divali divali divali divali divali divali An India in Classrooms presentation In Sanskrit, ‘Diva’ means light or lamp and ‘Ali’ means a line or row divali divali divali divali divali ‘DIVALI’ means a row of lights divali

Light means many things to us. It means Knowledge, Truth, Energy, Warmth Life During Divali, Indians wish one another with an oil lamp. This flame is kept burning, for good luck and not blown out The Indian word for God is ‘Dev’ meaning light

Divali is a time of THANKSGIVING to Goddess ‘Lakshmi’ who brings good fortune or plenty of wealth... Goddess of Fortune An India in Classrooms presentation

Divali is celebrated for 4 days and each day is special. One day is for brothers and sisters to share love and good wishes The red powder on the forehead is for good luck

At night we add divas to the design The best part of Divali is doing fun things together with friends and family....like RANGOLI or KOLAM in bright colors At night we add divas to the design An India in Classrooms presentation

They make patterns for good luck like the Swastik and Om An India in Classrooms presentation Indians decorate their homes with ‘kandils’ (paper lanterns) and electric lights Children love to light Divas and paint them They make patterns for good luck like the Swastik and Om

The buildings and streets in India are all lit up and busy for Divali An India in Classrooms presentation

FIREWORKS SHOP Shopping for fireworks like crackers, sparklers and rockets is most exciting during Divali An India in Classrooms presentation

Oh, the delicious sweets and goodies that Mom makes for Divali! An India in Classrooms presentation I love to dress up in sarees and Indian dresses with bangles and jewellery Oh, the delicious sweets and goodies that Mom makes for Divali!

All over the world, Indians on all continents All over the world, Indians on all continents... Australia, Africa, Asia, North America and South America, celebrate Divali..... by sharing love by exchanging gifts by sending wishes An India in Classrooms presentation

An India in Classrooms presentation Divali Stories India is thousands of years old....and there are people of many different cultures...so there are many stories about Divali from different parts of India More Divali Stories

An India in Classrooms presentation Here is one...In ancient times Indians depended on farming for their living

When the crop was ready for harvest the farmers would worry about the birds eating up the grain before dawn If the birds ate the crops there would be nothing to sell and they would have no money to live An India in Classrooms presentation

They thought of a brilliant way to keep the birds away.... They placed rows of oil lamps in the field in the night and they danced and sang for they knew the lamps would bring good fortune (Lakshmi) into their homes An India in Classrooms presentation

Ever since, Indians celebrate this time of the year with happy festivities and thanksgiving to Lakshmi An India in Classrooms presentation

He married a beautiful princess called Sita. Ramayana, the story of Rama, explains why Divali is celebrated in India, Thailand, Indonesia and other parts of the world Once upon a time, about 7000 years ago, there lived a Prince called Ram in the kingdom of Ayodhya. He married a beautiful princess called Sita. Ram was an excellent archer and a good human being. His step mother Kaikeyi, loved him but her wicked servant warned her that Ram would become king Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm

Kaikeyi wanted her own son to be king . So she ordered her husband, King Dashrath to banish Ram to the forest for 14 years. Dashrath was very sad as he loved Ram but was forced to send Ram away. Ram went willingly to live in the forest. He gave up all his fine clothes. He was joined by his wife Sita and his brother Lakshman Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm

Sita told Ravan that Ram would surely rescue her While in the forest, Sita was kidnapped by Ravan, the King of Sri Lanka when Ram had gone hunting Sita told Ravan that Ram would surely rescue her Ram became very worried and searched everywhere for Sita Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm

There they fought Ravan’s army, killed Ravan and rescued Sita Ram met the king of the tribals in the forest who promised to help Ram bring Sita back from Sri Lanka with his army of tribal forest dwellers The army of tribals made a bridge of rocks and crossed the sea to Lanka. There they fought Ravan’s army, killed Ravan and rescued Sita Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm

Ram was then crowned King of Ayodhya Ram, Sita, Lakshman and their loyal tribal friend, Hanuman, all returned happily to Ayodhya Ram was then crowned King of Ayodhya Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm

The people of Ayodhya were so happy to have their favorite prince Ram back and now as their king, that they rejoiced! They lit divas and sang and danced with flowers, sweets and colors. This was the story of Divali! An India in Classrooms presentation