Faith Celebrations - Diwali

Diwali festival decorations

Diwali, or Dipawali, is one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism and is India's most important holiday celebrating new beginnings and the Hindu New Year. The date for this five-day-long celebration varies year to year as it is dependent on the Hindu lunar calendar, but this year it will be celebrated on 12 November.

Diwali is as important to many Hindus, Sikhs and Jains as Christmas is to many Christians. Each religion has a slightly different interpretation of the Diwali story but all celebrate this as a festival of lights - where light has won over darkness, good has triumphed over evil and hope over despair. Indians will light up the outside of their homes, watch fireworks, spend time together, feast and exchange gifts.

To help children mark the festival of Diwali, here are 6 simple ideas of ways to celebrate at school. Perhaps these activities can act as the starting point for a wider discussion about faith and worldviews (see further resources below).

1. Put on a performance

Organise a Rama and Sita themed play or dance performance for Diwali. Putting on a performance as part of your Diwali celebration can help bring all the class together and create a memorable experience. The story of Rama rescuing Sita from the demon King Ravana has particular significance at Diwali and teaches the children about how good triumphs over evil.

2. Create rangoli patterns from rice, beans and lentils

Celebrating Diwali as a festival lights

Rangoli are decorative Indian art designs which are drawn on the floor at the entrance of each house to welcome guests during Diwali. The designs can be made up of chalks, coloured rice, lentils, beans, coloured sand and flour. They are usually circular designs with rotational symmetry therefore drawing rangoli patterns is a creative way to teach some maths. Students will need to get out their rulers to plan their designs. Get some inspiration here.

3. Light up the classroom

This is the festival of light, the victory of light over darkness. Get the class busy decorating their classroom. They could make simple paper lanterns, print pictures of Diwali and stick them to the walls, draw rangoli patterns and display them around the class.

4. Make Diwali cards

Like Christmas, Diwali is about connecting with friends and family and giving gifts and sharing. Why not get the children to make some Diwali-themed cards that they can give to each other and display around the class. They could be based on the rangoli patterns or the characters they've learnt about in the stories.

5. Eat sweets!

Few children will argue with this one. Sweets play an important part of the Diwali celebrations as family and friends get together to eat and cook. Get the children to do some research into simple Diwali sweets and try and make a few. They could try this very easy recipe for doodh-peda which requires no baking and only a few ingredients.

6. Learn about family

The final day of Diwali is Bhai Bhij and is a celebration of siblings. On this day brothers and sisters will come together and exchange gifts and focus on their family ties. This is an opportunity to have discussions about siblings. Children could create a family tree and talk about what their siblings mean to them. Those without siblings could talk about other family members who are like siblings to them, maybe cousins or family friends.

Using Lyfta to support further discussions about different faith, culture and community

Trailer to Becoming Me Storyworld

Talking about and celebrating different religious festivals at school is a great way to start a conversation about different faiths, cultures and communities. To take the discussion further take a look at Lyfta's Becoming Me series. This series of storyworlds centres around the lives of six young people from Denmark who come from different communities and have differing faiths and worldviews. We see how each of them approaches growing up, practising faith and being part of a community. The teaching resources (including 12 lesson and assembly plans) emphasise the diversity within and across religious traditions and illustrate the national context of the worldviews featured.

Each child's identity, worldview and sense of belonging are complex. Tackling these themes with students can be challenging, but it can also lead to impactful discussions that have cross-curricular value - particularly as part of religious education, but also as part of PSHE, citizenship, or any subject where discussing identity is relevant. Exploring these themes also gives teachers the opportunity to highlight the diverse ways in which people can express their identities and worldviews.

Lyfta resources for subscribers

Below are links to lesson plans and resources for RE that subscribers can use in the classroom. Not yet a Lyfta subscriber? Join a free training webinar for 30 days of free access.

Primary RE - Religion, peace and conflict

How do we show respect to others — even when we don't agree? - Respectful disagreement
What is peace and how can we create it? The art of living in peace
How can different religious communities live in harmony? Mohammed's garden
What are the similarities and differences between religious perspectives? Comparing perspectives: faith and belief

Secondary RE: Comparing world religions

How do Muslims practice their faith? - Muslim practices and beliefs Part 1
How do Muslims practice their faith (2)? - Muslim practices and beliefs Part 2
How do Christians practice their faith? - Christian prayer and worship Part 1
How do Christians practice their faith (2)? Christian prayer and worship Part 2
What are Jewish beliefs and practices? Exploring Judaism Part 1 🚦
What are Jewish beliefs and practices (2)? Exploring Judaism Part 2🚦

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