DIWALI EDITION Issue #

Diwali at Little Peoples Place & Kidz ‘R’ Us

July 2016

CELEBRATING DIWALI AT SPEARWOOD NOVEMBER 2016

One of the most significant festivals in Indian culture, Diwali, the festival of lights, sees millions attend firework displays, prayers and celebratory events across the world.

Diwali is the five-day festival of lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. The festival, which coincides

with the Hindu New Year, celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. The festival usually falls between the middle of October and the middle of November, although this is decided upon by the Hindu lunar calendar. While each faith has its own reason to celebrate the festival, one of the most popular stories

told is the legend of Lord Rama and his wife Sita returning to their kingdom in northern India from exile after defeating the demon king Ravanna in the 15th century BC.

All our centers celebrated Diwali traditionally and beautifully.

Diwali: What is the festival of lights and how is it celebrated around the world?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/guy-fawkes-vs-diwali-battle-of-bonfire-night-2125672.html?origin=internalSearchhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/guy-fawkes-vs-diwali-battle-of-bonfire-night-2125672.html?origin=internalSearchhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/guy-fawkes-vs-diwali-battle-of-bonfire-night-2125672.html?origin=internalSearchhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/guy-fawkes-vs-diwali-battle-of-bonfire-night-2125672.html?origin=internalSearch

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How was Diwali celebrated in our centers ? It was a very traditional Diwali Celebration at LPP Spearwood. Educator Soo who is of Indian origin shared with the children the traditional practices on this special day. Diwali is a celebration of the victory of good over evil. The children learnt that on this day Hindus go to the temple, light up Diyas and draw special colored drawings on the front of their house called Rangolis to welcome their friends and relatives who will visit each other and enjoy scrumptious Indian food!

We also made our own Rangoli designs with paints and paper. We had beautiful Indian music on and diyas and an incense cone lit in the rooms. We also learnt how to say hello in tamil (Vanakkam) and did some Indian dancing.

At Byford Evans way, the children enjoyed firework activities and dressing up which was a great addition to the sensory activities that have been in place in the baby’s room.

Learning outcome - children explore the diversity of culture, heritage, background and tradition and that diversity presents opportunities for choices and new understandings.

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What was eaten during Diwali at our centers ? The food most closely

associated with the festival

is Indian sweets, which

come in a range of colours

and flavours. The

celebration however

features various rich

savoury and sweet dishes,

and our children were

delighted to try these new

foods. To get our day

started we had yummy

appam for morning tea,

lamb curry for lunch and

everyone’s favourite…

samosas for afternoon

tea! Not forgetting the

chicken Biryani and

snacks like jalebi and

murukku. The different

textures and flavours of

all these different foods

were enjoyed by

everyone.

morning tea, lamb curry for lunch

and samosa for afternoon tea - Spearwood

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/diwali-2014-five-sweet-and-delicious-recipes-9813743.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/diwali-2014-five-sweet-and-delicious-recipes-9813743.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/diwali-2014-five-sweet-and-delicious-recipes-9813743.html

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Our centers would like to wish you all a Happy Diwali .

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