Diwali

Every year there is a festival called Diwali. It happens at the end of October or early November. This year, it started on October 22. It's a big festival in India. It's like Christmas and 4th of July combined. People gift each other and families get together and eat big meals. People eat lots of sweets (such as laddus and burfis) on Diwali. People also burst firecrackers for 4 days - at least. We only burst firecrackers for 2 days because we were being responsible for the environment.

We were gifted by my friend Siddharth's mom, and the people that live diagonal from us gifted us. So we were gifted by everyone on the seventh floor. My grandmother also gifted me.

There was a big meal at my house on October 23 or 24. Sarayu and Samara (my cousins) came, their grandparents came, my grandmother came, her friends Daniela and Anil came, and my dad's sister Nita came the day before. 

We dressed up in traditional clothes. 
    

We decorated the house with flowers, rangolis, lamps and other diwali decorations.

Nita made rangolis made out of flowers.

Me and Sarayu and Samara helped make puris. Sarayu and Samara made balls from the dough.

My grandmother rolled them into flat circles.

I took the circles a few at a time to the kitchen to my mom and Nita

They fried them.

 The yummy puris were ready. We had a big lunch.

I ate a lot of laddus and barfis.

My cousins and I read a Chota Bheem book with Daniela. I like Chota Bheem. 

 We lit the lamps in the night.

Finally we bursted fireworks and firework rockets.