FIGURES from a recent YouGov poll have shown that children are better informed about the festival of Diwali than their parents.
As Diwali is celebrated by Hindus. Sikhs, and Jains around the world on Monday, October 24, new figures show that more children have celebrated the festival and knew more about it than parents.
More than 1,000 children and 1,000 parents were surveyed in a poll commissioned by rice brand Laila, asked if they knew eight different facts about Diwali.
Nearly half of children aged between 6 and15 demonstrated knowledge of the spring cleaning of homes, the wearing of new clothes, exchanging gifts, and the attendance of firework displays as part of the festival.
This was compared to just under a third of parents when quizzed on the same customs.
More children were familiar with customs such as Rangoli art and the use of small oil lamps, or Diyas, as festive decoration in homes and shops.
They were similarly better informed about the religious significance of Diwali, including its celebration of the goddess Lakshmi and its duration of five days.
One in four of the parents surveyed claimed they didn’t know any of the given aspects of Diwali.
Managing director of Surya Foods, Harry Dulai, said: “UK children learn about Diwali in school, as part of the national curriculum.
“So it is probably not surprising that the survey revealed they know lots more about the festival and have celebrated it more than parents.
“However, it is still quite surprising that a quarter of UK parents couldn’t name a single thing about Diwali.
“We would love to see Diwali celebrated multiculturally in the UK, by all generations.
“It is a wonderful story which explores universal themes around love, light and hope and a fantastic time to discover and explore South Asian culture and cuisine.
“It has all the ingredients to find a special place in UK hearts.”
As well as commissioning the survey, Laila is also partnering with the conservation charity, Born Free to bring 10% of the net profits from their chocolate elephants to global elephant conservation work.
