Rama and Sita - Diwali
Diwali - the annual Hindu festival of light held every autumn.
Today we have been learning about Rama rescuing his wife Sita. She was tricked by the demon King Ravana with the help of Hanuman the monkey King and his monkey army.
We watched a video and chatted about the story and it's meaning.
Then we did some re-enactments of the story in small groups.
As part of our Hinduism topic we have been learning about the importance of Rangoli patterns at Hindu homes. Rangoli patterns are bright, colourful and beautiful designs that are associated with Diwali. They are placed to welcome the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, to a Hindu house and are thought to bring good luck. They originated in India but are produced wherever Hindu people are celebrating.
Rangoli patterns are often designed to be symmetrical. They combine straight lines, curved lines and images like flowers and other things from nature. The symmetry of the designs in a symbol of prosperity, growth and luck.
Today we have tried to design our own rangoli designs. It was tricky to try and make them symmetrical.