread from a local bakery, so that people could have some flavor of New England.  Partner and I also wore new clothes. 

For good measure, I got into an argument with my mother about wearing jewelry.  She was lecturing about how I needed to wear bangles and clip on earrings.  I am not much of a jewelry person at all, so I fought with her.  Finally, we reached a compromise, thanks to Partner, and I found myself wearing painful earrings.  Since I am already digressing a lot I am going to go ahead and say that sometimes I do not feel like a good bride because I am not into wearing jewelry which seem to be something that you are supposed to do once you are married. I feel that it is enough that I wear my wedding and engagement rings, my kara, and my mungalsutra.  Other people, see my mother and aunts, have different opinions that they enjoy voicing.

Anyway....

When we arrived at the party, we were excited to wish everyone.  Before dinner, we did pujawith extra candles and prayers for prosperity.  Then, we hung out and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  My favorite part was dessert because everyone had brought something sweet to add to the spread and share.   Plus, the hosts had incorporated a lot of candles with the food.   My picture is not particularly good, but I wanted to share one photograph.

As we were leaving, Partner and I got some lovely presents.  My mother even gave us an All-Clad pan that I had been eyeing :)  The next day, it snowed which certainly helped to mark the start of a new season.