President Donald Trump will participate in a Deepavali celebration at the White House on Friday.
In 2009, President Barack Obama became the first president to light a lamp (diya) at the White House, during a ceremony in the East Room. The celebrations are scheduled to be held at the Oval Office, continuing a tradition started by President George W Bush. Vinay Kwatra joined Mr. Trump in the Oval Office to celebrate Deepavali with the traditional lighting of the lamp.
Earlier, the ceremonies were mostly held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the presence of Indian-American community members and Indian diplomats. Since then, lamp lighting ceremonies have been held in various locations in the White House, including the Oval Office and the Roosevelt Room. Last year, India’s Ambassador to the U.S.
