Diwali 2021: Celebrating the Festival of Lights

The week after Advent half term, the whole school celebrated the Hindu festival of Diwali (or Deepawali) which fell this year on Thursday 4 November. Through a series of special, inspiring assemblies led by chemistry teacher Mr Sritharan, we learned that the ‘festival of lights’, which lasts for 4 days, symbolizes a spiritual awakening, the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. During a time when we see so much division and conflict in the world, it was good to be reminded that there are so many things to be grateful for and celebrate.

In the Junior School, pupils looked at how Hindu, Sikh and Jain families celebrate Diwali and watched the story of Rama and Sita to understand why lights are such a big part of the festival. Year 3 performed their brilliant Haiku retelling this important story.

At the end of the assemblies, each pupil was offered a sweet representing the sweet treats that are shared in families during the period. As celebrations in the UK and around the world continue over the weekend, we wish everyone a Happy Diwali.