What happens during Diwali?
Gifts are exchanged – often sweets or candles. Homes are decorated and oil lamps are lit. Fireworks are another big part of the celebrations. “On Diwali we get up early about 6:30am and put on our best clothes. I wear a sari, my daughters wear shalwar kameez (traditional dress) and my husband also dresses traditionally. The first thing we do is say our prayers and make offerings of fruit and tradtional Indian sweets. Then we go to our parents house to bow down to them and receive their blessings. Then we go to the temple. After the temple we visit our family and friends to wish them a ‘happy Diwali’. We decorate our homes in bright reds, greens and yellows, and we light as many candles as possible. Diwali is all about filling your home with light and letting go of the gloom and the darkness.
