Holi – The Festival of Colours and Togetherness

Warsha Choudhary Feb 24, 2023 249 0

Holi – The Festival of Colours and Togetherness

Holi is a popular Hindu festival which is also called as the ‘festival of spring’ the ‘festival of colors’ the ‘festival of love’. It is considered the second biggest Hindu festival after Diwali, and the celebrations last for two days - Choti Holi or Holika Dahan. The festival falls in the Hindu calendar month of Phalgun, which usually falls between February and March. On this day, people play with colors, water, and flowers, children and adults smear Gulal on each other, and people seek the blessings of their elders. People visit their friends and relatives and also relish holi delicacies like gujiya,thandai, and more after playing Holi.

This year, Holi will be celebrated on March 8, whereas Holika Dahan will occur on March 7.

Amidst all the fun and fiesta, let’s take some time to see how it all began and all the other interesting facts about this colorful festival.

Origin of Holi is intertwined with two mythological tales. Firstly, the demon king, Hiranyakashyap asked sister Holika to kill his son Prahlad. Holika sat with Prahlad in the fire as she was tolerant of the same. However, when Prahlad started praying to Lord Vishnu, he was saved and rather Holika was burnt to ashes.

The other tale is the celebrated love story of Radha-Krishna. Krishna being dark in complexion felt the comparatively fairer Radha wouldn’t accept his love. Hence he smeared Radha’s face with colors and thus the celebration of Holi started.

Holi is celebrated at its magnum opus in Mathura and Vrindavan with celebrations starting a week before Holi.
Holi shatters discrimination and breaks all age-old customs. It’s one of a kind festival that brings together people of all religions together for merry-making.
Nepal too has a full-fledged week dedicated to Holi. They dress up a bamboo pole in colorful clothes a week before Holi and then burn it on the occasion of Holika Dahan.
Holi has international significance too, In China, Holi is celebrated as the "Spring Festival". In Japan, Holi is celebrated as "The Festival of Colors". In South Korea, Holi is celebrated as "Korean New Year" and is similar to the Chinese celebration.
South Indians have a different take on Holi. They attribute the festival to the sacrifice of Lora Kamdeva, who risked his life to revoke Lord Shiva from meditation and rescue the world.