What is Diwali?
Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is a beautiful celebration that symbolises light over darkness, hope, joy, and new beginnings. Across Aotearoa, many families come together to celebrate Diwali with candles, food, music, and vibrant decorations. This provides an extremely special chance to share something new with tamariki in early childhood settings too; an opportunity to learn about different cultures, explore light and colour, and strengthen our sense of community and belonging.
Why its’ important
Celebrating Diwali in ECE is a beautiful way to embrace the cultures that make up our communities and show tamariki that all traditions are valued. For children who celebrate Diwali at home, seeing their culture reflected in the centre builds pride and belonging, while others gain a deeper appreciation for diversity. The colours, patterns, and lights of Diwali inspire creativity and curiosity, from designing rangoli to exploring shadows and light. These activities naturally weave in learning across art, maths, science, and language in fun, hands-on ways. At its heart, Diwali reminds us to share light and joy, offering rich opportunities to explore kindness, gratitude, and friendship together.
Diwali Activity Ideas for ECE
Here are some simple, creative ideas to bring Diwali to life in your centre.
Patakhe Art (Fireworks Painting)
Use recycled cardboard rolls to make “firework” brushes — simply cut slits at one end, dip in paint, and stamp on dark paper. Tamariki will love watching the colourful bursts appear!
Visit our step by step Patakhe activity blog - https://teachertalk.org.nz/blogs/news/celebrate-diwali-patakhe-art-activity?_pos=2&_sid=b2dbb8543&_ss=r
Mehndi Hand Art
Invite tamariki to trace their hands and decorate them with mehndi-inspired patterns using paint, markers, or crayons. Use cotton buds for fine dots and swirls.
For some ideas on how to explore Mendhi, have a read of our blog -https://teachertalk.org.nz/blogs/news/celebrate-diwali-mehndi-activity?_pos=1&_sid=f831fd42d&_ss=r
Rangoli Creations
Provide templates or circular trays with coloured rice, sand, or paper shapes to design rangoli patterns. Talk about symmetry and repeating patterns as children create their designs.
Clay Diyas (Lamps of Light)
Make small clay or salt dough lamps and decorate them with bright paint and glitter. Pop in a battery tealight to safely bring a little sparkle to your space.
Whānau connections
If any of your whānau celebrate Diwali, invite them to share a story, song, or traditional sweet. This is a wonderful way to bring authentic voices into your learning community. While celebrating Diwali, be mindful to approach it with respect and inclusion — learn about the festival’s meaning and values, focus on shared themes like kindness and community, and invite tamariki to reflect on what brings light and joy into their own lives.
Resources to support
To help make celebrating Diwali easy, meaningful, and inclusive, we’ve created a range of TeacherTalk resources designed to support kaiako with ready-to-use templates, visual prompts, story cards, and displays, tools to help tamariki explore culture through creativity and connection
Explore our Diwali collection at
https://teachertalk.org.nz/search?q=diwali&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
Main points
Celebrating Diwali in ECE is a joyful way to explore creativity, inclusion, and kindness. Whether you create fireworks art, design beautiful rangoli, or simply take a moment to talk about light and joy, you’re helping tamariki understand and appreciate the beauty of our diverse world.
Diwali ki shubhkamnayein
Happy Diwali
