Diwali is the ancient Hindu festival that takes place all over the world. I was able to experience my first one at SMU’s Hughes Trigg Theater. Diwali is the festival that celebrates good over evil and light over dark. The festival is at its peak during the darkest night of the year where the moon is the brightest. Hindus dress up in their best clothes and celebrate with candles and dancing. It is a celebration like no other because it unites all of India’s religions. Diwali is celebrated on the same night as the Jain festival of lights, the Buddhists Diwali, and the Sikhs Bandi Chhor Divas. Diwali was first written about in Sanskrit in the first millennium CE. This is the first written passage of a festival that used lamps and lights to represent the sun. The five-day celebration is a festival that is incredibly significant not only because it unites all the religions under one holiday, but also breaks the boundaries of caste and allows all people to celebrate equally. The celebration is broken up into five days each with their own significance. The first day of the celebration is Dhanteras. This is the day of cleaning and preparing for the festival. The next day is Naraka Chaturdasi. During this day the family covers the house with Rangoli, which are colorful floor designs and takes fragrant baths. The third day is Lakshmi Puja, which is the main day of celebration. On this day people wear their nicest clothes and light their diyas. Later they offer sacrifices to Lakshmi and other deities for good luck and prosperity. The next day is Padwa. This day celebrates the married couple and couples exchange gifts and enjoys the day like an anniversary. The last day is Bhai Duj which celebrates the brother sister relationship. The celebration includes activities for the siblings and often the brother will entertain the sister and celebrate their bond. SMU’s Diwali experience was very interesting. Although I was not fully able to capture the essence of the five-day festival that is held in India, it was very interesting to watch my fellow classmates connect with their culture and traditions. The students expressed their ideas through a series of well-planned danced routines that encompassed the lights and colors that are typical during Diwali in India. The celebration was led by two charismatic Masters of Ceremony, who did a good job of moving the audience members through the somewhat confusing traditions of the celebration. It was started by the singing of the Indian National Anthem then moved onto a series of dance routines and songs all done by SMU students. The students all did an amazing job with these routines and made it seem like a professional show rather than a collegiate celebration. I am very happy that this was a field trip for the class because it introduced me to an event that I would probably never had otherwise gone to, but I still had a great time. I would recommend to anyone to attend next years SMU Diwali.