Divali

Next Tuesday is the beginning of Divali. I was recently in Leicester and driving along Belgrave Road (‘The Golden Mile’), it was great to see all of the preparations underway and the fantastic light displays being put up. Divali is one of the major Indian festivals and lasts for five days, the fourth day of which is the Hindu New Year. Today it is also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains and the Buddhists of Nepal.

There are loads of great resources and activity ideas for Divali related lessons available out there. This page from Woodland’s Junior School gives a great overview, there are recipe details for special Divali dishes here, and you can send a Divali e-card from this page.

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/an2/

Divali actually means ‘rows of lighted lamps’, and relates to the story of Rama and Sita’s homecoming after they were banished to a forest for fourteen years. The people of Ayodhya lit divas (oil lamps) in rows to guide the couple back to the city where Rama was crowned king. During Divali Hindus believe that Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, will be attracted by the lamps and visit them to bring good luck in the coming year. This clip from the gallery is a useful introduction to the festival. 

Title of clip	Divali Celebrations
Curriculum location	Primary Module A  >  Religious Education  >  Key stage 2  >  Unit 3B: How and why do Hindus celebrate Divali?  >  Section 2: Why do Hindus have divas?
Description	Hindus celebrate Divali festival of lights: the gods Rama and Sita return to their Kingdom at Divali, they were guided home by rows of lit divas, it is a celebration of good over evil, fireworks are set-off, evil is banished.
Duration	36 seconds

 

Please note that this is an example clip provided through our YouTube channel and does not reflect the actual quality of clips in the gallery