Can a Christian celebrate the Hindu Diwali festival?
It was Diwali time in India and dusk was settling over the village of Dipri in Uttar Pradesh. Victor Pakraj, a Christian missionary from Madras, walked along the street to his home. Although lights twinkled merrily from the little clay-pot lamps decorating most of the homes, they did nothing to lighten his mood. Actually, those lamps symbolized what was vexing him!
Victor was looking for an answer to a question which 14-year-old Dhuwarak Prasad had asked the night before. As always, Dhuwarak's voice had been respectful when he spoke. His eyes, however, had a pleading look as he asked, "Why can't we light our house with beautiful little lamps and decorate our rooms at Diwali? Or, if we can't do it at our Hindu festival, could we do it at Christmas time?"Mr. and Mrs. Pakraj had moved from Tamilnadu to Dipri two years ago. They began their missionary ministry by holding a Vacation Bible School. A handful of boys and girls had showed up, all of them from the Harijan community (an "untouchable" group that ranked at the bottom of society). During that summer, a number of those boys and girls had accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. Among them was twelve-year-old Dhuwarak Prasad. Because Dhuwarak's parents had seen some positive changes in their son's life, they had been happy at his conversion. Mr. and Mrs. Prasad eventually decided that they, too, would become Christians. So, they had come to the missionaries and were led to faith in Jesus Christ.
This had happened a few months before the annual Hindu festival of Diwali, a celebration commemorating the victory of Lord Krishna over the evil Narkasura. [ visual representation of Lord Krishna ]
The missionaries were encouraged by the Prasads' conversion and did their best to strengthen them in the faith. They visited the Prasads often and had them over to their own home as well. When the Prasads had become Christians, they had been socially ostracized by the other Harijans. Thus, the fellowship of the missionaries filled a void.
As Diwali approached, the villagers began to decorate their homes, preparing little clay lamps they would place all around them. To celebrate the festival, many people thatched their huts with new grass and bought new clothing. As Diwali approached, however, the Prasads were depressed. For the first time they could remember at Diwali time, their home was going to be dark and undecorated. It didn't help their mood that Mr. and Mrs. Pakraj were away visiting a neighboring village.
Finally, the evening before Diwali was to begin, the missionaries returned. The Prasad family had immediately gone over to welcome them back. It was while they were sitting together and Mrs. Pakraj was preparing the evening meal that Dhuwarak had asked his disturbing question. Mr. Pakraj had said he needed a little time to think and pray about his response. So, he invited the Prasad family to come again the following evening when they would discuss it some more.
As Victor neared his own home the next evening, he still was not sure exactly what he would say to the Prasads. He did remember hearing that the first Christians in Europe had begun to celebrate the birth of Christ during a pagan Winter Festival. The Christians had picked that time because many of them were servants and their masters gave them some days off during that festival. It was Victor's understanding that Christians had taken the pagan symbol of an evergreen tree decorated with lights and turned it into a symbol of their own evergreen hope for eternal life because of Jesus' coming into the world.
Could a similar reinterpretation be made of the Hindu festival of Diwali which also celebrates a victory of good over evil? He wondered if there was a way that something in the Diwali festival could become one of those "redemptive analogies" which Don Richardson had written about? Perhaps.
Victor Pakraj felt it was important for new converts to make a clear break with Hinduism. If they did not draw clear distinctions between Hinduism and Christianity, the Christian community would likely wind up being absorbed under Hinduism's inclusive umbrella. If that happened, the distinctiveness of Christ and the evangelical witness to His saving power would be blurred and quickly lost.
On the other hand, Victor also knew that he must help the Prasad family find a way to restore the joy of their salvation. He wondered how to do that. What relevance, if any, did Diwali have for Christian believers? Finally, Victor decided . . .This case study is an edited version of one by Simon P. David which appeared in Case Studies in Missions, edited by Paul and Frances Hiebert, Baker Book House, 1987. It may be reproduced only by paying a 35-cent per copy royalty to Baker Book House, PO Box 6787, Grand Rapids, MI 49516 USA
What is Diwali? Click here to go to a Hindu site with explanations
A future missionary on a Peace Corps' assignment experiences Diwali
"The Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, was last Tuesday. On the night before, there was a parade here in New Nickerie. Hundreds of people carrying candles walked along the parade route along with cars, tractors and even a couple boats covered in Christmas-type lighting. It was neat to see so many people from the community involved in something like this. That is something that doesn't happen very often.
"At dusk, the Hindus put out all types of lights around their homes. The most common type were small clay pots filled with coconut oil. By tradition, the Hindu families stay up until all of their lights burn out. As it got dark, I could see were lights everywhere. It was beautiful. I even put out candles at my house.
"Almost everyone from the clinic where I work asked me to stop by their house that next day. Though they must stay home to observe the holiday, they usually ask friends of other faiths to come visit them. I only made it to two houses, but I was sent home with enough food for the week."
-- Dalene RovenstineIs language one of God's gifts?
Historian John Lukacs has an interesting perspective on language. [ read more ]
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