How to Make a Basket for Diwali
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is a five-day long Indian holiday held in late October or early November to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. During the Holiday weekend, Indian theaters release new movies and people dress in colorful new clothes, set off firecrackers and consume Diwali sweets. Hindus open their windows and light candles and oil lamps to welcome Lakshmi, their goddess of fortune. You can make your own Diwali gift basket to give to a friend who celebrates the holiday.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Shallow basket
- Small oil lamp
- Lamp oil
- Fireworks
- Sparklers
- Noisemakers
- Sweets
- Hindu prayer beads
- Ribbon
Instructions
-
-
1
Place a small oil lamp and lamp oil, taper candles or both items in the basket for celebrators to use when lighting up their windows.
-
2
Add fireworks and sparklers to the basket, if they are legal in your state and the recipient is over 18 years old. If explosives are illegal in your area or if the basket is for a child, include a noisemaker instead for the recipient to use during the celebration. A small percentage of Hindus celebrate the New Year on the day after Diwali.
-
-
3
Make or purchase a string of red prayer beads if giving the basket to a religious person. Traditional Hindu prayer beads, or mala, have 30, 40 or 108 beads.
-
4
Purchase imported Indian sweets from an Asian market to add to the basket. Traditional Diwali sweets are made from ghee and cane sugar. Other traditional sweets include roasted almonds and cashews, as well as dried fruits such as apricots, pineapple, dates and mango.
-
5
Place the lid on the basket and tie it with a red and gold ribbon.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit Andreas Rentz/Getty Images News/Getty Images
