Tuesday November 13 is Divali in Trinidad and Tobago, a public holiday. Divali (also known as Diwali or Deepavali) is the Hindu festival of lights, and one of my favourite religious celebrations.

Growing up, much of the students at my prep school, including myself,would assemble on the evening of the Divali celebrations to help our Hindu classmates to fill and light the deyas and to take part in the puja ^[1] which featured performances by our friends

To learn more about the meaning and history of this festival visit Divali on Wikipedia ^[2].

This year’s menu will consist of the following:

• Potato Roti (Aloo Puri) ^[3]
• Pumpkin and Cashew Curry
• Spicy Eggplant and Green Bean Curry
• Aloo Gobi ^[4]
• Trinidad Barfi recipe) ^[5]
• Trinidad Parsad ^[3]

Divali celebrations are held throughout Trinidad at both private and public locations, and participation is not restricted to Hindu followers. One of my favourite locations to take in the lights is Adam Smith Square in Woodbrook. The cross-section of families and individuals from all walks of life always brings a smile to my face and reminds me of the Divali celebrations of my childhood. Last year I live tweeted video and pics of the festivities so be sure to follow me on Twitter ^[6] if you’d like more of that this year Until then, here is a snippet of video that I took there in 2008

For more information on Divali in Trinidad:

* Divali Nagar on Facebook ^[7]
* Divali Flickr Set ^[8]

This post was first published October 2008, it has been updated three times since then.

About Sarina ^[10]

Passionate foodie, founder of Trinigourmet and Caribbean Lifestyle Maven. Author of "Glam By Request: 30+ Easy Caribbean Recipes" ^[3]