Celebrating Diwali in your school
Celebrating Diwali in your school
This year, Diwali is on Monday 24th October 2022. Diwali (also known as the ‘Festival of lights’) is a celebration of good triumphing over evil; of light over darkness. During the festival, the story of Rama and Sita, which is found in the holy book, the Ramayana is retold. The story is retold to commemorate Prince Rama's triumphant return to his kingdom.
Diwali is the perfect celebration to encourage inclusivity in your school. Celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs all over the world, the festival lasts a period of five days – but is usually celebrated on the 3rd day.
How is Diwali celebrated?
Hindus prepare for Diwali by cleaning their houses and then decorating them with lights and oil lamps called diyas. As well as a reminder that light triumphs over darkness, Hindus place lamps at their windows to help the goddess, Lakshmi, find her way to their homes. Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Hindus hope that she will bless them with prosperity in the year to come. It is said that Lakshmi likes cleanliness, so the cleanest homes are visited first!
Rangoli is the Sanskrit word for ‘row of colours’. Rangoli patterns are created using rice, flour and other coloured powders. Flowers, grains and pulses can also be used. These beautiful patterns are often drawn at the entrance to homes to welcome the gods and to ward off evil.
This could be a perfect opportunity for you to provide your school with coloured powders so that your teachers and classes can create different patterns. Not only will this create a sense of inclusion for anyone celebrating Diwali in school, but this will get students talking about it and working collaboratively.
Other activities
As well as Rangoli patterns, there are plenty of other ways you can help celebrate Diwali in school. Check out our other ideas to get everyone involved and learning about new celebrations.
Read a Diwali-themed story
A great way to teach students about religious celebrations is by reading a story about them. Not only will this get children engaged, but it will get them to ask questions too.
Arts and crafts
A great way to encourage the Diwali festival is arts and crafts. As it’s a festival of light, why not make some lanterns that students can take home? This will get them talking about why they have made these lanterns in school, and they can share with their families what they have learned about Diwali. Check out our lantern pack that you can give to your teachers and students can decorate themselves.
Create a display
Using the crafts that students have made for Diwali, why not create a display with all the information about the celebration? Using our Diwali resource and display pack is the ideal way to get students learning. They can learn about the traditions, stories and celebrations that surround one of the most popular festivals around the world.
Facts about Diwali
Here at GLS, we want to provide you with facts that you can share in your school to bring everyone together for Diwali. We have sourced some facts that you may not know yourself.
- Diwali is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the Hindu month of Kartika.
- The celebrations take place over five days, which are: Dhanteras (Day of fortune), Naraka Chaturdashi (Day of knowledge), Diwali (Day of light), Annakut (New Year) and Bhai Duj (Day of love between siblings).
- More than 800 million people celebrate the festival in various ways.
- Traditionally, people go out and buy new clothes specifically for Diwali.
- Other religions such as Jainism and Sikhism also celebrate Diwali.
- In the United Kingdom, the city of Leicester holds the largest Diwali celebration outside of India.
- ‘Shubh Deepavali’ is a greeting associated with Diwali - it means ‘Have an auspicious Diwali’.
- There are some similarities between Christmas traditions and Diwali traditions. In India, many people go shopping for gifts for themselves, family and friends during Diwali – a bit like Christmas shopping in the UK. Just as many Christian families do on Christmas day, Hindu families may put on their best clothes.
Celebrating Diwali in school is important for everyone. For anyone in your school, staff or students, that celebrate this festival, it would be great to have everyone involved and learning. Inclusivity is vital in schools and having a day where you celebrate a religious festival is the best way. You may not know much about it as an SBM but reading our facts and activities and sharing them with your school is just as important as the students doing them.
Let us know how your school celebrates Diwali by getting in touch on Twitter. We’d love to see any creations you have made.
