India is a country where every other month, you can come across a different festival. India is like that one friend who always stays busy with having one or the other plan ever ready; if it’s not Holi, then Diwali, if it’s not Diwali, then Eid, and if it’s not Eid then Onam, pongal, baisakhi, durga puja, navratri, and whatnot, but the point being said, there’s ALWAYS something happening.
Festivals here are not just some huge events; they go beyond that, they are experiences! They remind us of our shared roots, shape wholesome memories, and strengthen families. Yet somewhere in our current scenario, we have limited festivals to just “holidays,” making us forget the deeper essence that they carry. When we look closely, we can see how some of the indian festivals carry one of the richest teaching ingredients that we are missing out on. Yet our mainstream education rarely uses this source to educate the values that they are teaching us children.
Read More: How Festivals Improve Our Mental Health
The Fun Teachers that We Forget
If you speak to any Indian adult about where they learned values such as gratitude, kindness, acceptance and respect, it is likely to receive stories that reflect their childhood through festivals. Most Indian children did not simply experience Diwali as a holiday of fireworks, but instead, Diwali was a time for them to learn how to take care of their environment and themselves by forgiving others for their mistakes, while at the same time, receiving lots of positive energy.
Eid was also a holiday for getting new clothes, but it represented much more than getting something new; Eid is a time to learn to be generous, share food with our neighbours, and provide for those who are less fortunate than us. Holi encouraged children to express more of their feelings and themselves. Onam educated children about equality, Guru Nanak Jayanti advocated for humility, and Christmas brought about some hope within us. All of these festivals provided lessons about how to live our lives according to the world in which we live, rather than becoming “trapped” within the festivals themselves.
The Classroom Problem
Schools are effectively deculturizing festivals by representing them only through spectacle and providing minimal instructional value. As soon as these celebrations have been completed, most students have moved on from their holiday to their books and only revisit the festival in terms of its physicality and visual appeal. Many students may be able to replicate the physical attributes of items such as diyas and rangoli (colored powders), but may not grasp the essential value associated with them. Instead of thinking of festivals as merely being festive days, they may see them in combination with how they represent a particular time of the year.
By providing students with an experiential learning environment in which they explore the meanings behind festivals through active engagement, educators should incorporate festival activities into classroom instruction. This method will permit students to integrate festivals into their ongoing lives. For instance, during the week leading up to Diwali, teachers could allow students to connect with the meaning of the expression “light conquering darkness” through stories told aloud. Another illustration of how to involve students through experiential learning includes cooking small portions of food together for Eid, sharing those meals with those who would not ordinarily have received them.
Read More: How School Environment Shapes Mind
Learning through ACTS, not Just Memorising
Children do not learn through lecturing; they learn through hands-on experience, and holidays are the ideal opportunities for that type of learning experience. Elements of celebration stimulate all five senses (sight, smell, sound, taste, and feeling). Children remember how they felt while doing something; they do not remember what they read in a book or what they memorised.
Having a sense of teamwork can be achieved through decorations made by children within their school’s classrooms. Making simple festive foods allows children to learn how to be more responsible, while sharing sweets can foster a sense of community. Values acquired through these methods of learning will remain with children long after they have graduated from high school and have forgotten the content they read from their textbooks. The last opportunity schools have to use holidays is to foster intercultural understanding through students’ involvement in their respective cultural and religious celebrations throughout the school.
The Needs of “Today’s” Kids
Contrary to popular belief, Gen Zs are actually incredibly open-minded and sensitive. They are very concerned about mental health as well as all kinds of social injustice, equality issues and the quest for authenticity. Festivities can create emotional chaos for Gen Z as they navigate through a hyper-modern digital world. Festivals can offer Gen Z some grounding and a sense of belonging, allowing them to be connected to one another and giving them something intangible to grasp. Decorating rangolis or cooking pongals is a perfect example of how these types of activities can help you relieve anxiety in just one attempt, rather than endlessly scrolling through one’s phone. The emotional well-being that is typified in traditions such as festivals is often overlooked.
Moving Forward by looking back
Lately, India has advanced incredibly quickly in terms of technology, the world, and education all at once! So perhaps, now more than ever, we should stop and reflect on the good qualities we have inherited from our ancestors. Festivals are not merely something you participate in or celebrate; they are also lasting memories, and the lessons brought forward by these festivals are vitally important, particularly to today’s children.
By embracing the teachings of the festivals with intent, schools can teach their pupils about the common heritage of the nation and help to build the character of their pupils into tolerant, loving, responsible adults. Ultimately, it is impossible to measure someone’s values through an exam because they must be personally felt, experienced, and demonstrated by living out these values on a day-to-day basis; festivals provide us with these three experiences. The Diwali lights, the Holi colours, and the Ganesh Chaturthi sounds are only a few examples of festivals.
References +
Chatterjee, S. (2016). Rituals, Heritage, and Indian Society. Orient Blackswan.
Singh, K. (2013). “Festivals as Pedagogical Tools in Indian Classrooms.” Journal of Indian Education, 39(2), 47–60.
