On November 4th the Lower School was treated to a beautiful assembly featuring the Indian holiday of Diwali, the Festival of Lights! We learned that Diwali is the biggest and brightest of Indian festivals and is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs all over the world. Diwali is celebrated over four days and commemorates the victory of good over evil. Diwali is a festival of the light which dispels the darkness of our ignorance; it is a festival of the light which shows us the way on our journey through life. It is also a time for new beginnings and the Indian New Year. Many people celebrate by going to temple and offering sweets to Lord Ganesh (god of good fortune and remover of obstacles) and Goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity).
At our assembly students who celebrate Diwali shared their traditions with all of us. After an introduction to the holiday by fifth-grade student Dhanesh, pre-school student Sara performed a traditional dance. Uma, Aanya, Sujan, Victor and Anya explained in their own words the origin and significance of Diwali. Arav showed pictures to help us imagine how fireworks light up the sky during this celebration, and Rohin and Vir performed a traditional Bhangra dance. Finally, bringing the celebration to a most impressive finale, all of the children performed a Dandia dance.
This beautiful celebration helped us all learn about a holiday important to so many of our students and their families, and we are most grateful to the families who organized, performed and helped us celebrate! Happy Diwali!
Written by 5th grader students, Khush, Dhanesh, Anya, Arav, Sujan and Victor.
