STAGE 4

Unit focus: Festivals

Text focus: Information Text

Hanukkah Menorah

Festivals of Light
Many religious festivals celebrate light. Some of them recognise the dawning of a new spring, and
some mourn the darkening nights of winter. Whatever the meaning behind them, they remain
popular today and are celebrated around the world.

Hanukkah
Hanukkah is an important Jewish festival that takes place in November or December each year.
It is sometimes called Chanukah. It began to celebrate the fact that the Jewish people reclaimed
Jerusalem around 200 BCE. It is often called the Festival of Lights in Jewish culture and normally
begins with the lighting of a menorah. A menorah is a special candleholder that can hold seven
candles. Traditionally, the menorah was also a symbol of Christianity, but today it is associated with
the Jewish faith. Menorahs were originally made of pure gold.

Diwali
Diwali is a festival of light celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. It takes place
over five days between October and November each year. In the ancient language Sanskrit, the
word deepavali means “rows of lighted lamps”. This is where the word Diwali comes from. People
celebrate Diwali with fireworks and colourful sweets, and light small lamps called diyas. These
lamps are often found in people’s homes and shops owned by people who celebrate Diwali. The
sweets and fireworks mean that the festival is popular with people of all ages!

Because Diwali is celebrated by different religions, the reasons behind it are slightly different.
Hindus celebrate the return of their gods, Rama and Sita, to their true home. Sikhs celebrate one of
their gurus, Hargobind Singh, being released from prison in 1619 CE. However, they also celebrated
Diwali before this. Jains celebrate Diwali in honour of their founder reaching eternal bliss.

Fete des Lumieres

Fete des Lumieres translates as Festival of Lights and is celebrated in Lyon, France. It is traditionally
a Christian festival because it is held in honour of the Virgin Mary. It is held annually, normally

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close to the 8th of December. Fete des Lumieres isn’t celebrated anywhere outside of Lyon and
dates back to 1643. Lyon was struck by the plague, and many of its people died. The leaders paid
tribute to the Virgin Mary in order to save the town. When the plague disappeared, they promised
to remember her every year. In 1852, the town decided to celebrate by building a new statue.
However, floods and the fact that the people in the town didn’t like their leaders meant that it was
postponed. Instead, the people of the town all lit candles in their window to show their support for
each other. People still follow this tradition today.

Tazaungdaing
Tazaungdaing is celebrated in Myanmar the day after a full moon in the eighth month of their
calendar. Buddhists travel to the area to celebrate their festival of light under bright pagodas. There
are robe-weaving competitions, candles are lit, and people serve meals to each other to show how
caring they are. Houses across Myanmar are decorated with lamps, and colourful lights and people
launch hot air balloons into the sky.

VOCABULARY FOCUS
1. Find and copy a word in the first paragraph that means “beginning”.

2. Which word in the first paragraph means “feel sad about”?

3. Which word in the text has a definition closest to “took back”?

4. What does the word “annually” tell you about Fete des Lumieres?

5. What does “postponed” mean?

VIPERS QUESTIONS
R Which festival is celebrated for different reasons by different religions?

I Why might Diwali be popular with children?

R Where is Tazaungdaing celebrated?

S How did Fete des Lumieres begin?

R Which religion celebrates Tazaungdaing?

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