Holi Festival is a once-a-year event renowned for fun and
ubiquitous color powder. It is one of the best occasions to experience hindu
culture at its happiest. Though Holi is a Hindu religious festival, it has
become popular among non-Hindus in many places in South Asia and even outside
Asia, and has spread to many palaces in North America and Europe in the past
few years as a celebration of love, joy and colors. It is hard to tell how many
people celebrate Holi festival.
Do you know why Holi is Celebrated?
Hiranyakashipu was a king in ancient India who was like a demon.
He wanted to take revenge for the death of his younger brother who was killed
by Lord Vishnu. So to gain power, the king prayed for years. He was finally
granted a boon. But with this Hiranyakashipu started considering himself God and asked his people to worship him like
God. The cruel king has a young son named Prahalad, who was a great devotee of
Lord Vishnu. Prahalad had never obeyed his father’s order and kept on
worshiping Lord Vishnu. The King was so hard hearted and decided to kill his
own son, because he refused to worship him. He asked his sister ‘Holika’, who
was immune to fire, to sit on a pyre of fire with Prahalad in her lap. Their
plan was to burn Prahalad. But their plan did not go through as Prahalad who
was reciting the name of Lord Vishnu throughout was safe, but Holika got burnt
to ashes. The defeat of Holika signifies the burning of all that is bad. After
this, Lord Vishnu killed Hiranyakashipu. But it is actually the death of Holika
that is associated with Holi. Because of this, in some states of India like
Bihar , a pyre in the form of bonfire is lit on the day before Holi day to
remember the death of evil.
But how did colors become part of Holi? This dates back to
the period of Lord Krishna (reincarnation of Lord Vishnu . It is believed that
Lord Krishna used to celebrate holi with colors and hence popularized the same.
He used to play holi with his friends at Vrindavan and Gokul. They used to play
pranks all across the village and thus made this a community event. That is why
till date Holi celebrations at Vrindavan are unmatched.
How is Holi celebrated?
In the night before Holi, people gather together, perform
religious rituals usually in front of a bonfire, and then pray for the
destruction of their internal evil. The next morning, people start the real
carnival, by smearing each other with colored powders and drenching each other
in open streets, parks, and grounds outside temples and buildings. And
sometimes water guns and water-filled balloons are used for fun. I remember
from our balcony throwing water balloons filled with color and water, and
throwing it at people outside on the street. There are groups of people singing
and dancing from place to place carrying drums and other instruments. People
will also visit their families and friends to color each other, and then share
Holi delicacies.
The Holi festival has a cultural significance among various
Hindu traditions of the Indian subcontinent. It is the festive day to end and
rid oneself of past errors, to end conflicts by meeting others, a day to forget
and forgive. People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in
their lives. Holi is a spring festival to say goodbye to winters. In some parts
the celebrations are also associated with spring harvest. Farmers after seeing
their stores being refilled with new crops celebrate Holi as a part of their
happiness. Because of this, Holi is also known as ‘Vasant Mahotsava’ and ‘Kama
Mahotsava’.
