​How to celebrate Diwali; the Festival of Light

What is Diwali?

Diwali is known as the festival of light, and its name translates literally into 'rows of lighted lamps'. It's a Hindu festival that is incredibly beautiful to behold, as houses, public places and shops in Hindu areas are decorated with beautiful small oil lamps, or 'diyas', to celebrate.

Why is it celebrated?

This beautiful and colourful festival exists to celebrate the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. To mark the occasion, people light lamps and leave their doors and windows open, to encourage the goddess to enter their home and bring prosperity in the year ahead. But Diwali is about more than just material wealth. It is a celebration of light and of new beginnings and a time when the dark is ceremoniously banished. At heart, it marks and celebrates the triumph of good over evil, and for many communities that celebrate it, Diwalli also links with the harvest.

Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. In some parts of India, it is also marked by Buddhists. Each have their own particular dates and stories of significance to mark during the festival, according to their beliefs and traditions. But because the festival involves so much colour, light, fun and family celebration, it's also hugely popular with children - especially when the sweets make an appearance!

When does it start?

Diwali falls on a day in October and November every year, but its actual date varies. This is because the Hindu calendar is built around the moon's lunar cycle. This year, it falls on Friday, November 1st.

How is Diwali Celebrated?

The festival is celebrated in different ways. People spring clean their homes to prepare for the festival, and then they wear new clothes to celebrate. Gifts such as sweets and dried fruit are swapped, and festive meals are prepared to share with loved ones.

Buildings are decorated with fancy lights, and there are huge fireworks displays. If you live in an area with Hindu families, you may hear firecrackers and see these exciting displays in November, just before Bonfire night.

Jam jars for gifting Diwali sweets

A beautiful Diwali tradition involves gifting handmade sweets or dried fruits, and these can be gifted in decorated glass jars. In fact, we often sell extra sweet jars at this time of year for customers who are planning to incorporate them into Diwali celebrations, for presenting and displaying treats at family gatherings, and for making colourful tealight holders.

Making Diwali sweets

Traditionally, the sorts of sweets that families make to celebrate the festival are Kaju katli, Gulab jamun, Jalebi, and Burfi. They are made for days in advance and then shared with loved ones.

If you're inspired to make a Diwali sweet selection yourself, the BBC has a great resource with authentic recipes and advice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/diwali_gift_box. You can display them in a Mithai box for gifting, or stack them into large glass jars for guests to help themselves at a gathering! Here is a recipe for one of the easiest Diwali traditional sweets you can make yourself with just a few ingredients:

How to make Ladoo

Ladoo sweets were traditionally served in Hindu temples because they were easy to make, affordable and convenient. Each little round ball can be crumbly, fudgy or grainy and can be made from nuts, seeds and flours with an endless variety of choices. The main ingredients are cooked with ghee and sugar and then rolled to form their distinctive shape. An easy starter recipe is coconut ladoo. You simply combine 90g of unsweetened coconut with the same weight of ground almonds, 125g of skimmed milk powder, half a teaspoon of ground cardamom and 250g of sweetened, condensed milk.

Stir the sweet mix well and warm it in the microwave for a couple of minutes, then stir again to form a thick texture. Let the mix cool, and then shape it into balls. You can add food colouring or roll them in sprinkles to jazz them up. Some people also roll them in espresso power to counteract the sweetness and add a little bitterness. Delicious!

Making Diwali glass lanterns

Glass jars are also ideal for making decorative glass lanterns at this time of year. You can see our selection here: https://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/jars/jam-jars/popular-jam-jars/.

You simply need your clean glass jam jars, spray paint or glass paint, Sharpies, and any other decorative elements that you like. Try spraying coloured paint against a stencil, or use gold paint and paintbrushes to paint your own patterns. Here is some inspiration to get you started! https://www.anikasdiylife.com/diy-diwali-lanterns/.

Share your Diwali creations with us!

If you're planning to make any Diwali creations for the festival celebrations this year, why not share your photos with us for the Wares community? We love sharing images of our creative customers' work! Our team are also on hand for any queries you might have about glass jam jars or glass bottles for your projects, so please do get in touch and we'll be delighted to help!