Eco-Friendly Diwali 🪔 & Bonfire Night🔥
What is Diwali? Diwali is the five-day Festival of Lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world.
Diwali is a festival of new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness. The festival is in either October or November, with the date changing every year.
What's The Festival About?
Hindus celebrate the return of deities Rama and Sita to Ayodhya after their 14-year exile. They also celebrate the day Mother Goddess Durga destroyed a demon called Mahisha.
Sikhs celebrate the release from prison of the sixth guru Hargobind Singh in 1619. The foundation stone of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the most holy place for Sikh's, was laid on Diwali in 1577.
The founder of Jainism is Lord Mahavira. During Diwali, Jains celebrate the moment he reached a state called Moksha (nirvana, or eternal bliss).
Traditions
Families use lights and oil lamps which are lit on the streets and in houses. People visit their relatives, have feasts, exchange gifts and light fireworks. Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, is worshipped as the bringer of blessings for the new year
Celebrate An Eco-Friendly Diwali
1. Save electricity consumption:
Use the traditional method of candles and diya's. Decorate your houses with flowers, or even LED lamps / lights and rangolis.
2. Use fewer fireworks or none:
Using fireworks you need to think about the air and noise pollution caused by them. One way to resolve this problem is celebrating Diwali together as a community that way, less fireworks are used or even deciding to use none, which would be great.
3. Reduce plastic use:
Presents are exchanged for Diwali. So if you go shopping do not use plastic shopping bags and use bags for life or even cloth bags.
4.Gifts:
Why not give a gift this year that will benefit the environment, for example a pollinator plant or seeds? Or donate to a wonderful charity that supports conservation. We will be donating to The Wildlife Trust this year as a family instead of exchanging gifts The Wildlife Trusts | The Wildlife Trusts
5. Organic Rangoli Colours:
Make rangolis that can be made using flowers, or use eco-friendly colours that do not cause harm to our surroundings.
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Fireworks On Bonfire Night
Bonfire Night always takes place on the same day each year on November 5th.
This is because it was November 5th, 1605, when Guy Fawkes was arrested after being caught planting explosives underneath the House of Lords in an attempt to kill King James The First. The tradition of lighting bonfires and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes comes from the fact that after he was caught, the people of London celebrated by lighting bonfires.
Later, King James The First would make the celebrations an official event after declaring that November 5th would become a day of thanksgiving.
Everyone LOVES fireworks including me! Until i read what damage they actually cause...
Fireworks cause a lot of air pollution in a short amount of time. In the atmosphere the fireworks leave metal particles, dangerous toxins, harmful chemicals and smoke in the air for hours and days. Some of the toxins never fully decompose or disintegrate, but rather hang around in the environment, poisoning all they come into contact with.
Watch this short video and see what impact fireworks cause;
How Fireworks Harm The Environment - YouTube
I would also like to mention to check your bonfire for hedgehogs! They are dangerous as woodpiles are ideal places for hedgehogs to shelter. Sadly many are killed each year because of unchecked bonfires.
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/what-do-if-you-find-wild-animal/help-hedgehog
See what changes you can make in your celebrations to help our environment. Remember the three r's, Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.
I wish all my readers a Happy Diwali and a safe Bonfire Night.
