Diwali Celebration

Last Sunday, Dolly Mangla and her husband Sanjay, who moved here from India a few years ago, visited the Lighthouse to help us share the celebration of Diwali.



Dolly explained that Diwali is a 5-day festival celebrated all over India. It's like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all rolled into one. People give thanks to the gods for the food they have and pray for good fortune in the coming year. They give each other presents, buy new clothes, make special foods, and shoot off firecrackers.




Dolly introduced us to Lakshme, goddess of fortune. Diwali is called a "festival of lights", because people light candles and hang lanters, so Lakshme finds her way to their house.



During the class time, children made paper lanterns to hang at home, and clay lamps (called "diyas") that are put at the altar. They also made sand paintings called "rangoli", which are decorations in the house to welcome Lakshme.


After the diyas were done, we took a break from crafts to assemble the altar. Dolly showed us how to do "pooja", which is a ritual honoring the gods. We lit candles and incense, and put an offering of food on the altar, to represent being grateful for what we have, before we eat. Then Dolly put a red dot on the foreheads of all the gods at the altar, and on her own forehead. That demonstrates honoring the gods, and giving the same honor to ourselves. We played special, joyful music and moved a candle in a circular motion around Lakshme, while everyone clapped.

After pooja, we had a special snack. It was an exciting day! Thanks to all the extra adults who helped us manage a very busy class!

Diane Schairer,
Teacher, Treasure Hunters Class