![\"Peter](\"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/PAGE-DIWALI-02.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>\u201cThis year, I was honored to kindle the first-ever diya<\/i> in the Oval Office\u2014a lamp that symbolizes how darkness will always be overcome by light. It is a tradition that I hope future Presidents will continue,\u201d Obama said on the White House Facebook page, which became viral on the social media.<\/p>\n
By late night it was liked by more than 1.5 lakh people and shared more than 33,000 times.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn behalf of the entire Obama family, I wish you and your loved ones peace and happiness on this Diwali,\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo all who are celebrating the festival of lights across America and around the world, happy Diwali. As Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists light the diya<\/i>, share in prayers, decorate their homes, and open their doors to host and feast with loved ones, we recognize that this holiday rejoices in the triumph of good over evil and knowledge over ignorance,\u201d said the President.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also speaks to a broader truth about our shared American experience. It\u2019s a reminder of what\u2019s possible when we see beyond the differences that too often divide us. It\u2019s a reflection of the hopes and dreams that bind us together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Obama said that it is a time to renew collective obligation to deepen those bonds, to stand in each other\u2019s shoes and see the world through each other\u2019s eyes, and to embrace each other as brothers and sisters\u2014and as fellow Americans.<\/p>\n Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has a large fan following in the Indian American community, greeted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains across the world on the occasion of Diwali.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Sunday, nearly a billion Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists around the world\u2014including more than two million Americans\u2014will celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights.<\/p>\n For members of these faiths, lighting the lamp (the diya<\/i>) is a reminder that light prevails over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil,\u201d Clinton said.<\/p>\n Diwali Celebrations Galore at the UN, Diya lit for 1<\/b>st<\/sup><\/b> Time<\/b><\/p>\n UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson lit the traditional lamp at a ceremony, Oct. 31, to celebrate Diwali at the UN Secretariat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe #Diwali Diya<\/i> is lighted @UN for 1st time. Thank you Ambassador Thomson for your open embrace of multiculturalism,\u201d India’s Ambassador to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.<\/p>\n The Diwali celebrations at the UN included Indian dance and music performances as traditional Indian fare was served for UN diplomats and officials.<\/p>\n \u201cIndia Artists performing Fusion Dance on the occasion of Diwali,\u201d India\u2019s mission to the UN tweeted along with a video of the dance performance.<\/p>\n Diwali was commemorated for the first time at the United Nations, as the world body\u2019s imposing headquarters was lit up especially on the occasion of the Indian festival of lights.<\/p>\n The UN\u2019s facade was lit in bright hues and the words \u201cHappy Diwali\u201d along with the image of a traditional diya<\/i> (lamp) projected onto the building. The image was displayed from October 29-31.<\/p>\n It is for the first time that the Indian festival of lights has been celebrated at the UN after it was recognized by the world body.<\/p>\n \u201cHappy Diwali! @UN celebrates Diwali for 1st time. Thank you for this initiative,\u201d Akbaruddin had tweeted.<\/p>\n The UN General Assembly had adopted a resolution in December 2014 that acknowledged the \u201csignificance of Diwali.\u201d<\/p>\n Noting that the festival is observed in many UN member states, the resolution had called on UN bodies to avoid holding meetings on Diwali, declaring it a no-meeting day.<\/p>\n From 2016 onwards, Diwali was made an optional holiday for the UN, India’s Permanent Mission to the UN said in a special video message.<\/p>\n Thomson had also tweeted a picture of the UN building lit up in bright blue for Diwali and said, \u201cLight over darkness, hope over despair, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil\u2014the UN lights up. Happy Diwali!\u201d<\/p>\n City residents had flocked to the UN headquarters in large numbers to take a photo of the first-ever such projection on the building.<\/p>\n Earlier this year in June, the UN building was lit up on the occasion of the International Yoga Day, with images of Yoga postures projected on the imposing headquarters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Barack Obama lighting the Diwali lamp in the Oval Office. (Facebook) President Barack Obama celebrated Diwali by lighting a diya in the Oval Office of the White House for the first time and hoped that his successors would continue the tradition, writes Lalit K. Jha. A Diwali diya was lit at the UN headquarters,…<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>