A Diwali To Remember is Barrett and Welsh’s video message for Diwali and Remembrance Day, 2023. In 2023, one of the five days of Diwali 2023 fell on Remembrance Day. We needed to respect both events in a culturally sensitive way when creating our annual Diwali message.

What is Diwali?

Diwali, or Deepavali, is the most important festival (or, as Canadians say, “holiday”) in the Indo-Canadian calendar. It is the Indian festival of light, celebrated with the ceremonial lighting of diyas (oil lamps). It marks the victory of light over darkness and goodness over evil — and the birth of a new era of peace. Millions of diyas are lit in India and by the Indian diaspora globally to symbolize this triumph.

What is Remembrance Day?

Remembrance Day is a Canadian national day of memorial. Ceremonies are held nationally at 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month to remember those who sacrificed their lives in war to obtain peace for all. Wreaths are laid at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and at many War Memorial sites, a flame is lit or tended to in their memory as a bugle plays the Last Post. Millions wear red poppies on their lapels, symbols of the poppies that grew on the fields where Canadian soldiers fell in WWI, as immortalized in the great Canadian poem, In Flanders Fields.

The unlock

Both events commemorate a new era of peace. The warm flame of a diya symbolizes this at Diwali. The red poppy symbolizes this on Remembrance Day. We combined both to create an emblem that symbolizes victory and sacrifice, a device we call the Flaming Poppy. A simple YouTube video featuring this evocatve device marked both events. We shared the video on all the agency’s social media channels with the copy below, accompanied by described video for accessibility: A #Diwali wish for dark times. And a message for #RemembranceDay. A salute to those who sacrificed so much for peace. And a very Happy Diwali to all who fight the darkness with light. From the lamp-lighters at [agency name redacted].