Woodland Park Elementary and schools across Surrey and White Rock celebrate Diwali

The cabinet at Woodland Park Elementary is filled with books and decorations for Diwali, India's brightest holiday celebrating the triumph of light over darkness.

Today is Diwali, and Woodland Park Elementary is one of many schools across Surrey and White Rock that is shining a light on India’s biggest and brightest holiday.

Diwali is a festival of light that celebrates the triumph of good (light) over evil (darkness) in South Asian cultures and is celebrated over five days in parts of India. Diwali takes place on the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar calendar, during which Sikhs, Hindus, Jains and some Buddhists light diyas to celebrate the victory of light. Around this time of year, Sikhs also celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas, commemorating the release of Guru Hargobind and 52 imprisoned Hindu Kings in the early 1600s, coinciding with Diwali.

At Woodland Park, you can see the celebration as soon as you walk through the front doors: colourful student designs adorn the bulletin boards, with informational pages highlighting the significance of Diwali to different backgrounds. The school has additional displays featuring books on Diwali, including the symbolism of light and the artistry of henna.

“We take a lot of pride in exploring holidays like Diwali through stories,” said teacher Amrit Bains. “Our librarian set up a beautiful display and it gets students curious and encouraged to read about Diwali.”

“We have families take pictures of the display and students stop and really look at what’s happening,” said acting vice-principal Kimmy Basra. “We have a lot of teachers who are doing things in the classroom, many of them are painting diyas with their students to celebrate.”

Outside of her work as a teacher, Bains is a multidisciplinary artist who creates art through different mediums – something she shares with her students to inspire them creatively.

“For me personally, seeing that representation in my own life encouraged me to follow my passion of art and teaching, so I try to incorporate it for different ways,” she said. “I’ve brought in different pieces of art I’ve created and it gets their curiosity and imagination going. It’s just exploration and showing them that if I can do it, you can too.”

“It’s really cool for them to see that Amrit makes art based in her culture, and that they can take that same concept and create art that’s part of their culture as well,” said Basra.

This year, Bains and Basra are exploring Diwali with their classes through designing their own henna patterns on traced hands and enjoying traditional treats, with homemade jellabies and pakoras courtesy of Basra’s father. Students and staff are also encouraged to wear traditional clothing to celebrate Diwali, with more and more participating each year.

“Last year, we had a few students that said, ‘Oh, I would never have worn it, but now that we see the teachers are wearing traditional clothing, we feel more comfortable wearing it to school as well,’” said Basra, highlighting the importance of representation.

Ultimately, Bains said Diwali’s overarching message of light over darkness has resonated with students, with ongoing conversations about what Diwali means to them consistently tying back to positive themes that are instilled year-round.

“Our conversations always end up coming back to that and linking it to things we talk about at school like kindness and empathy and paying it forward,” said Bains. “We like to integrate them into different holidays or themes that are taking place at school, and it’s a continuing conversation among staff and students.”

Happy Diwali to all of our students and staff celebrating!