Myfavouritefestival–ErishaSingh

　　EveryAutumnIgotostaywithmycousinsinLeicestersowecanallcelebrateDiwalitogether.MyfamilyareHindus,ourgrandparentscametoBritainfromIndia.DiwaliisthebiggestHindufestivalandpeoplecelebrateitallovertheworld.WecometoLeicesterbecauseithasthelargestHindupopulationinBritainandthecelebrationsarefantastic.

　　Diwaliisamagicaltimeforchildrenbecauseofthelights.Welightcandlesandlampscalleddivasinourhomes,especiallyinthewindows.Allthestreets,housesandshopsaredecoratedwithlight.DiwalicomesfromtheSanskritwordDeepavaliwhichmeans‘rowsoflights’.ItisourfestivalofLightandstartstheHinduyear.Ifwelightourhousewell,wewillhavegoodfortunebecausetheGoddessofwealthandprosperity,Lakshmi,willseeourlights.

　　AtDiwaliwetellthelegendoftheHindugod,LordRama.HehadabeautifulwifecalledSitaandshewascapturedbythedemonkingRavana.LordRamafoughtthedemonkingandrescuedhiswife.WecelebrateRama’sreturnwithhiswife.ItsignifiesthatgoodtriumphsoverEvil.PeoplelighttheirlampstocelebratethegodRama’svictory.

　　OnthefirstdayofDiwaliIwalktothetempleinthenextstreetwithallmyfamily.Wealwaysdressinourbestclothes.MygrandmothermakesmeanewIndiansaritowearforDiwalieveryyear.Wespendalongtimegettingready,puttingonbrightclothesandjewellery.Lotsofourfriendscometothetempleandwesing,danceandenjoyourselves.MycousinplaysanIndianinstrumentcalledaharmoniumatthetemple.Therearealwaysdelicioussweetfoodstoeat.Thisstartsfivedaysofcelebrations,myfavouritefivedaysoftheyear.

　　BackatmyUncle’shouseweexchangepresentsandeatlotsofgoodIndianfood.Manymorerelativescomeovertocelebratewithusanditisaveryspecialtimeforfamilies.Ifanyonehashadanargumentitisagoodtimetomakefriendsandforgetthepast.SomepeoplesaythatitisasortofChristmasforHindus.

　　InLeicestertheAsiancommunityisveryproudoftheircelebrations.Thereareverybigcrowdswithmusic,dancingandfireworks.6,500DiwalilightsareswitchedoninthestreetsandwehaveabigpartyinthestreetsonDiwaliday.ThisyearDiwaliiscelebratedintheUKon25thOctober.

　　Doyouthinkit'sashortcuttolearningEnglishhere?It'sabigmistake!