Once upon a time, in a village in India, there was a boy called Rohan. He lived with his parents and grandmother in a small house. As the days grew shorter, his grandmother said, "It's time to get ready for Diwali." Rohan grinned from ear to ear. He loved the festival of lights! The whole family came together, there was delicious food and the house was always brightly lit.
"Do you want to know why we celebrate Diwali at all?" asked his grandma. The boy looked at her with wide eyes. "You know, a long time ago, there lived a prince called Rama. He was very brave and kind. Rama was very much in love with his wife, Sita. Therefore, he was very unhappy when an evil demon named Ravana kidnapped his beautiful Sita. He asked his brother Lakshama and the brave monkey king Hanuman for help in rescuing her."
Rohan listened attentively. He had not expected there to be such an exciting story behind it. "After a long search, the three of them found the evil Ravana and Sita. A long, exciting battle ensued. Prince Rama finally managed to defeat his opponent. He and Princess Sita fell into each other's arms. After the initial reunion, they set off on their way home. They were amazed when they saw their kingdom. Every house was aglow with light! The people had lit small lamps to welcome Rama and Sita home. With the diyas, as the little lamps are also called, they celebrated the victory of good over evil."
Grandma got up to start decorating the house. There were still many diyas to be put up and the family and relatives were expecting homemade sweets. "And why are we also making fireworks on Diwali?" Rohan had become curious. "The fireworks are to commemorate the joy people felt when Rama and Sita arrived home," said a voice behind Rohan. His mother had finished applying the henna tattoo on her hands. The beautiful decorations were very intricate to make, but Diwali was worth the effort for her.
Later that evening, Rohan stood outside the house with his family and ate laddoos, sweet dough balls that his grandmother had freshly prepared. When the fireworks finally went off, he thought of Rama and Sita and was glad that they had made it home safely after their adventure.
Image rights: motionstock at Pixabay
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