This week at The Children’s House we will be learning about Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which originated in India, which falls this year on Saturday 14th November. This is a wonderful occasion which celebrates the victory of light over dark, and good over evil; we will be learning about all the different preparations and rituals that are practised at this time such as the lighting of lamps, the cleaning of houses to let go of unnecessary things and worries, and the wearing of new clothes to mark the beginning of a new journey by forgetting all the troubles of the past and stepping into the light.

During the week the children will make a version of rangoli (an Indian art form in which patterns are created on the floor or the ground using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals, usually done during Hindu festivals), do yoga, and also make firework glitter art, at the end of this lovely week of art, craft and culture!

This Diwali (poem)

Let the firecrackers burn your sorrows
Candles light up your life
Colours make your life bright
With flowers filling in the fragrance
All day and night.