What a fun-packed week we have had learning about and celebrating Diwali - the Festival of Light!

Diwali is celebrated locally, nationally and globally by Hindus and some Sikhs. Celebrations have been ongoing this week and you may have heard fireworks last night (4th November) as this was the start of the New Year for many people. Many Hindus visit their place of worship called a Mandir to celebrate the festival.

Throughout the school we have shared the story of Diwali and its theme of light overcoming darkness, good overcoming evil. Can you remember the name of the characters in the Diwali story? If you ask us about the story, we can to tell you the key events as we have been retelling this with picture prompts and puppets.

In our RE lessons and topic lessons we enjoyed learning about what makes this time special to so many people and the reasons behind the specific ways of celebrating:

"Rangoli patterns are on the floors near their front doors to welcome people. They're bright and pretty coloured."

"Those lights are called divas to light the way. Rama and Sita found their way back home."

"Lakshmi is the name of the goddess." 

Some children were even able to share their experiences and expertise with us which was fantastic!

"My mum has a special pen. It's henna and she made these patterns on my hands. It stays on for a bit then it washes off. It's called Mehndi."

Our creative activities ranged from making yummy chapatis, cards, Rangoli patterns, decorative diva lamps, Mehndi patterns, playing instruments (including the Dandiya dancing sticks) and even sampling poppadoms. We also enjoyed dressing in traditional dress and talked about fireworks a lot!

What did you enjoy most about learning about Diwali at school?

If you are celebrating Diwali this week - Happy Diwali to you and your family. We certainly enjoyed learning about this festival and how it is celebrated.