'Really big' celebrations expected for Diwali

Diwali is a Hindu festival celebrated annually

Events, including film showings, are taking place across Surrey and West and East Sussex to celebrate Diwali.

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, and it symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".

The date is determined by the position of the moon, and although Diwali falls on 31 October this year, some places, including Burwash, have their main celebrations on Friday.

The celebrations can take place over five or six days.

"It's basically a refresh", says Mandira Sarkar from Mandira's Kitchen

Mandira's Kitchen, a small business in Albury near Guildford, Surrey, is celebrating Diwali on Thursday through one of its monthly supper clubs - a ticketed temporary pop-up restaurant with a special themed menu.

There will be music performed by Wild Tabla, an Indian percussionist, as well as dancing and discussions around Diwali.

Mandira said: "It'll be quite a spectacle I think, and I think overlooking the ponds with lights and everything, it will look very beautiful."

Bateman's in Burwash, East Sussex - one of the National Trust's properties - will be celebrating Diwali between Friday and Sunday.

Open from 1100 until 15.30 GMT each day, the house will be decorated with twinkling lights and handmade paper lotus flowers, the National Trust says.

There will also be a new short film presenting an abridged version of the Ramayana, an Indian tale which is central to Diwali.

The Ramayana is about Prince Rama's journey to rescue his beloved wife, Sita with the help of an army of monkeys.

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