For Second Time in History, Supervisors Officially Recognize Diwali
Hahn will celebrate at the Diwali Festival in Cerritos this weekend
Hahn participates in the 2022 Inaugural SoCal Diwali Festival in Cerritos Community Regional Park
Los Angeles, CA (October 3, 2023) –For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has officially recognized Diwali, the Festival of Lights that is observed by more than one billion people around the world. Last year, Supervisor Janice Hahn led the effort to have the County recognize Diwali for the first time in history.
“Diwali is a beautiful holiday that families across our communities celebrate, and I thought it was important that we once again recognize it as a County,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “I am looking forward to celebrating this weekend at the second annual Diwali Festival in Don Knabe Community Regional Park in Cerritos and my colleagues and I wish our Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist residents across Los Angeles County a happy Diwali.”
Today, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, recognizing Diwali and encouraging support for Diwali festivals taking place across the County.
“Diwali – the Festival of Lights is the most important and the single most celebrated festival by nearly 90% of Indians across the world,” said Deepak “DJ” Jhaveri, who serves on the Board of Trustees for the Radha Krisha Mandir temple. “What Christmas is to Christians and Catholics, Diwali is to Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. It’s the triumph of good over evil. It’s not just the Festival of Lights, but also a time for reflection, self-discipline, and devotion to God, and it is also a time for giving back to the community and those in need. Radha Krishna Mandir (the oldest Hindu temple on the west of the Mississippi and the third oldest in North America) was keen to bring Diwali to mainstream America and we are grateful to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn for partnering us to make our dream come true. And the Board of Directors and Trustees of Radha Krishna Mandir are thrilled that Supervisor Hahn today passed a motion (for the second year in a row), officially recognizing Diwali in Los Angeles County. This is surely a very big deal for us and we are grateful to Supervisor Hahn for this.”
On Saturday, October 7, Supervisor Janice Hahn will join community members at the 2nd Annual SoCal Diwali Festival in Don Knabe Community Regional Park in Cerritos. Hahn’s office is sponsoring the event in partnership with the Radha Krishna Mandir Temple in Norwalk and will address festival attendees in the early evening.
