Beginning around 5 p.m. Monday, children and adults trickled into a large, brightly lit hall at the BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir in Tigard . Tables were neatly arranged with bright tablecloths and trays holding rice grains, flowers, candles and other items used in a centuries-old ritual marking the Hindu New Year.

By the time the ceremony began at 5:30 p.m., more than 250 people had gathered for Chopda Pujan, a sacred Diwali tradition in which devotees sanctify their account books, ledgers and even laptops for the year ahead.

“It’s really a journal of your positives and negatives for the year,” said Avi Patel, communications and outreach coordinator for the temple. “What you’re doing is symbolically closing those books and blessing the books for the upcoming year. The emphasis behind

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