Lesson video

Hello.

My name's Ms. Rivers.

I'm glad you've chosen this lesson and I'm looking forward to working with you today.

Today's lesson is from the unit Festivals.

How do they celebrate the natural world? And this lesson is called the Celebration of Holi.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain how and why Hindus celebrate Holi.

You might know some celebrations and you might know some of the things people do, and they have parties and give presents and have fun.

Today's lesson is about the celebration of Holi and the fun Hindus have when they celebrate it.

Some of today's learning will be new, but I'm here to help and we can learn together.

The key words we'll be learning today are pandit.

That's a Hindu priest or wise teacher who leads and celebrates worship and prayer.

Krishna, that's a Hindu deity who represents compassion, protection, and love.

And Holi, a Hindu spring festival.

The natural world, everything in nature not made by people.

Some of these words might be new for you, so let's practise them together.

I'll say the word and then you say it back to me.

Pandit.

Krishna.

Holi.

Natural world.

We'll be using these keywords all through the lesson, so listen carefully to see when they turn up.

In the first part of the lesson, we'll be thinking about some of the things that Hindus do to celebrate Holi, such as lighting bonfires and throwing paint.

Why do Hindus have bonfires and paint at Holi? Jun and Sam are talking about religious education.

Jun says, "Religious education often seems to be about people and the things they do.

I wonder why?" Sam has a good idea for him.

She says, "We can understand different worldviews by finding out about how people behave.

People show what's important to them by the things they do and the ways they celebrate.

So in this lesson, we'll hear from different Hindus and we'll learn about the celebration of Holi, and this will help us to better understand Hindu worldviews.

Holi is a Hindu festival and it's celebrated in spring.

It lasts five days.

Do you remember that key word, Holi? It means a Hindu spring festival.

Look at the picture.

Can you see the people with paint all over their hands? Many Hindus celebrate Holi by throwing colourful paint and sometimes they light a sacred bonfire called a burning Holi.

At Holi, many Hindus remember and retell stories about Hindu deities such as Vishnu and Krishna.

Can you see that key word, Krishna? Do you remember that Krishna is one of the Hindu deities that Hindus worship.

And here's another picture with something that Hindus do at Holi.

It's a picture of a bonfire.

Holi begins on the night of the full moon and people gather wood and twigs to make the bonfire.

The pandit lights the sacred fire to symbolise good triumphing over evil.

Did you spot that key word, pandit? The pandit is the priest who says the prayers and helps the people to worship.

The pandit might make some offerings or say prayers to worship Krishna.

And there's that key word, Krishna.

Krishna is one of the Hindu deities and at Holi, sometimes Hindu people worship Krishna.

Here's Het.

Het has a Hindu worldview.

He celebrates Holi.

He says, "The Holi bonfire reminds me of the story of Prahlad and his wicked aunt Holika.

Prahlad was brave.

He prayed to Lord Vishnu and he was saved from the flames.

When the pandit lights the bonfire, it reminds me to be brave in my life too." So you can see that Het is thinking about the deeper meaning of Holi.

He's thinking about the story of Prahlad and his bravery, and that reminds Het to be brave as well.

Here's Priya.

Priya is Het's sister and she has a Hindu worldview as well.

She's been thinking about the deeper meaning of Holi and the things she thinks about when the pandit lights the bonfire.

Priya says, "As well as being full of colour and fun, Holi can be quite a serious festival too.

When the Pandit lights the fire, I think about how I live my life, what bad habits and thoughts do I want to get rid of.

So here's a quick check to see what we've learned so far.

What might a Hindu pandit do at Holi? And there are two right answers here so listen carefully.

Would the pandit, A, light a bonfire? B, build a shelter? Or C, say prayers? Pause the video while you think about your answer and remember to choose two.

That's right.

At Holi, the pandit might light a bonfire and say some prayers.

Well done if you've got both of those answers.

Here's Dhanu.

She has a Hindu worldview and she explains a little bit more about the deeper meaning of the festival of Holi when she celebrates it.

She says, "Sometimes I throw popcorn or small twigs into the Holi bonfire.

It reminds me to let go of my angry thoughts and selfish ideas.

After the bonfire has burned itself out, it's time to move on to a new, pure life and celebrate Holi." So Dhanu is thinking about how Holi reminds her to leave angry thoughts and selfish ideas behind.

And the bonfire helps her to do this.

And then she's ready to celebrate and start a new life and have fun with Holi celebrations.

Here are Het and Priya again.

Do you remember that they are brother and sister? And they're talking together about their Holi traditions.

Het says, "The best part of Holi is when we get to throw powder paint at each other.

You always chase me and cover me with paint! Why do we do that?" Priya says, "Yes, playing Holi is fun.

I like to throw paint on you as well!" Do you remember the picture at the beginning of the lesson where the people had paint on their hands and throwing paint is called playing Holi.

And I think Het and Priya enjoy playing Holi.

Here's a picture of Het and Priya playing Holi.

Can you see that Priya is covered in paint that Het is putting all over her face? And Priya tells us why they do this.

She says, "We throw paint to remember how Lord Krishna threw coloured powder on his friends when he was young.

He was always getting up to mischief and playing tricks." So you can see that playing Holi and throwing paint reminds Hindu people about Krishna, one of the deities that they worship.

So here's a picture of Krishna, the Hindu deity, and Priya is telling us a little bit more about Krishna and why he's important to her.

She says, "Krishna inspires me because he represents joy as well as compassion.

Throwing paint at Holi reminds me that it's important to have moments of fun as well as working hard." So here's another quick check, and this one is true or false.

Festivals are always serious and solemn.

Is that true or false? Have a think about your answer.

That's right.

It's false.

Festivals like Holi are full of fun and mischief, as well as time to think about serious things.

Well done if you've got the right answer there.

And now it's time for a task.

Jun has been learning about Holi at school.

He says, Holi looks like a lot of fun.

People throw paint to celebrate bright spring colours.

Is that the only thing people do at Holi? Can you explain two more things that Hindus might do to celebrate Holi? Pause the video while you do your work.

So, how did you get on with this task? Did you think of two more things that Hindus might do to celebrate Holi? You might have said Hindus throw paint to remember the story of Krishna throwing coloured powder at his friends.

The Hindu pandit lights a sacred bonfire to show that everyone is getting rid of bad habits and making a new start.

I wonder if you thought of those ideas or maybe you had some different ideas.

Well done for doing good thinking and good work.

In the second part of the lesson, we'll be thinking about the natural world and how different religions celebrate it.

How do religions celebrate the natural world? So Priya is explaining how the Hindu celebration of Holi inspires her and she's thinking about celebrating the natural world and what's important to her.

She says, "I believe Lord Krishna wants us to make good choices about caring for the natural world instead of destroying it.

The story of Holi gives me hope because it shows that goodness and wisdom are stronger than evil in the end." So the story of Holi makes Priya feel hopeful.

Even though she can see the natural world being spoiled sometimes, she feels hopeful that good will win in the end, and perhaps people will learn to look after the natural world and value it and celebrate it instead of spoiling it.

And Het is also thinking about the story of Holi and how it inspires him to make good choices about the natural world.

He says, "Last Holi, I decided to make choices that are good for the natural world.

I walk more and I try to reuse things instead of throwing things away.

The story of Holi is about having the courage to stand up for what you believe.

That means taking action even if other people don't agree with you, just as Prahlad did." So Het is explaining how Holi makes him feel brave and strong, and he's able to make good choices and do the right thing.

So Holi inspires him to look after the natural world.

Here's a quick check for understanding.

Which of these is part of the natural world? A, tents.

B, flowers.

C, paints.

Pause the video while you think about your answer.

That's right, flowers are part of the natural world.

Well done if you got the right answer.

Priya explains more about how Hindus celebrate the natural world.

She says, "The natural world is so beautiful in the spring.

When Hindus celebrate Holi, we are celebrating the new life we see in the world around us.

Holi paint is like a celebration of spring colours and a reminder that it's good to have fun." So when Hindus celebrate Holi in the spring, they're remembering the natural world and celebrating how beautiful it is, and they show this with all the bright colours, with the paint and the fun.

So Rafi is from a different religious community.

He has a Jewish worldview and he celebrates Tu B'Shevat, which is a celebration all about trees.

And you can see in the picture there, there's an old lady pointing to the trees and talking about how important they are.

Rafi explains the celebration of Tu B'Shevat.

He says, "At Tu B'Shevat, Jews celebrate by planting trees.

God said that human beings should be good stewards of creation by looking after the natural world so that future generations can enjoy it too." So at Tu B'Shevat Jews celebrate the natural world by planting trees for future generations so that the natural world is looked after right into the future.

Did you notice in Rafi's speech bubble that God has the letter O missing? That's because it's such a holy word for Jewish people and sometimes they write it like this to remind them that it's a holy word.

Here's David.

David has a Christian worldview, and as a Christian, he celebrates harvest.

And he talks a bit about why harvest is important to him and how it helps him to celebrate the natural world.

He says, "Christians celebrate harvest by decorating the church with fruit, and vegetables and flowers.

We pray and thank God for all the good things in the natural world, and we share the food with others in our community." So David and other Christians celebrate the natural world by decorating the church with natural things such as fruit and flowers.

But they also say thank you to God for good things in the world, and they share the food with other people.

That's part of their celebration.

Here's a check for understanding, and this one is true or false.

Only Hindus believe they should care for the natural world.

Is that true or false? That's right.

It's false.

People of many religions and worldviews believe they should look after the natural world and make good choices about how to care for it.

We've learned today that Hindus like Het and Priya care for the natural world.

But we've also been reminded that Jews like Rafi and Christians like David also think it's important to care for the natural world.

Here's our final task for today.

Can you see David and Priya and Rafi and we've been thinking about how they celebrate the natural world.

So your task is to complete the sentences to show how Priya and Rafi and David celebrate the natural world in their festivals.

David celebrates the natural world at harvest.

How does he do that? Priya celebrates the natural world at Holi.

Can you remember what she does? And Rafi celebrates the natural world at Tu B'Shevat.

What does he do to celebrate? Pause the video while you do your work and complete the sentences.

So, how did you get on? Did you manage to think about how Priya and Rafi and David celebrate the natural world in their festivals? You might have said something like this.

David celebrates the natural world at harvest by decorating the church with fruit and flowers and saying thank you to God.

Priya celebrates the natural world at Holi by throwing brightly coloured paint to show new life in spring.

Rafi celebrates the natural world at Tu B'Shevat by planting trees so that future generations can enjoy them.

Did your ideas sound a bit like mine or maybe you thought of some different ideas and some different words? Well done for working hard and for writing good sentences.

So, we've learned a lot about the celebration of Holi in our lesson today.

We've learned that the Holi festival lasts five days and begins on the night of the full moon.

We've learned that it is a joyful festival of colour to celebrate the natural world in spring.

We've learned that the pandit lights a bonfire called a burning Holi.

This is sometimes seen as a sacred fire.

And we've learned that people also remember the story of Krishna throwing coloured powder at his friends and Hindus play Holi who by throwing paint.

Well done for listening carefully and working hard in today's lesson.

I've enjoyed working with you.