The Diwali Jersey

Not being Hindu means I don't have a complete working knowledge of the culture. I try to learn when the opportunity presents itself, and I would consider myself to always be wanting to learn more. Knowing about other cultures and some of the significant dates is something I feel is important, so when the Canucks unveiled the jersey to the upper-left on Wednesday in honour of Diwali, I knew I had some learning to do as I had never heard of this festival nor knew anything about the meaning behind the celebration.

According to Hindustan Times,

"Diwali or Deepavali is one of the biggest and auspicious festivals celebrated by Hindus all around the globe. The festival of lights signifies peace and joy, the victory of good over evil, and light over darkness every day. It is one of the most symbolic Hindu festivals, and all the communities in the country celebrate it with much pomp. During this festival, people clean their homes, decorate every corner with lights, lamps, diyas, flowers, rangoli, and candles. Families also perform Lakshmi Puja and pray to the Goddess of wealth to bless them with health, wealth, and prosperity."

That sounds like a pretty joyous celebration, but I needed to find confirm the information with other sources to see if my original source was accurate. That led me to Times of India who gave me a good description on the significance of the festival by stating,

"Diwali symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. The lights of Diwali signify a time to destroy all our dark desires and thoughts, eradicated dark shadows and evils and gives us the strength and the zeal to carry on with our goodwill for the rest of the year."

This sounds like a festival that a lot of planet could use right about now, so having it celebrated yesterday seems appropriate. That being said, the Canucks were wearing their specially-designed Diwali jerseys during warmup tonight against the Nashville Predators, and so let's take a look at the design and everything behind these one-of-a-kind jerseys.

Jag Nagra, a visual artist from Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, had been contacted by the Canucks regarding the design of the Diwali jersey, and she jumped at the opportunity to design it. The only rule the Canucks had was that Nagra was to use use its classic "stick in rink" logo as a starting point. Everything else in terms of design was up to her when it came to what she imagined for the jersey.

"I immediately started thinking of imagery that was part of my life growing up, with things to do with Diwali," Nagra told CBC's The Early Edition. Nagra's final design was a "reimagined logo incorporating symbols familiar to the festival, like colourful fireworks, sparklers, a lotus flower and a mustard plant". The final design, in this writer's opinion, is pretty awesome, and it seems that I'm not the only one who thinks that as there was a celebrity hunting for one of these jerseys.

Will trade a vase for one of these! (Size large? Can only be bought in person in Vancouver) https://t.co/UHEC4KfGG3

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) November 5, 2021

Nagra made a very good point in a comment to Ben Miljure of CTV News in stating, ""Representation is so important, and if I had seen this sort of representation when I was a kid watching the Canucks it would have done a lot for me."

It's that kind of comment that makes me realize that we have a long way to go in hockey in terms of building bridges and forging relationships where hockey isn't part of the culture. Celebrating Diwali, which is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists around the world, is a great start for welcoming those cultures to hockey, and it's my hope that this won't be the last time that Diwali and its imagery is seen on an NHL jersey.

This is the kind of hockey culture we should be encouraging as we learn about other cultures, share in celebrations and festivals, and build bonds through hockey. Personally, I would never have known about Diwali had it not been for the Canucks choosing to recognize this rather important festival, and I'm glad they made that decision because I feel I know a little more about a culture to which I have very little exposure. I fhockey can use its reach to bring hockey fans of all backgrounds together, we should endorse that idea wholeheartedly.

I know it's been a tough week for hockey culture after everything that has gone on, and it's likely we'll see more instances of terrible behaviour before the month is out. However, seeing a night like tonight where the Canucks embrace a culture to which I'm guessing very few hockey fans across the continent are privy gives me hope that the game can be used for good in bringing people together.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!