Diwali 2026

The period from November 6th to 11th this year was Diwali, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains around the world. Diwali (or Deepavali) is the annual festival of lights. The word actually means 'row of lights'. It celebrates the spiritual triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. As has become the tradition, our local National Trust property, East Riddlesden Hall, was transformed for the occasion, with hundreds of lights, colourful pompoms and many traditional symbols. It's such an uplifting event. At this time of year, when late autumn slides into winter, I really need light! 

This year they had a puppet theatre performing traditional stories, various workshops - lantern-making, textiles, Dhol drumming - and in the evening a lantern parade. (I didn't stay for that.) There was a young musician playing and I sat and listened to his soothing sitar music for quite a while. (There was a time in my life, in the late 1960s, when sitar music was a bit of 'a thing' in the UK - Ravi Shankar, The Beatles and others - so it felt quite nostalgic.)  

One of the sacred symbols is the Lotus flower, representing purity, rebirth, strength, and spiritual enlightenment. Because it roots in dark, murky mud and pushes up through the water to bloom into a clean, pristine flower, it is a powerful symbol of rising above adversity and transforming suffering into wisdom. I've only once seen a real-life lotus - when one bloomed at Harlow Carr Gardens - and I must say it was captivating. (See HERE) 

Another symbol is the peacock, India's national bird, representing beauty, confidence, hope and new beginnings. One of the rooms was tastefully decorated with the turquoises, jades and golds of a peacock. 

When I visited there were lots of Asian families enjoying the celebrations, many really dressed up for the occasion. I had some heartwarming conversations. One young man, in the garden, asked me if I knew what a particular plant seedhead was. It was a teasel and I mentioned that they were once used for brushing to raise the nap on woollen cloth. He excitedly told an older lady in their family (in their own language), and then told me that his grandmother originally came to Britain as a young woman to work in our textile mills, which were facing a severe labour shortage. 

I was brave enough to ask permission to photograph these ladies, dressed in colourful traditional saris. They graciously obliged. I did it in rather a rush as I'm always embarrassed to ask people, and I would have done well to take a bit more care with my camera settings! But it was truly lovely to be amongst people who were clearly really enjoying their day out. It was all, indeed, a triumph of light over darkness.