Festival of Lights

Celebrate Diwali on October 26th!

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

On October 26th Hindus all over the world will be celebrating one of their most important festivals of the year: Diwali. Also known as the Festival of Lights, Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. To Hindus, darkness represents ignorance, and light is a metaphor for knowledge. Lighting a lamp symbolizes the destruction, through knowledge, of all negative forces. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus of all ages and during the festival celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

If you are looking for children’s books about Diwali check out Chad Stephenson’s Personal View piece Diwali: The Hindu Festival of Lights, and the following PaperTigers’ blog posts:

Poetry Friday: About Diwali and its Poetic Origins in the Ramayana

Happy Diwali!

Diwali, Festival of Lights

Posted by: Corinne | No Comments » | Tags: About Diwali and its Poetic Origins in Ramayana, Chad Stephenson, children's literature from India and the Indian diaspora, Diwali, Diwali books, Festival of Light: Deepavali Legends from Around India, Festival of Lights

Diwali, Festival of Lights

Monday, November 5th, 2007

Chad Stephenson, San Francisco Friends School librarian, has been working on an extensive school project about Diwali, the Hindu winter Festival of Light, celebrated on November 9 this year. In a ‘Personal View’ piece he’s contributed to the PaperTigers website, Chad gives us the scoop on the celebration of Rama’s victorious return from Lanka with his kidnapped wife, Sita. His article is chock full of great Diwali-related reading recommendations, including Hanuman, by Erik Jendresen and Joshua M. Greene, illustrated by Li Ming, and, for background and context, Uma Krishnaswami’s award-winning Monsoon, illustrated by Jamel Akib. Here’s a PaperTigers review of another book on Chad’s list.

Canadian Rachna Gilmore‘s Lights for Gita isn’t on his list, but it will shed yet more light on the Diwali’s real meaning: Gita’s difficulties settling into her life in Canada are exemplified by not being able to celebrate the holiday the same way she would have back home.

Posted by: Charlotte | 1 Comment » | Tags: Chad Stephenson, Children's Books, children-s books, David Weitzman, Diwali, Erik Jendresen, Festival of Lights, Hanuman, Illustrators, Jamel Akib, Joshua M. Greene, Li Ming, Lights for Gita, Monsoon, PaperTigers personal views, Rachna Gilmore, San Francisco Friends School, Uma Krishnaswami