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Religious Education Project 1: Hanukkah

Key Stages 1 & 2

LIGHT & DARK ■ PROJECT PLANS

teaching & learning ■ Creative teaching This page may be photocopied for use only within the purchasing institution.

What is Hanukkah?Over 2300 years ago in a country called Judea (modern Israel), there livedmany Hebrew, or Jewish people. There also lived a very wicked man calledKing Antiochus. Antiochus ordered all the Jewish people to give up their God,religion, and customs and worship only the Greek gods. By his orders, Jewishtemples were destroyed or used for his purposes, and those Jews who wouldnot worship how he commanded were severely punished.

Some of the Jewish people chose to obey Antiochus, but others refused. Oneof these men who refused to worship the Greek Gods was Judah Maccabee.Judah had four brothers and together they formed an army with as many aswould join with them. Their goal was to defeat the Syrians who oppressedthem so that the Jewish people could be free to worship as they believed.They chose to call themselves Maccabees, which means hammer. TheMaccabees and the Syrians fought for about three years until finally theMaccabees defeated the Syrians and reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem.

Their first priority was to clean and rededicate the Temple to the service ofGod. So they washed and scrubbed the temple clean and removed the Greeksymbols and idols from within the walls. Now they were ready to rededicate itunto their God. Hanukkah (or Chanukah) means ‘rededication’. The onlyproblem was that they could not find any blessed oil to light the lamps. Theysearched and searched. Finally, in one of the Temple chambers theydiscovered a very small amount of oil.

The Maccabees knew that there was just enough oil that the lights could belit for one evening. Then a miracle happened. That very small flask of oil lastednot just one night but eight nights. This is why the Menorah has eightcandles. Each one represents a night that that small flask of oil kept the lightsof the holy Temple lit.


teaching & learning ■ Creative teachingThis page may be photocopied for use only within the purchasing institution.

What is a Menorah?A Menorah is a very special arrangement of nine candles. Eight of the candlesare for each night of Hanukkah, and the highest candle, known as theShamash or ‘servant’, is used to light the other candles.

On the first night of Hanukkah, one light is lit, and this continues for eightdays until all eight are shining brightly. This reminds the people of the miraclethat happened so long ago. The candles are placed in the Menorah from rightto left, but lit from left to right. Special blessings are recited each night beforethe lights are lit.

Long ago olive oil was used in Hanukkah Menorahs, but over the yearscolourful candles have been substituted. Menorahs come in all shapes andsizes and resemble the Holy Temple’s Menorah. In Israel, the HanukkahMenorah is called the Hanukiah.



What is a dreidel?A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. Thedreidel game is played by giving each player a number of coins. Beforespinning the dreidel, each player puts a fixed proportion of the amount ofcoins received into the ‘Kupah’ or kitty. Each player in turn spins the dreidel.When the dreidel falls, it will fall on one of the four letters. According to theletter, the following will happen:

Nun – no win/no loseGimel – take all (from the kitty)Hey – take half (from the kitty)

Peh or Shin – lose (what you deposited)

Note: nun, gimel, hey, and shin are the Hebrew letters used on the dreideloutside Israel (they represent the phrase, ‘A great miracle happened there’). InIsrael, the letters represent the phrase, ‘A miracle happened here’.

The game continues until players run out of‘funds’ or agree to stop (anyone losing allfunds is out of the game).

The dreidel game was popular whenAntiochus ruled. Jewish people,struggling to keep their faith alive,would gather together to study theTorah, which was outlawed byAntiochus. They would keep thedreidel near by so, if soldiersappeared, they could hide theirscriptures and pretend to play withthe dreidel. In Israel the dreidel iscalled a sivivon.



Making a dreidelThis paper dreidel is great to use as a Hanukkah decoration. The rules forplaying are listed below.

Supplies needed:■ A printer and paper■ Scissors■ Glue■ Crayons

or markers■ A straw

1. Print this pageand glue it to thincardboard (like acereal box).

2. Cut along theedges. Decoratethe top.

3. Cut an x in thetiny circle on thetop.

4. Fold along theinside lines andform a top shape.Glue the flaps intoplace.

5. Stick a straw orwooden dowelthrough the tinycircle at the top.



Make a handprint MenorahMaterials needed:

■ Clean hands■ Newspaper■ Dark-coloured finger paint■ Two heavy-duty paper plates or foil pie plates■ Large sheet of light-coloured construction paper■ Yellow finger paint

1. Cover your work area with newspaper. Pour a dark-coloured paint ontotwo paper plates and place side by side.

2. Lay out a large light-coloured sheet of construction paper on thenewspaper.

3. Put one hand in each plate of paint. Carefully lift hands out of paint, linkthumbs together so they overlap (they will make the centre candle), andplace both hands down on construction paper with fingers spread out tomake a Menorah print.

4. Wash your hands and then dip your thumb into yellow paint and dab a‘flame’ at the top of each candle.

Menorah



Colouring-in page 1



Colouring-in page 2



Colouring-in page 3

Light and Dark

Religious Education Project 2: Diwali

Key Stages 1 & 2



What is Diwali?

Diwali (also called Deepavali) is a major Hindu, Jain, Sikh and

Buddhist festival. Known as the ‘festival of lights’, it symbolises the

victory of good over evil, and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration

and hope for mankind. Celebrations focus on lights and lamps,

particularly traditional diyas. Fireworks are associated with the

festival in some regions of the country.

Row of Lights

The name of the festival comes from the Sanskrit word dipavali,

meaning row of lights. Diwali is known as the ‘festival of lights’

because houses, shops, and public places are decorated with small

earthenware oil lamps called diyas. These lamps are placed in rows in

windows, doors and outside buildings to decorate them. The lamps

are lit to help the goddess Lakshmi find her way into people’s homes.

They also celebrate the return of Rama and Sita to Rama’s kingdom

of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. In towns (and in Britain), electric

lights are often used in Diwali displays. In India, oil lamps are often

floated across the river Ganges – it is regarded as a good omen if the

lamp manages to get all the way across.



Diwali is celebrated for five consecutive days in the Hindu month of

Ashwayuja. It usually occurs in October/November, and is one of the

most popular and eagerly awaited festivals of India. Hindus, Jains and

Sikhs alike regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to

strengthen family and social relationships. For Jains it is one of the

most important festivals, and beginning of the Jain year. It is also a

significant festival for the Sikh faith.

The Five days of Diwali

Diwali is celebrated over five days in most of North India. All the days

except Diwali are named using the designation in the Indian

calendar.

1. Dhan-trayodashi or Dhanteras: Dhan means ‘wealth’ and

Trayodashi means ‘13th day’. Thus, as the name implies, this day

falls on the 13th day of the first half of the lunar month.

2. Naraka Chaturdasi: Narak means ‘of a new era of Light and

Knowledge’. Chaturdasi implies 14th day.

3. Diwali: the actual day of Diwali, is celebrated on the third day of

the festival, when the moon completely wanes and total

darkness sets in the night sky.

4. Varsha-pratipada or Padwa: beginning of the New Year (Kartikadi

Vikram). Pratipada means the first.

5. Bhayiduj (also Bhayyaduj, Bhaubeej or Bhayitika): on this day,

brothers and sisters meet to express their love and affection for

each other.



Legends of DiwaliDiwali is dedicated to various gods and goddesses. The festival also marks an importantdate in the Hindu calendar, as according to legends the kingdom of Ayodhyacelebrated the coming of Lord Rama after a long exile of 14 years.

The tradition of lighting diyas and candles dates back to history when the people ofAvadha lit diyas throughout the kingdom to show the way to their beloved Prince Ram,his wife Sita and his brothers. It is celebrated as the victory of light over darkness andgood over evil.

Diwali also celebrates the power of the three goddesses, Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati.Dhanteras is dedicated to Lakshmi, whose blessings are essential for a prosperous,fruitful and peaceful life. Kali-Chudash (the day before Diwali) is dedicated to GoddessKali whose blessing gives us the strength to maintain the wealth we have. Strength,physical, mental and spiritual, is essential for all of us to lead a happy life. Diwali itself isdedicated to the goddess Saraswati. Knowledge is the ultimate wealth, for it cannot bestolen from you. It is also the ultimate strength, for it often defeats brute force.

There are various legends associated with the festival of Diwali. Some of the famouslegends are as follows:

According to the legends, Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, was incarnated on the newmoon day (Amaavasyaa) of the Kartik month during the churning of the ocean(samudra-manthan); hence the association of Diwali with Lakshmi. From that day, shehas been worshipped as the symbol of wealth and prosperity. It is also said that on thisvery day, Lord Vishnu rescued Lakshmi from the prison of demon king Bali, and for thatreason Lakshmi is worshipped on the day of Diwali.

According to another legend, Lord Krishna Killed the demon king Narakasur on the daypreceding Diwali and rescued women from his captivity. The celebration of this victoryof good over evil and celebration of freedom went on for two days, including the Diwaliday.

The celebration of Diwali is also associated with the victory of Lord Rama over Ravanaand his return back to Ayodhya, his hometown. The people of Ayodhya decorated theentire city with earthen lamps and illuminated it to welcome their loving prince, hiswife and his brother.



RamayanaThe original Ramayana story had 50,000 verses to it. Here is a much shorterversion. It is a story of good over evil, which is a concept that sits at the heartof Diwali. During Diwali, lamps are lit to celebrate the return of Rama and Sitato Rama’s kingdom of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.

Once upon a time, in the ancient city of Ayodhya, lived a king whose namewas Dashratha. He was a great and happy king and he had four sons. Ramwas the firstborn and was the king’s favourite son.

One day, the great holy man, Vishwamitra, came to the palace of KingDashratha. The king welcomed him. He promised Vishwamitra that he wouldgrant him any wish he wanted.

Vishwamitra asked for something dearer to the king’s heart than his kingdomand all the riches in the world – he asked for his son Ram. Vishwamitra toldthe king that he need Ram to help him fight two demons that King Ravan ofLanka was sending to annoy him. The king was horrified. The thought ofsending his favourite son, who was only sixteen years old, to fight twodemons, sent a shiver down his spine. The king offered to go himself or tosend the whole royal army to fight the demons. But Vishwamitra insisted thatKing Dashratha kept his promise.

Ram left the palace of Ayodhya to go with Vishwamitra to fight Ravan’sdemons.Prince Laxman, who was Ram’s young brother, went too.

When they reached Vishwamitra’s home in the forest, he showed them ahuge store of weapons. There were shields, spears, bows and arrows, andeven tridents.



Vishwamitra showed Ram and Laxman how to use these deadly weapons.Ram and Laxman kept watch day and night, waiting for the demons, withoutsleeping. Then, one evening, the sky darkened quickly and two fierce demonsappeared. Ram crushed the first demon with a wind arrow and threw it adistance of 800 miles. Laxman shot a flaming arrow at the second demon.

The demons were no more.

Vishwamitra was pleased – so pleased that he invited the young princes togo with him to visit King Janak in the neighbouring kingdom of Mithila. KingJanak of Mithila had a beautiful daughter called Sita. King Janak wasdetermined that she should marry a good, brave and strong man, so he set atest that her future husband would have to pass. The king had a bow whichwas very heavy and almost impossible to lift. He said that he would give hisdaughter to the man who could bend this bow and fit a string to it.

People came from far and wide, but no one could shoot the bow. Ram fell inlove with Sita the first time he saw her. If only he would shoot the bow!Everyone watched in silence as Ram lifted the bow easily. As he bent the bowto fasten the string to it, the bow snapped in two! Everyone was amazed athow strong he was and then cheered as King Janak announced that Ramcould marry Sita.King Dashratha was told and he came to the wedding, too. Everyone washappy as Ram and Sita set off to return to Ayodhya to live there happily everafter – for a while, at least.

For twelve years, Ram and his brothers helped their father to rule Ayodhya.

One day, King Dashratha decided that he was too old and too tired to be kingany longer. It was time that Ram took over. Everyone was pleased that Ramwas to be their new ruler – all except Manthara, the Queen Kaikeyi’shandmaiden. She wanted Bharat, Ram’s brother, to be the new ruler. Bharatwas away, visiting far-off kingdoms.



Manthara was wise and cunning. She remembered that King Dashratha hasonce promised the queen two wishes, but the queen had never made them.Now she suggested two wishes to the queen: “Make Bharat the ruler andsend Ram away from Ayodhya for 14 years.”

Those two wishes made the king so sad. He didn’t want to grant the wishes,but he had made a promise, and promises should be kept.

So Ram was sent away from Ayodhya and his younger brother Bharat was tobecome ruler. Ram and Sita left Ayodhya, and Laxman decided to go withthem.

King Dashratha became sad and weary. He missed Ram and Sita, and hemissed Laxman, too. Everyone was so sad when the king died. Hearing thathis father had died, Bharat came rushing back to Ayodhya. No one had toldhim that he was to be king instead of Ram. When he returned, he was angrywith everyone. He did not want to be king – he wanted Ram to be king.Bharat set off to look for Ram, to bring him home and make him King. Aftersearching for many weeks, he found him. Bharat begged Ram to return asking, but Ram refused. His father had sent him away for 14 years, and for 14years he would do as his father had told him.

Bharat and Ram agreed that Bharat should go back to Ayodhya and be kingfor 14 years. But Ram would be the true king. His sandals would be put on theroyal throne to remind everyone. And just one other thing: Bharat must notlive in the palace, but in a mud hut , like a hermit.

Ram, Sita and Laxman lived happily together in the forest. They slept underthe stars on beds of leaves and grass and lived on fruits and berries. But theybecame uneasy. There always seemed to be someone following them,someone watching them… just like a shadow. The shadows of demons.



One day, they heard a scream and they came face to face with a hideousdemon. She had wild bloodshot eyes and tangled hair. Her voice, when shespoke, was like a growl. She was called Surpanakha, and was the sister ofRavan, the powerful ruler of Lanka and the king of the demons. She hadnever seen such handsome young men like Ram and Laxman before and shefell in love with them, there and then. Surpanakha looked at Sita and becamejealous. She rushed at Sita with bared fangs and outstretched claws. Laxmanrushed to Sita’s side and cut off the demon’s nose and ears. Screaming inagony, the demon rushed off into the depths of the forest.

Surpanakha went straight to her brother, Ravan, the mighty demon king.Ravan was angry that Laxman had hurt Surpanakha and promised his sisterthat he would not rest till Ram and Laxman had been punished. He sworethat they would suffer and die a horrible death. Ravan thought for a longtime about what he should do. ‘I’ll Capture Sita and bring her to Lanka,’ hethought.

Ram would follow to rescue his wife. Ravan would wait, surprise Ram and killhim. Ravan was pleased with this plan and decided to kidnap Sita himself.

He took his flying chariot, Pushpak, and travelled with amazing speed to thehouse of his friend, Maricha. Maricha agreed to go with Ravan and took theshape of a beautiful deer. Ravan disguised himself as a poor hermit. Theywould surprise Sita.

One morning, Sita spotted a deer outside their hut. She had never seen sucha beautiful animal before. She asked Ram to bring her the deer as a pet sothat she would have company while they were away hunting. Ram toldLaxman not to leave Sita’s side for a moment. He followed the deer into theforest to capture it and bring it back for his wife.



Ram found the deer hard to catch and it led him deeper and deeper into thedark, dark forest. Finally, Ram strung his bow and shot an arrow that piercedthe deer’s heart. The deer was changed into the demon Maricha. ‘Sita …Laxman,’ called the demon sounding just like Ram. Ram knew thatsomething was terribly wrong, and rushed back to Sita. Back at the hut, Sitaand Laxman heard what they thought was Ram’s voice. Sita begged Laxmanto go and help Ram.

Laxman didn’t know what to do. He had promised his brother that he wouldnot leave Sita but he wanted to rush to help Ram if he was in trouble. ‘Go andhelp Ram,’ argued Sita. Laxman agreed. He drew a circle around the hut withhis arrow and told Sita that she must not step across this line. As long as shestayed behind this line, no harm would come to her.

As soon as Laxman went into the forest, an old hermit came to the hutbegging for food. Sita gave him food but was careful to stay behind the linethat Laxman had drawn. But the old man said that he couldn’t reach the cupof water that she had put down for him. ‘Step forward, my dear,’ he said.

Sita stepped across the line. Instantly, she was caught in a vice-like grip asRavan took hold of her. Sita was frightened. She tried to struggle, but Ravanwas too strong. Ravan bundled Sita into his magnificent flying chariot andsped off to Lanka. Sita was his prisoner!

Ram and Laxman realised that they had been tricked. They hurried back tothe mud hut, only to find Sita had disappeared. They hunted high and low forSita, calling out her name until their voices were weak. But there was onlysilence in the forest. Not a leaf moved and the birds and animals were silent.The princes needed help.



Help was on hand. The ‘monkey people’ arrived, led by their king Sugreeva.Ram and Laxman told Sugreeva all about Sita. The monkey king offered tohelp them. The monkeys could climb to great heights and travel longdistances, jumping from branch to branch of trees. Sugreeva promised toreward the first monkey who found Sita.

So hundreds of these nimble little creatures scattered in different directionsto look for Sita. Now there was one monkey called Hanuman. Ram had afeeling that it would be this monkey who would discover where Sita hadbeen taken. Ram took the ring that he wore off his finger and gave it toHanuman. He knew that Sita would trust the carrier of this ring as a truefriend of Ram.

A bird flying high saw Sita sitting crying in Lanka. The bird whispered thenews to Hanuman. But Lanka was an island and many miles of water wouldneed to be crossed to reach it. Hanuman said he would leap across the ocean.He planted his feet firmly on the ground, took a deep breath and grew to anenormous size. He launched himself into the air with a mighty roar. He flewhigh up into the air, across the ocean, till he landed lightly on the sandybeach of Lanka’s shore. Hanuman sneaked into the city and, after searchingeverywhere, he found Sita.

He told Sita that he was a friend of Ram and gave her Ram’s ring. Sita took ajewelled ornament from her hair and told Hanuman to give it to Ram so thathe would know that she was alive and well. Hanuman knew that he mustreturn to Ram. But being a monkey, Hanuman had mischief in his blood. Heuprooted trees and shook the house down. Ravan ordered that the monkeybe captured and brought to him. Hanuman was taken to Ravan’s palace.

Knowing that his tail is a monkey’s pride, Ravan ordered that Hanuman’s tailbe dipped in oil and set on fire. Hanuman took a deep breath and broke free.He charged around the city, setting fire to everything with his flaming tail.Hanuman took another deep breath and disappeared into the sky with athunderous roar.



When Hanuman returned home, Ram was so pleased that he hugged himlike a brother. He had found Sita. But there was one little problem. How wouldthe monkey army cross the sea? They decided to build a bridge that wouldreach the shores of Lanka. Monkeys of all sizes scrambled to collect branches,stones and large boulders and dragged them to the shore and piled themone on top of the other in the sea.

In five days, the bridge was finished. Ram, Laxman, and Sugreeva led themonkey army across the bridge to Lanka. Ravan’s army was waiting for them– an army composed of terrible demons. The monkeys hurled trees andstones at the demons and fought with their teeth and claws, and Ravandecided that it was time for him to join the fight. All his brave generals andwarriors had been defeated.

Ravan put on his dazzling armour made of solid gold and precious jewels, Hemounted his chariot, drawn by four magnificent black horses and, with histen heads and countless arms, he attacked. The monkey folk attacked theterrible demon, but their stones and boulders rolled off his body like wateroff a duck’s back. Laxman rushed forward to help his monkey friends, butRavan wounded him with a powerful thunderbolt.

The monkeys told Ram that they knew of some herbs that could saveLaxman’s life. Hanuman raced to the rescue. He was swift as the wind andflew up into the air and disappeared in the direction of the Himalayamountains. When Hanuman landed on the mountain, he found a milliondifferent kinds of herbs. He had no idea which were the right ones that wouldsave Laxman’s life and knew that the only thing he could do was to pick upthe whole mountain and take it back to Laxman.

Hanuman returned to Lanka with the mountain in the palm of his hand. Themonkey folk made a medicine out of the herbs gave it to Laxman. It workedlike magic and Laxman was made better.



Ram decided that it was time that he took on the terrible Ravan in battle.Ravan’s 20 arms swung their weapons all at the same time and, every timeRam managed to cut off one of Ravan’s heads, another one would grow in itsplace! The monster seemed indestructible. Finally, Ram hurled his weaponwith all his might at Ravan. A deafening roar was heard as the mighty Ravanwas destroyed. Ram sent Hanuman to Sita to tell her the good news. Heneeded Sita to show that she still loved him – and only him.

Sita turned to Laxman and told him to build a fire. She told Ram that to proveher love she would walk through the fire that Laxman built, and if she wasnot loving then the flames would burn her. Sita calmly walked into theflames. The crowd gasped with horror as the flames wrapped around Sita –but a few moments later they gave a sigh of relief as Sita walked out of theflames, not a hair on her head was harmed.

Finally the 14 long years were over and Ram, Sita and Laxman were ready toreturn to Ayodhya. Bharat was overjoyed when he heard the news. WhenRam, Sita and Laxman entered the gates of Ayodhya, a cheer went up fromthe crowds. The brothers were so pleased to see each other again.

Ram gave Sita a beautiful pearl necklace. Sita gave the pearls to Hanuman tosay thank you for all he had done. Hanuman was thrilled to have such a gift.At last Ram’s coronation was complete. The gods smiled down on the newking of Ayodhya. From then on prosperity and happiness reigned in the land.



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Diwali: colouring-in page

Lakshmi

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LightandDark! - admin.teachingtimes.co.uk · LIGHT & DARK PROJECT PLANS teaching & learning Creative teaching This page may be photocopied for use only within the purchasing institution