1. In Sanskrit, ‘Diva’
means light or lamp
and ‘Ali’ means a
line or row
‘DIVALI’ means
a row of lights
An India in Classrooms presentation

2. Light means many
things to us.
It means Knowledge,
Truth, Energy, Warmth
Life
The Indian word for
God is ‘Dev’ meaning
light
During Divali, Indians wish one another with an
oil lamp. This flame is kept burning, for good luck
and not blown out

3. Divali is a time of
THANKSGIVING
to Goddess
‘Lakshmi’ who
brings good
fortune or plenty of
wealth...
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4. Divali is celebrated for 4 days
and each day is special.
One day is for brothers and
sisters to share love and good
wishes
The red powder on the forehead
is for good luck

5. The best part of Divali is
doing fun things together
with friends and
family....like RANGOLI or
KOLAM in bright colors
At night we add divas
to the design
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6. Indians decorate
their homes with
‘kandils’ (paper
lanterns) and
electric lights
Children love to light Divas
They make
patterns for good
luck like the
Swastik and Om
and paint
them
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7. The buildings and
streets in India are all
lit up and busy for
Divali
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8. Shopping for fireworks
like crackers, sparklers
and rockets is most
exciting during Divali
FIREWORKS SHOP
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9. Oh, the delicious
sweets and goodies
that Mom makes for
Divali!
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I love to dress up in
sarees and Indian
dresses with bangles
and jewellery

10. by sharing love by exchanging gifts
All over the world, Indians on all continents... Australia, Africa, Asia,
North America and South America, celebrate Divali.....
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by sending wishes

11. India is
thousands of
years old....and
there are people
of many different
cultures...so
there are many
stories about
Divali from
different parts of
India
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12. Here is one...In ancient times Indians depended on farming for their living
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13. When the crop was ready
for harvest the farmers
would worry about the
birds eating up the grain
before dawn
If the birds ate the crops
there would be nothing to
sell and they would have
no money to live
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14. They placed rows of oil lamps in the
field in the night and they danced
and sang for they knew the lamps
would bring good fortune (Lakshmi)
into their homes
They thought
of a brilliant
way to keep
the birds
away....
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15. Ever since, Indians celebrate this time
of the year with happy festivities and
thanksgiving to Lakshmi
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16. Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm
Once upon a time, about 7000 years
ago, there lived a Prince called Ram in
the kingdom of Ayodhya.
He married a beautiful princess called
Sita.
Ram was an excellent archer and a
good human being.
His step mother Kaikeyi, loved him but
her wicked servant warned her that
Ram would become king
Ramayana, the story of Rama, explains why Divali is
celebrated in India, Thailand, Indonesia and other parts
of the world

17. Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm
Kaikeyi wanted her own son to be
king .
So she ordered her husband, King
Dashrath to banish Ram to the
forest for 14 years. Dashrath was
very sad as he loved Ram but was
forced to send Ram away.
Ram went
willingly to
live in the
forest. He
gave up all
his fine
clothes.
He was joined by his wife Sita and his
brother Lakshman

18. Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm
While in the forest, Sita
was kidnapped by Ravan,
the King of Sri Lanka when
Ram had gone hunting
Sita told Ravan that Ram
would surely rescue her
Ram became very worried
and searched everywhere
for Sita

19. Ram met the king of the
tribals in the forest who
promised to help Ram bring
Sita back from Sri Lanka
with his army of tribal forest
dwellers
The army of tribals made a bridge of
rocks and crossed the sea to Lanka.
There they fought Ravan’s army,
killed Ravan and rescued Sita
Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm

20. Illustrations from www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/ rama.htm
Ram, Sita, Lakshman
and their loyal tribal
friend, Hanuman, all
returned happily to
Ayodhya
Ram was then crowned
King of Ayodhya

21. The people of Ayodhya were so happy to have their favorite
prince Ram back and now as their king, that they rejoiced!
They lit divas and sang and danced with flowers, sweets
and colors. This was the story of Divali!
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