Hinduism comes originally from India. There are now many Hindus living in this country. For them, Divali is the Festival of Lights. It takes place usually in November and it is a time of great rejoicing. It is the beginning of the Hindu New Year and a time when businesses settle their accounts.

Divali lasts for five days. It celebrates the victory of the god Rama. People light lamps and candles in their homes. There are fireworks. People send cards and give presents. Hindus believe the goddess Lakshmi visits their homes at the end of Divali. She brings presents, but also peace and prosperity.

Jewish people also have a Festival of Light, which usually takes place in November or December. This is called Hanukkah. This festival celebrates the time when the Jewish people won a battle and recaptured the temple in Jerusalem. They lit a lamp in the temple as a sign that God was with them, but they were worried that they only had enough oil for one night. Although it took a week to get more oil, the lamp stayed lit until it arrived. Nowadays a Jewish family lights a special candlestick, called a Menorah, with eight branches and a central branch, during the eight days of Hanukkah. Each day another candle is lit and presents are exchanged. The best presents are saved till the last night!

Light is an important symbol for Christians too, because Jesus is called ‘the Light of the world’. For many Christians Easter and Candelmass (in February) are important festivals of light, but probably the best known are Advent and Christmas. Christmas Carols are often sung by candlelight, and many people like to attend the Christian Church for a special service in the night of Christmas Eve (often called ‘Midnight Mass’). In Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, many churches and Christian families have an Advent Wreath which has four candles (red or purple, sometimes with one pink candle) and a central candle, which is white. The red candles are lit one for each week of Advent, and the white candle is lit on Christmas Day.

Another, more recent Christian tradition is the ‘Christingle’. A Christingle is an orange with a candle in the centre. The orange stands for the world and the candle for Jesus. Around orange is a ribbon, representing the blood of Christ. Also in the orange are four sticks with fruit and nuts (or sweets) on them. These represent the four seasons of the year and the fruits of the earth. Many Christingle services take place. They are often a time when people give money to help need children.