Diwali and what it meant...

This Diwali my in laws were over, it is also my first diwali post wedding. The good thing is that in my religion and Pojj's it is considered a big thing to have your first Diwali after your wedding. Something like first Christmas together...I think..
So me and Pojj before marrying each other understood that there would be some differences in the way some festivals are celebrated because we are from different religions. And yes, we peacefully agreed to respect the other persons feelings not out of anything, but plain maturity to atleast try and understand as well as stand by. It hasn't been difficult....
It was understood that since ma in law was here (women take a lead when it comes to pooja/ traditional things - atleast this is how it is for me and Pojj both) there would be pooja, aarti. I can gladly say I learnt it to an extent, since it was my first time and I also got my mom on a call and me and Pojj heard her ardaas (prayer in punjabi) .
The approach is different, but both prayers are followed by lighting the diyas at the end. I learnt that I am much happier if I am not forced into something, I would love to learn if I am not pushed, and I would respect the prayers if mine get their due when they deserve it. All this happened cuz Pojj makes it easy and so does his family, they dont push, they dont force. I would have resented if such feelings came from someone from my own religion too.
At the end of the day, I learnt that our expectations from each other are way ahead of just respecting each others religion. We choose to make life simple by not complicating it over such matters. We choose to stand by our loved ones. We choose to stay together almost three years ago....and we certainly did the right thing. :)