The White House on Wednesday afternoon will commemorate the Hindu holiday of Diwali, and St. Olaf College religion professor Anantanand Rambachan again will deliver the invocation address — as he did at the first observance last year.
Gopal Khanna of Edina, chief financial officer for the Peace Corps, is among the invited guests.
Diwali, the festival of light, is the culmination of a season of Hindu festivals and is the most widely celebrated observance in the Hindu world. Diwali traditionally is in October or November on the last day of the last month of the lunar calendar, although the date of its observation varies throughout the world.
"While the stories and traditions associated with Diwali are many, the one central symbol of the festival is light, representing God, goodness, wisdom and happiness," Rambachan said. "Across religions and cultures, light is identified with life, hope and faith persisting in the midst of despair and evil."
The ceremony will be at 1 p.m. CST in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Presidential adviser Karl Rove represented President Bush at last year's gathering with about 100 guests.