One of the ways to make this Diwali memorable for children is to do fun activities with them. Children don’t really expect too much, all they want is some of their parent’s time.
With 10 days left for Diwali, why not try some new crafts with the children? In my household, we try to make a few new crafts each year that we include in our Diwali gifts which we give to our friends or items we add to our own home Diwali decor.
Living in the Himalayan town of Nainital, we knew it was Dussehra due to the loud Sharadotsav (Fall festival) noise that would echo through the mountains. Uttrakhand has the oldest tradition of enacting the Ramayana which we call – the Ram Lila. For 9 days the very capable actors enact the Ramayana and then on the tenth day, the actor who plays Ram burns the Ravan effigy. In October – November the weather in Nainital is very cold, yet most families would spend the evening seeing the enactment or listening to the melodious voices of our Pahadi (mountain people) talent.
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The beauty of being an adult is that we can make our own traditions and include things from our childhood. Living in North America I’ve witnessed so much diversity in our celebrations that it is truly a treat! We see the Ravan burning, but also got introduced to Durga Puja, Ganesh Pooja and Golu festival!
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We have started a tradition where we make a Ravan each year during Dussehra and on the day of Dussehra my son and husband burn the Ravan in the backyard.
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With Halloween around the corner, there are so many DIY activities that can be linked together with Diwali which also happens around the same time. Here is a glimpse of some of the crafts made by Ved and his friends.
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If you aren’t very ‘crafty’ then how about doing the Diwali preparations together also makes quite a difference. The basic point is to make memories of- doing things TOGETHER!
This year we have started enacting the story of Diwali (Ram & Ravan) with stick puppets. If you have a great Diwali tradition please do share with us. For the past 2 years my son cleans up his room all by himself and finds a toonie under his pillow from Goddess Lakshmi on the morning of Diwali, for his good job. This year since he will be older I am going to be a taskmaster and have him help out in other areas too. Festivals mean family participation and not Mommy or Daddy running around trying to finish errands, it should be a family affair.
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Whatever you decide to do, from crafts to doing cleaning, making laddoos or shopping just make it fun. Also, don’t forget to read Ved and Friends Celebrate Dussehra and Diwali!
eet Aditi: Aditi is in the 6th grade and loves creating things from robots to crafts, she does them all. An avid reader she loves reading books.
Ved and Friends Book Series 