Diwali is one of the biggest festival celebration in India, which symbolizes the spiritual victory of LIGHT over darkness, GOOD over evil, and KNOWLEDGE over ignorance. It is a five-day festival coinciding with the end of the summer harvest and the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar calendar. “Diwali” comes from the Sanskrit word “Dīpāvali”, which means “rows of light”. It is celebrated with festive lights, fireworks, sweet delicacies, and family gatherings. People light up their entire homes to illuminate every corner of their life, add sparkling moments of love, happiness, success, and joy.

Many consider Diwali a fresh start, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is happy to start off our events with a celebration to honor this festival. GRACE and ChE join in every Fall to host our Festival of Lights. Combining Diwali tradition with Thanksgiving, we write things we are grateful for on the sidewalks with chalk and then light candles under the big oak tree by the Herbert Wertheim Laboratory of Engineering Excellence once the sun sets. This will be a ChE-family gathering, with an opportunity for everyone to share food dishes from our different cultural heritages and celebrate LIGHT, GOODNESS and KNOWLEDGE together.