Diwali is celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world each year. The festival marks new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness.

While many in the U.K. will be celebrating Diwali, it can mean a lot more for some people than it does for others. Remaining connected to your family’s culture, religion or heritage can be tough depending on the environment you are brought up in.

Your relationship with Diwali could be strong, or it could be something that you do not even bother marking in your calendar. There could be pressure from your family or even yourself to properly respect your faith and background.

In this article, we have spoken to Vivek, a 28-year-old man with a Hindu and Indian background. We have changed his name to protect his anonymity. He talked to Kooth as someone struggling to find his place with Diwali, about his relationship with the festival and what it means to him…

How much connection do you still have to your heritage?

Vivek: I do still feel a connection to my heritage. I know some people who are from the same background as me celebrate more but the ones we do celebrate are usually just as a close family. So we celebrate Brother and Sister Day (a Hindu festival that celebrates brother-sister bonds) and we do Diwali just as a family meal, lighting candles and just spending time with each other, which makes it feel a lot more personal.

Have you ever felt like you should be doing more?

Vivek: I do feel like I should be doing more. I don’t want to lose my heritage as it is something special and something that is unique to me. I feel like I’m getting a bit too relaxed with it and almost like I’m going to lose it if I don’t celebrate things as much or do things I shouldn’t be doing. My mum definitely thinks I should be celebrating more and doing more but she’s not entirely innocent either – she is losing it a bit as well.

You mentioned you will be doing Diwali this year, what’s your connection to the celebration like?

Vivek: Diwali is coming up and it is the day of Diwali and the Indian New Year, both on the same weekend. So we’ll celebrate the Indian New Year first, we’ll go to our grandparents and say Sal Mubarak, which means happy new year. Then we’ll have a meal and just all get together really. I will probably see my step-family, so see my step-brothers and step-sisters and nephews. Then we’ll light candles in the night but we won’t go all out like some people do. We won’t light fireworks and do an all-singing-all-dancing event. We’ll keep it lowkey. Maybe because we are losing it a bit but mostly because we want to keep it more in-house and between us.

Do you feel like there is pressure on you to celebrate things more or do more things connected to your heritage?

Vivek: The pressure is there. My mum and grandparents would both like me to do a lot more. It’s just the whole idea of staying connected to my heritage that they’d like me to do. I get where they are coming from now that I’m a bit older and I get what they mean about staying in touch with what I have and what they have. They don’t want me to lose it and neither do I, as it is something that will be lost forever if I don’t keep it up.

I will keep doing Diwali and other events. More for cultural reasons than religious ones, as I am not really religious. I understand the symbolic nature of doing these things and am happy that I do get to take part in them.