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Today is Diwali, a holiday otherwise known as the ‘Festival of Lights.’ In addition, it marks the beginning of the Hindu new year. Though primarily celebrated by Hindus throughout the world, Jainist and Sikh communities also observe this day. Diwali falls in October or November, depending on the Hindu lunar calendar and is a national holiday in countries with large Hindu populations, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji. The United States gave the holiday official status in 2007.

a rangoli or decorative design for Diwali

Diwali is a time to get together and celebrate with family and friends. Homes are thoroughly cleaned, elaborate outfits and fine jewelry are worn, and there is an abundance of food, especially sweets. There are many religious stories and myths associated with the holiday, the most recognized being Lord Rama’s return home from exile after a triumph over the demon Ravana.  During Diwali, diyas are lit to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Diyas are small candles made with a wick dipped in ghee or clarified butter in a clay or brass holder. Hindus place them inside their homes as well as outside on steps and in gardens, to welcome and honor the goddess of light and prosperity, Lakshmi, into their homes. The twinkling lights are symbolic of Rama’s goodness and victory over evil, as well as appreciation for good fortune in life.

diyas

When I was little I loved Diwali for all the pretty lights, festivities and sweets. Now, it’s all that plus the simple but powerful notion of celebrating and giving thanks for all of the good things I am fortunate to have. Whether you are Hindu or not, it’s a wonderful time to get together with those you love and think of all that’s bright in your life. Happy Diwali to all!

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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

This year the Hindu festival of Diwali is from Nov. 5-9.   Today marks its beginning.  I first heard about the festival from watching a National Film Board film called Lights for Gita in their Talespinners Collection (a series of short films for 5-9 year olds.)  In this story, eight year old Gita, who lives in Montreal is excited about celebrating Diwali in her new country, but something unexpected happens — an ice storm knocks out power in the city.  What will Gita do?  Will this holiday celebrated with lights now be ruined for  her?  Check out the DVD by ordering it, or finding it at your local library!

PaperTigers with its focus on India this issue has a number of book suggestions about Diwali given in a revisited Personal Views article by Chad Stephenson.  Pooja Makhijani also refers to Diwali in her Personal Views article entitled “A String of Bright Lights.”  She mentions her Diwali book picks in a post she did for the children’s lit blog Chicken Spaghetti awhile back.  In her post, she mentions how in northern India, Diwali is a celebration of the homecoming of Ram whose story can be found in her suggested picture book title Rama and the Demon King: An Ancient Tale from India by Jessica Souhami.  I found Souhami’s book at my local library; it was a bilingual one in Somali and English!   The story of Rama is found in the Hindu text The Ramayana which is a 24, 000 couplet poem written in Sanskrit by Valmiki around 300 B.C.   My daughter’s view of this ancient story of Rama was rather quaint; she said she liked stories where the good guy (Rama) and a bad guy (Ravanna) fight it out over a woman (Sita)  — although in this case, the bad guy is terrifying ten-headed demon!

Hope you have a happy Diwali this year!  Poetry Friday is hosted by JoAnn at Teaching Authors.

Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the most important festivals of the Hindu calendar and is celebrated by Hindus—and also by Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists—all over the world. An important aspect of the celebrations, the lighting of earthen diyas and the burning of firecrackers symbolize the triumph of light over darkness.

There are several legends about the origins of Diwali. In Festival of Light: Deepavali Legends from Around India Canadian-Indian academic of Hinduism, Radhika Sekar, brings the adventures of Hindu gods and demons to life with a selection of these legends, written for children age 6 and older. Whereas the story behind Diwali varies from region to region, its deep spiritual meaning is the same: a celebration of one’s inner light.

For more on the history, traditions and significance of the festival, check this website. For more children’s books on Diwali, see this post.

Happy Diwali to all who celebrate this beautiful holiday!

First off, for those of you who live in the greater Oregon area and would like some cheap books, the Clackamas Town Center Borders Express is being closed as part of Borders 200 store closing initiative. As of Friday all of their stock will go to 40% off.

Now, I can tell you from experience (and the fact that I had a long talk with the manager) that it will go no lower than this, but 40% is a damn good deal. They have a lot of stock left and it looks like they were still receiving shipments up until last week. Here's a chance to go pick up some new books (or old books that you really wanted to read) at a very deep discount, so go spend your money.

Second, I want this book. Not only are they sending out the ARC in an evidence bag with a free DVD tour of the book's setting, but the whole novel happens to take place in my town! Who better than a resident of Portland, Oregon to review a fictional novel about a Portland serial killer? I could give excellent feedback, I tell you.

Anyone close to the nice Publicity folk at Minotaur?

I'd give the book away after I read it. Promise.

Third, I don't know if you care, but my book review on Lisa Kleypas's Sugar Daddy will be up on Paperback Reader tomorrow...despite the fact that the book is not a paperback. The ARC I had was one though, and that's good enough for me.

That's all for now, I've got a temp job to go interview for. Who knows, tomorrow I could be learning the fine art of taking horse racing bets.

On Today’s Show: A multi-media text set of children’s books and audio that focus on acts of courage and acts of kindness. Save Our School by the Children of Selsted Primary Si Se Puede, Yes We Can The Streets are Free Selavi and Radyo Timoun. IndyKids BabagaNewz Kids Can Make A Difference® (KIDS) Sage Tyrtle on Deamonte Love and schools in Louisiana [...]