Rotorua will once again celebrate the richness of Deepawali festival on Saturday, 6 October 2012 at the Rotorua Convention Centre. This year the theme of the festival is ‘Unity in Diversity‘.
In the first year, a message of healthy lifestyle and care for the environment was promoted through Smoke-free, Alcohol-free and Meat-free festival, which is also in accordance with Hindu cultural practice. In the following years, the themes were Hindu Maori relations, Developing Youth Leadership, and Women Empowerment, respectively.
Deepawali, a well-known Hindu festival, is not only celebrated by people of India, but also by Hindu people of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Fiji and many other countries. In an increasingly multi-cultural New Zealand not only Hindus from all over the world, but all communities participate in events like Deepawali and share their cultures with each other.