Diwali: lighting up the sky

If you’re a fan of fireworks, then November is the month for you. The pops, bangs and lights in the sky usually start well before Bonfire Night, often featuring at Halloween events from the end of October. But it’s another festival that will keep them going long after Guy Fawkes has been reduced to ashes - Diwali, the festival of lights.

Diwali is a five-day religious celebration enjoyed by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, of whom there are over 50 thousand in Birmingham. It coincides with the Hindu new year, and celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil. The date is linked to the Hindu lunar calendar, so changes from year to year. This year it starts on 11th November.

The festival is one of the most significant in Indian culture and is celebrated for slightly different reasons by each religion. One of the most popular stories told is the legendary return of King Rama and his wife Sita from exile and imprisonment in the 15th century. On their arrival in their kingdom, the local people greeted them with celebratory fireworks, an event which is recreated every Diwali by millions of displays across the world.

Other traditional rituals include prayers, the lighting of candles and decorating houses with rangoli - patterns made on the floor with coloured rice or powder. Giving food and gifts to those in need is also encouraged, and the theme of new beginnings is marked by giving the house a thorough clean and wearing new clothes.

Birmingham’s main Diwali event is taking place at New Bingley Hall in Hockley on Sunday 16th November and will feature songs and dancing, face painting and mask making, stalls and competitions. Go along from 2pm, or see if you can spot the fireworks from your own back garden.

Published in My Moseley and Kings Heath, October 2015.