Diwali: Festival of Lights

Diwali is a festival of light celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and some Buddhists. The gesture of the festival is the celebration of light, truth, perseverance, and abundance.

As we move toward the darkness of winter, we celebrate and cultivate our inner light to bring us through our winter journey.

In the Waldorf curriculum, this time of year is spent celebrating light over darkness.

Michaelmas season calls us to fight our inner darkness and veil ourselves with golden light to move forward into the coming season. Martinmas invites us to cultivate our light and give compassionately and selflessly. The Lantern Walk imbues the path ahead with our inner light. Diwali offers the same reverence to our inner light.

So many cultures celebrate holidays and festivals with similar gestures at the same time of year. Why is this?

It is because, no matter our culture, religion, ethnicity, race, gender, etc., we are all living in relation to the season and the cycle of the year.

Let us continue our dedication to representing the gesture of the season while honoring cultures and festivals that have not been considered traditional Waldorf festivals in the past.

At Cedarwood, we are dedicated to expanding our curriculum to incorporate multicultural celebrations and festivals that offer equity and belonging to all. This year our classes will be imbued with the gesture of the Diwali festival through song, story, cultural images, food, and artistic activity. We hope you’ll join us!

Aliya Birdoff first came to Waldorf education as a student at the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City. After studying classical voice at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, Aliya graduated from SUNY Purchase College with a BA in Sociology, with a concentration in globalization, communities, and social change. After many adventures studying and teaching yoga, Aliya returned to the Rudolf Steiner School where she assisted in the nursery and kindergarten and then joined the faculty at the Brooklyn Waldorf School. Aliya is currently pursuing her degree in Waldorf Early Childhood Education at the Sunbridge Institute. In her free time, you can find Aliya singing in harmony, dancing, and crafting.