Festivals for kids are one of the happiest ways to learn about the world. Children already know festivals from home: the lights of Diwali, the colours of Holi, the sweet sewaiyan of Eid, a star on a Christmas tree. This page turns that into a short, gentle lesson on festivals of India for kids and festivals of the world. Your child taps a festival, sees a picture, hears two simple true sentences in Hindi and English, and taps a diya, a lantern or a moon to watch it light up. Then a matching game asks, "What goes with Diwali?" and your child picks the diya.
We treat every festival and every community the same way. Each festival gets the same number of sentences, the same kind of picture and the same place on the screen. The sentences say what people do ("people light diyas", "families eat mooncakes") and never tell a child what to believe. That makes the page a comfortable fit for homes of any faith or none, and for mixed classrooms in India, the Gulf, the UK, the US and beyond.
The 17 festivals on this page
We chose festivals that children in India are likely to see around them, plus the biggest celebrations that friends, cousins and classmates abroad talk about. The table shows the festival name in English and Hindi, where it is widely celebrated, and the symbol your child matches in the game.
| Festival | Hindi name | Widely celebrated in | Symbol in the game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diwali | दिवाली | India and Indian families worldwide | Diya |
| Holi | होली | India, Nepal | Colours |
| Eid al-Fitr | ईद-उल-फ़ित्र | Muslim families worldwide | Crescent moon |
| Christmas | क्रिसमस | Christian families worldwide, and many others | Star |
| Guru Nanak Jayanti | गुरु नानक जयंती | Sikh families, Punjab and worldwide | Khanda |
| Pongal | पोंगल | Tamil Nadu | Pongal pot |
| Onam | ओणम | Kerala | Flowers (pookalam) |
| Lunar New Year | चंद्र नव वर्ष | China, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore and more | Red lantern |
| Hanukkah | हनुक्का | Jewish families worldwide | Menorah |
| Buddha Purnima | बुद्ध पूर्णिमा | India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Buddhist families worldwide | Lotus |
| Navroz | नवरोज़ | Parsi families in India, Iran, Central Asia | Green sprouts |
| Easter | ईस्टर | Christian families worldwide | Egg |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | मिड-ऑटम उत्सव | China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia | Mooncake |
| Día de Muertos | दिया दे मुएर्तोस | Mexico | Marigold |
| Carnival | कार्निवल | Brazil, the Caribbean, parts of Europe | Masks |
| Baisakhi | बैसाखी | Punjab | Dhol |
| Durga Puja | दुर्गा पूजा | West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Bengali families everywhere | Dhak drum |
Many of these dates follow the moon or a local calendar, so they move a little each year. When a festival comes near, open this page and tell your child, "That is next week!"
How to use this festivals page with your child
Festivals: look, listen and tap
The first tab shows all 17 festival cards. Tap one and a scene opens with a big picture on a festival-coloured background. The name and two sentences appear in Hindi and English and are read out in a clear audio voice. Beside the picture sits the festival's special object with a small 👆. When your child taps it, it reacts: the diya and the lantern glow, the lotus and the marigold open up, the dhol and the Pongal pot give a happy wiggle, colours splash for Holi, and the Easter egg hatches into a chick. There is no right or wrong here, only looking and listening. Tap Next festival to move on.
Match: festivals and their symbols
The second tab is a short matching game on festivals and their symbols. Golu, our marble mascot, asks, "What goes with Onam?" and shows two to four symbols, depending on the age you set. If your child taps a different symbol, the game says its name kindly and lets them try again. After two tries the right answer glows, and after three a hand points to it. There are no timers, no scores and no "wrong" buzzer. After a few rounds your child earns a marble in the Goli Jar.
Say hello around the world
The third tab links festivals to places. Tap a country to hear how children there say hello, and see a famous animal, a food and a landmark. It is the same game as our countries of the world for kids page.
Use the अ+A button in the header to choose Hindi first, English first, or one language only. Calm mode in the grown-up settings switches off the bouncing and the sparkles for children who find them too much.
What children learn from festivals at 3, 4, 5 and 6
Festivals sit in the "discovering the world" and "personal, social and emotional" parts of almost every early-years curriculum, from NCF-FS in India to the UK EYFS and the IB PYP. The aim is not to memorise dates. It is to notice that families celebrate in different ways, to feel proud of your own celebrations, and to be curious and kind about other people's.
| Age | What is realistic | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| 2-3 years (toddler) | Enjoys lights, colours and music; says one festival word like "diya" | Look at the Diwali and Christmas cards together; make the diya glow |
| 3-4 years (nursery) | Names 3-5 festivals, links one object to each | Match game with 2-3 choices; talk about your family's festival |
| 4-5 years (LKG) | Tells one thing people do at a festival; knows festivals happen in different places | Say one sentence together after each card, then play Match |
| 5-6 years (UKG) | Compares two festivals ("both have lights"), knows harvest festivals, uses Hindi and English names | Group festivals of lights, harvest festivals and new-year festivals; draw one |
How to teach festivals at home in 10 minutes
- Start with your own festival. Open the card for the festival your family celebrates. Ask, "What do we do at home?" Your child's answer matters more than the screen.
- Add one new festival. Pick a festival a friend, neighbour or classmate celebrates. Listen to the two sentences and ask, "What is the same as our festival?" Lights, sweets, new clothes and family visits come up again and again.
- Play three rounds of Match. Keep it short. Stop while your child still wants more.
- Take it off the screen. Light a diya together (with a grown-up), make a paper lantern, draw a pookalam with crayons, or paint an egg. Real objects fix the words far better than any app.
Group festivals by what children can see. Festivals of lights: Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Guru Nanak Jayanti. Harvest festivals of India: Pongal, Onam, Baisakhi. New-year festivals: Lunar New Year, Navroz. Moon festivals: Eid, Mid-Autumn, Buddha Purnima.
Talking about festivals respectfully (a note for parents and teachers)
Young children copy the tone we use. Speak about every festival the way you speak about your own: warmly and simply. Useful phrases are "Some families celebrate...", "In Kerala, people..." and "Your friend Aisha's family celebrates Eid". Avoid words like "strange" or "funny" for other people's customs. If your child asks a big question ("Who is right?"), a calm answer works well: "Different families believe different things, and we can be kind to all of them."
Día de Muertos is shown gently, as a colourful day when families remember loved ones with flowers and favourite foods. For a young child, "remembering people we love" is enough. If your family is grieving, you can skip that card or use it to share a happy memory.
For children with speech delay, let them point and tap while you name the festival; the audio repeats every time. For autistic children, start with calm mode on and one festival they already know. In bilingual homes, keep both languages on so your child hears the Hindi and English names side by side. Screen time works best in short, shared sessions: sit together, talk, and then do something real. Children under two learn more from a grown-up and real objects than from any screen.
Festival activities for kids to try after the game
- Festival calendar: mark the next three festivals on a paper calendar with our months of the year page.
- Food chat: sweets and dishes are a big part of every festival. Name them with food items in Hindi and English.
- Greetings: practise "Happy Diwali", "Eid Mubarak", "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year", and talk about good manners when visiting.
- Family tree: ask who comes to visit at festival time with our family members name page.
- Our country: link Independence Day and Republic Day to the national symbols of India.
If you want a festivals worksheet or festivals chart for nursery, LKG or UKG, print this page: the table above prints cleanly and lists every festival with its Hindi name and symbol. There is no separate PDF to download.
