Celebrating Diwali: The Festival of Lights

 

Goddess Lakshmi
by Raja Ravi Varma
1848-1906

“Hinduism insists on the brotherhood of not only all mankind but of all that lives.”  Mahatma Gandhi

“Diwali or Deepavali is one of the biggest and auspicious festivals celebrated by Hindus all around the globe. The festival of lights signifies peace and joy, the victory of good over evil, and light over darkness every day. It is one of the most symbolic Hindu festivals, and all the communities in the country celebrate it with much pomp. During this festival, people clean their homes, decorate every corner with lights, lamps, diyas, flowers, rangoli, and candles. Families also perform Lakshmi Puja and pray to the Goddess of wealth to bless them with health, wealth, and prosperity.”
https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/festivals/diwali-2021-significance-history-date-time-puja-muhurat-and-all-you-need-to-know-101635849456204.html

Diwali, celebrated this year on November 4, is also known as the Festival of Lights. I offer you some story sites from India to help you celebrate.

Hitopadesha Tales - A compilation of short stories following the pattern of prose and verse. 
http://tinyurl.com/24vvn29

Jataka Tales - These fables, written in 300 B.C. were intended to impart values of self-sacrifice, morality, honesty, and other values.
http://tinyurl.com/36o6cg3 

Celebrating the Country of India
This is an older blog post I shared in January of this year. It is full of wonderful resources consisting of  several story collections, along with individual stories, book selections, curriculum and more. 
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2021/01/celebrate-country-of-india.html

Here are some stories of light from around the world.

STORIES

The Blue Light – Germany
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0562.html#grimm

The Buried Moon - England
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/meft/meft24.htm

The Goddess of Light - Canada
https://fairytalez.com/the-goddess-of-light/

Light Makes Prosperity - India
http://tinyurl.com/7c4crnt

Crow Brings Daylight – Native American – Inuit
http://tinyurl.com/7zyzudr

The Origin of Light – Native American
http://tinyurl.com/85x6uhg

Raven Steals the Light – Native American
http://tinyurl.com/5lnq26

BOOKS

21 Children’s Books About Diwali
https://coloursofus.com/21-childrens-books-about-diwali-the-festival-of-lights/

The best Diwali books to share the Festival of Lights with your child
https://www.motherandbaby.com/reviews/education-toys/best-diwali-books/

PBS – Celebrate Diwali with Books!
https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/celebrate-diwali-with-books

CRAFTS

Diwali Diya Mobile 
https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/diya-mobile  

Diwali Door Hanging - Traditional embroidered door hanging to welcome visitors and hopefully the Goddess of Fortune Lakshmi. 
https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/diwali-door-hanging  

Diwali Coloring Pages 
https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/diwali-colouring-pages  

RECIPES

100 Diwali Recipes

https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/diwali-sweets-recipes-diwali-recipes/

SOMETHING EXTRA

8 Easy Diwali Crafts for Kid
https://theeducatorsspinonit.com/easy-diwali-crafts-for-kids/

Diwali in History
https://www.diwalifestival.org/diwali-in-history.html

The Lesser Known Stories about Diwali
https://www.tell-a-tale.com/the-lesser-known-stories-about-diwali/

National Geographic – Diwali is India’s most important holiday
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/diwali-history-customs-indian-festival-of-lights

 

 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2021 © 

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I appreciate your support and personal integrity.