NYC Schools Celebrate Diwali

Halloween is "All Hallows' Eve." November 1st is also known as All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation for Catholics. It is also my younger brother's birthday but he did not go to Catholic school. 

Also, for the first time, New York City’s public school students will have Friday off to observe Diwali, a holiday celebrated worldwide by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains. 

Diwali, also known as Deepavali or the “Festival of Lights,” is a celebration of light over darkness.

The day is often celebrated on different days. Holidays provide a specific day to honor things. The school holiday is an additional way different groups have been honored over the years. 

For instance, the schools are off for Rosh Hashanah. We have had more days added in recent times, including Juneteenth, now a national holiday. In the process, what used to be more Christian and European-focused has become more diverse. 

We honor different groups, including religious traditions, partially through the secular holidays we celebrate. The Supreme Court has recognized this is appropriate if done in a properly secular way (e.g., Lynch v. Donnelly). 

Some of these opinions probably allow practices that are not truly religiously neutral. Nonetheless, the overall principle is appropriate. The more diverse we practice it, the less likely we will wrongly de facto establish certain religions or favor certain groups.  

Diverse respect for different cultures honors equal protection and religious liberty values. Vice President Harris symbolizes this:

Harris was born to a Hindu mother from India and an Anglican father from Jamaica, was influenced by strong Christian women around her, and later married a Jewish man from Brooklyn.

A final matter that comes to mind when someone flagged it in a comment online responding to my reference to this subject elsewhere is third-party effects from religious practices.

Jay Wexler wrote an interesting book on how religious practices often are not environmentally friendly:

Wexler studied a wide selection of religions on his trip. Throughout his book, he reveals the unnoticed ways that religion conflicts with the safety of the environment. Fireworks, for example, are widely used in festivities such as Chinese New Year celebrations, the Muslim holiday Eid-al-Adha and the Hindu festival Diwali, but they are more corrosive to the environment than many expect. Wexler uses humor to tackle these issues in his book.

He is generally supportive of a wide breadth because of the importance of religious liberty. His somewhat libertarian views (Wexler appears generally liberal) are also shown in a separate book where he discusses marijuana usage.  

I think he might have been a bit too indulgent. We should respect religious beliefs and practices. Third-party harms do warrant some limits. 

Schools honoring Diwali do not raise such concerns. It is a reminder of the diverse religious beliefs in this country. And, yes, to toss in another topical issue, one party is more supportive of that these days. 

We can also recognize Wiccan and related nature-based religions which might find Halloween a worthy day of respect for more than going door-to-door (trunk-to-trunk, per a practice I recently heard about) for candy and other goodies.