Diversity in Lynnfield – Halloween, Diwali and Hanukkah – By Aditya Shrivastava, Lynnfield Middle School

As we can see more and more new families move into Lynnfield, Lynnfield is getting more diverse everyday. As a kid whose parents are first generation immigrants from India, I have a front row seat in how it feels to live in two very different cultures. We celebrate Diwali, Hanukkah as well as Halloween in the same time of the year with equal fervor. As my father says, we are lucky to have lived in two ultimate democratic countries with the freedom of expression that every person deserves in the world. 

In India, there is plenty of diversity, as every state in India has different food, language and culture. People from North India speak completely different languages than people in South India but we still live together happily as one. India has largest Muslim population in the world and we leave peacefully with each other. We celebrate Diwali, Eid, and Christmas with equal enthusiasm in India. The game of Cricket binds all of India together.

In America, there are also a variety of different races that live here. We have people from all over the world come here and live in the American way where exciting opportunities await for every one. One of the most exciting facts about diversity is that in New York city, people from every country in the world live closer to home, Boston is one of the most diverse cities in the USA. We can see Lynnfield is also getting diverse day by day as more and more Indian and other families are moving in. It says a lot about our leaders in Lynnfield who have made Lynnfield a very attractive town to live in with the best schools and a very safe place for kids.

As my father says, we are lucky to have immigrated to the ultimate melting pot and used the opportunities here to live a good and privileged life. At the same time, we should not forget the less fortunate one who don’t have easy lives. In recent years, we have seen mass displacement of population in the world because of war and other unfortunate events. When refugee children come to live in a totally new country, they don’t have an easy transition, they have to live through lots of hardship initially. In the time of happiness, we should not forget about less fortunate kids.

Now back to our neck of the woods – Lynnfield. As more and more Indian families move in, my brother, Avi and I want to make a case for a school holiday on the occasion of Diwali every year. Schools and Lexington, Shrewsbury, Ashland have already started to observe Diwali with a day off. We also celebrate Yom Kippur and Hanukkah with a holiday, we should have a holiday on the occasion of Diwali too. We will make a case for it in one of the school committee meetings. I also want to thank the school committee for allowing us to do a donation drive in Nov for refugee kids.

To summarize, we are lucky and privileged to have lived in a small town like Lynnfield. As we celebrate holidays, we should not forget less fortunate refugee kids. My brother and I have started a non-profit to help refugee kids. Please take a look and help: https://www.safehavenskids.org