Diwali Assembly

On the Friday before October half term, we marked the upcoming festival of Diwali. Diwali is the festival of lights and is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains all over the world. We were fortunate to be joined by Ved’s mum and brother and Arvin’s mum as well as Mrs Patel who explained the main activities of the five days, the traditions behind each special day and what these celebrations include and look like. Children learnt that Diwali celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, through the story of Rama, Sita and Hanuman; that Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth is invited to homes which are decorated with rangoli designs and lit with divas (candles). Hindus pray that Goddess Laxmi brings wealth and good fortune in the new year. We learnt that it is 2079 in the Hindu calendar!

Our thanks to Mrs Khandelwal and Mrs Shibu for giving their time so freely and helping us learn more about Diwali. If you celebrated Diwali over the half term break, we hope you had an enjoyable time and would like to say ‘Nutan Varshabhinandan’ to you and your family.