In India, the popular celebration of Diwali is celebrated and associated with various myths depending on which part of India you happen to be in. (Here is the myth of the Dwarf.) But all the myths have one theme in common: It is a celebration of how the forces of light defeat the dark side.
This is why the holiday is celebrated all over India and not just by the Hindus but of people of all faiths. And it is easily adapted to any religion or even any country be it Europe, Africa, or the Americas.
A modern Diwali can incorporate modern myths – for instance – the story of Star Wars. Here we have the Force and the Dark Side of the Force. And just like Ravana who represents the Dark Side of the Force in the Hindu epic The Ramayana, in Star Wars we have Darth Vader.
Click here to see how the Story of Rama is celebrated during Diwali
In the Ramayana, there is the kidnapped princess: Sita. In Star Wars it’s Princess Leia. The heros Rama, Laxmana, and Hanuman rescue Sita from Ravana and his island kingdom of Sri Lanka. While in Star Wars it is Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca who rescue Leia from Darth Vader and his Death Star.
Imagine a celebration where there is a giant effigy of Darth Vader. And where people dress up as Luke Skywalker or Hans Solo and instead of shooting the effigy with fire tipped arrows, they had light sabers.
And I can just imagine that in another time and place in a galaxy not so far far away, the typical Diwali greeting would be “May the Force be with you!”