Deepavali/Diwali is one of the biggest festivals in India. Deepavali means rows of lights, and it is also known as the Festival of Lights. Although it is a Hindu festival, it is also celebrated as a general festival, like Christmas, by many people who are non-believers or of other religions.
Diwali is celebrated in some form all over India, and the legends related to it also vary from place to place. Diwali involves decoration of the house with lights and rangoli, lighting firecrackers (which in modern times of environmental crises, in my personal opinion, should be mentioned to children in the context of the toxic air pollution they cause, as well), meeting people and offering special sweets to visitors, and new clothes.
While North India worships Goddess Laxmi on Diwali, this festival is celebrated as Kali Puja in West Bengal and Goddess Kali is worshipped with many accompanying different traditions. I wrote a guest post about it, and you can read it here. In the southern states of India, the legends pertain to the victory of Lord Vishnu over Bali, of Devi Satyabhama (Sri Krishna's wife) over Narakasura and of Devi Lakshmi's wedding to Lord Vishnu. Diwali also signifies the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana.
Here I share some fun filled activities that are guaranteed to be enjoyed by your child and you.
Diwali Sweets (YUM)
Different communities have different sweets in India, and sweets form a separate section of our state cuisines. Children love sweets and while too much sweet is bad for anyone, we also should be aware of this essential part of our culture. When we visit sweet shops, I tell my daughter about the different sweets, even the ones which are from a different cuisine and the ones which we are not buying. For Diwali activity, I love to print out pictures of sweets and do a matching activity.
An interesting post is this, which tells us about the different kinds of Diwali food in different parts of our country. Here are some recipes for Diwali sweets.
Fun Worksheets
Download our Free Diwali Worksheets and try the trivia activities, maze, sudoku and more with Diwali themes. Using festival themed worksheets during the festive season makes the learning activity special and fun.
Goddess Kali needs to hunt down the naughty asuras, Lord Ram needs to find Ravana and probably there are many other challenges that can crop up in this world of maze-fantasy where your child can help the protagonist find their way! Free for personal use maze images can be downloaded from educational sites and edited to add your own icons.
Don't forget to download our Diwali Worksheets - it is free!
Books and Storytelling
Festivals are a great opportunity for storytelling! Tell your child stories related to the festival. Some of my favorite books are "Tell me Amma about Diwali" by Mathur Bhakti, "Lakshmi: Cutout Books" by Mitali Sengupta and of course, Amar Chitra Katha Comics about Ram.
Here are some of our recommended books. Click on the images to buy them on Amazon India.
The Goddesses themselves are the stars of many interesting stories. The iconography, symbolism and attributes of the goddesses (and gods) include the objects they hold in their hands which include weapons too, their mounts (owl for Laxmi), their stances and such aspects. I did a weapon/object matching activity for Goddess Laxmi.
Rangoli Activities
Rangoli is a traditional Indian art that people have loved for a long time. During celebrations, people create pretty designs on the ground or in front of their homes using colorful powders, rice, and flower petals. These designs are not just for looks; they also have special meaning in our culture. They're thought to bring good luck and keep away bad vibes. Rangoli can be a fun group activity, and some schools even have rangoli competitions. It's a beautiful way for communities to come together and be creative. During Diwali many people create rangoli and it is a great opportunity to explore this art. Here are some simple ways to make rangoli designs. In my hometown, we would actually take a long walk after dinner to look at all the street rangolis in our locality. It is a free art tour!
Here are some products and ideas to get you started with the art of Rangoli.
Rangoli making and matching rangoli pattern printouts are fun activities that enhance colour sense, creativity, pattern recognition, and fine motor skills. You can find some pattern and colouring activities in our Diwali Worksheets.
Diwali Art & Craft Activities
Lantern Making
Lantern making is an easy craft that children love. Small kids need you to be doing most of it while they "help", but it is a great opportunity to hone their fine motor skills. You can find an easy lantern making video here, while this one is of medium difficulty level, and this one is more suitable for bigger kids.
Diya Painting
This is an amazingly enjoyable art activity for children of all ages. Just get some acrylic colors and some fancy earthen diyas, and let the kids unleash their creativity. I am sure, even parents cannot keep their hands off this fun and will end up painting a couple of diyas themselves as well.
Check out more ideas on my Instagram Page:
More Diwali Decoration Ideas
Check out these lovely Diwali decoration ideas. These activities are amazing to do with children, with age-appropriate contributions from them.
I hope these ideas will help you to have some fun learning activities in the month of Diwali. Happy Diwali! Do stay tuned to our Facebook Group or Facebook Page to join in the fun.
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