This Hindu celebration, also known as the festival of colors, marks the beginning of spring. People spray colors on each other and celebrate with friends and family.
Every year, before the heat of the summer months set in, parts of India literally burst into color, thanks to Holi (pronounced “holy”), one of the country’s most popular and famed Hindu festivals.
The festivities, which are celebrated by Indian communities across the globe with particular fervor in northern India are most famous for their vibrant scenes of revelers
covered in colored powders and drenched in water.
And while you should absolutely expect to become a colorful mess in India’s version of the celebrations, the motherland’s iteration also places a strong emphasis on themes of community, tradition, and honoring ancient Hindu teachings.
Holi is celebrated in February or March every year during Phalguna, a month in the Hindu calendar. The dates vary based on the lunar calendar, and in 2020, Holi occur
s on March 10. The eve of the main celebration (March 9, 2020), known as Holika Dahan, holds its own traditions, too.
Holi is deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and there are several legends associated with the festival. The best known of these stories is that of Holika, who was the aunt of Prahlada, a devotee to the Hindu god Vishnu.
Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada’s father and Holika’s brother, ordered his son to stop worshipping Vishnu, but Prahlada refused. Because of his dedication to Vishnu, Holika and
Hiranyakashipu hatched a plan to kill Prahlada.
Although the story varies with each retelling, one popular version recounts that Holika attempted to drag Prahlada into a bonfire with him on her lap, believing she would not be hurt by the fire because she was wearing a protective shawl.
However, Prahlada emerged safely from the fire due to his devoti
on to Vishnu, while Holika perished in it after the shawl flew away from her. As a result, the night before Holi features the lighting of bonfires after sunset, symbolizing the burning of Holika and the triumph of good over evil.
Another Holi tradition comes from a different story of Hindu mythology involving the god Krishna. It’s said that Krishna, while courting the Hindu goddess Radha, smeared colored powder onto her face because of her fair complexion.
Regarded as a bit of a prankster, he would also throw flowers and colored water onto the gopis, a Sanskrit word for female cow herders. Krishna’s practices spawned the festival tradition of “playing Holi,” in which revelers mimic his color-spreading actions.
Due to its related mythologies, major festival the
mes are the bonfires on the eve of Holi and Holi day festivities during which gulal, or colored powder, and water are thrown and sprayed onto everyone in a tradition referred to as playing Holi.
Other Holi celebrations include visiting friends and family at their homes and consuming sweets and traditional foods (like bhang thandai, a spiced cannabis-infused drink and, yes, you can expect a bit of a high from it, too).
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