Diwali means ‘row of lights’ and is a five-day festival of lights, celebrated by more than 800 million Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world.  In the United Kingdom, the city of Leicester hosts the largest Diwali celebration outside of India.

The festival celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.  The lights you see in Diwali can be of any kind – diyas, tea lights, fairy lights, candles and decorative lanterns. Most homes usually use a mix of all kinds, and you can create some gorgeous combinations with them!  People also celebrate Diwali with fireworks, gifts and food.

Activities

Find out more: Diwali – CBeebies – BBC; Dipal’s Diwali | Twinkl Originals – Diwali for Kids! – YouTube

Make salt dough Diva lamps.

The lamps are placed around the home and in gardens to invite in the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi.

What you need:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of salt
• 1 cup of water
• food colouring (optional)
• large mixing bowl
• paint
• eco-glitter and sequins
• tea light candles

What you do:

1. Mix together the flour and salt in the mixing bowl.
2. Add 5-10 drops of food colouring to 1 cup of water.
3. Stir the water into the flour mixture in the large bowl.
4. Knead the dough together – it should be soft and pliable.
5. Give each child a lump of salt dough – about the size of their palm
6. Mould it and roll it into a ball.
7. Press into the centre of the ball with your thumb to make a hollow large enough to hold a small tea light candle.
8. Leave the dough to air-dry or dry in an oven set to a low temperature (120˚C-150˚C). The time the dough takes to dry will depend on the size and thickness of your creations.
9. Once dry, paint the diva lamps bright colours and sprinkle on some glitter and sequins for extra sparkle when the paint is still wet.
10. When the decorations are dry, place a small tea light candle inside.

Tips – Adults should supervise lighting the candles or battery operated tea lights could be used as an alternative.

Fairy Light Wall

Create a Fairy Light Wall.  Flickering lights are the main theme of Diwali celebrations.  Using fairy lights and memorable photos with your loved ones to make wall decoration.

Have a go at Henna/Mendhi Art, a body art tradition where intricate patterns are drawn onto the hands and arms.  It’s part of the celebration of Diwali, but it’s also said to be a general good luck charm – Indian weddings have a ceremony the night before the wedding to wish the bride good health and prosperity.  Henna, popularly known as Mehndi, is one of the most natural forms of hair colours.  It is a plant that grows in hot, dry climates. Its leaves are dried and ground into a fine powder that’s made into a paste and is used to colour hair, skin and fingernails.

Top tips: You can use washable pens or draw an outline of your hand and design your artwork on paper.

Rangoli Patterns

During Diwali, people encourage the goddess of wealth Lakshmi to enter their homes by drawing bright patterns on the floor near the entrance to a house. Traditionally, they’re created using chalk, sand or rice grains.  Try Rangoli Inspired Sand Art.

What you need:

• scoops
• coloured sand

What you do:

1.     Explore some Rangoli patterns.

2.    Let yourself go with your own creations.

Top tips: use glue and black paper to create your sand art if you can’t leave your patterns at your entrance or use fallen leaves and other nature finds to create blow away Rangoli inspired nature art.

Mango Lassi (makes 2 glasses)

The smells, tastes and sights of Diwali are fun to explore.  Find some Diwali recipes for Chapattis, Spicy rice, Chicken curry, Coconut squares or Mango Lassi. An ancient drink, believed to have healing properties, calming the stomach and the mind. Lassis were usually enjoyed after a meal to help aid digestion.

What you need:

• 1 cup cubed canned, ripe fresh or frozen mango
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 teaspoons honey, more or less to taste
• Dash ground cardamom (optional)
• Ice, optional for a hot day/milkshake consistency

What you do:

1. Put the mango, yogurt, milk, honey and cardamom into a blender and blend for 2 minutes. Serve with a sprinkle of cardamom.

Top tips: supervise cubing the mango and use of blender.