World Celebrations: Holi

March 8th, 2017

Image Source: Kamalakanta777

As part of our World Traditions series, we take a look at Holi, a Hindu festival celebrated in India, Nepal as well as in other Hindu communities in South Asia and increasingly all over the world.

When is it?

The exact date of Holi changes from year to year as it begins on the full moon in late February or March. This year it occurs on March 12th and 13th. It is a national holiday in India and a regional one in Nepal.

What is it?

Holi is the first main Hindu festival of the year and is also known as the Festival of Colours or Festival of Love. In common with many other Spring festivals around the world, it celebrates renewal, the end of winter and start of Spring and new life. People from all walks of life, rich and poor, old and young, join together in the community to celebrate, have fun as well as renew broken friendships and forgive and forget any feuds.

There are two parts to Holi - Holika Dahan and Rangwali Holi.

Holika Dahan

Image By Ronaldo Lazzari from Hyderabad, India (Holi)CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The first evening bonfires are lit and roasting grains such as chickpeas, popcorn are thrown. The event celebrates the triumph of good over evil and has its roots in the legend of Prahlad and Holika.

Prahlad was a Prince, who angered his father, the king, because he would not respect his father’s wishes and he worshipped the god Vishnu instead of his father. So the angry king got his sister Holika to trick Prahlad into sitting in her lap in the middle of a fire so he would burn. But because the wicked aunt was using her powers for evil, Prahlad managed to escape and Holika burned instead. This is why the bonfires are lit during Holi.

Rangwali Holi

Image Source: Jitenderasingh

The next day people come onto the streets to throw paint and coloured water at each other, creating an amazing visual spectacle of colour and fun. Later in the evening after clearing up and washing the paint off themselves, families visit each other and friends and exchange gifts and sweets.

This part of the festivities derives from the legend of Radha and Krishna. Krishna was in love with Radha, but he was self conscious because their skins were such different colours. So on his mother’s advice, he painted Radha’s face the same colour as his skin. This is said to be why people smear paint on each other during Holi.

Some treat holiday as a religious holiday and for others it is more about fun, and there are variations in the festivities depending on the part of India or beyond.

Image Source: PM Narendra Modi via Flickr

Happy Holi to our Psiphon users! Check your local listings if you live in a big city, as chances are there could be a local Holi celebration going on. And don’t forget to oil your hair before you go out so you can get the paint out easily afterwards!