HOLI

HOLI 

 Holi, Hindu spring festival celebrated throughout North India on the full-moon day of Phalguna (February–March). Participants throw coloured water and powders on one another, and, on this one day only, license is given for the usual rankings of caste, gender, status, and age to be reversed. In the streets the celebrations are often marked by ribald language and behaviour, but at its conclusion, when everyone bathes, dons clean white clothes, and visits friends, teachers, and relatives, the ordered patterns of society are reasserted and renewed.

Holi

Holi is particularly enjoyed by worshippers of the god Krishna. Its general frivolity is considered to be in imitation of Krishna’s play with the gopis (wives and daughters of cowherds). In Vraja (modern Gokul), rituals of reversal culminate in a battle in which the women of the natal village of Radha, Krishna’s eternally devoted lover, pummel the men of Krishna’s village with staves; the men defend themselves with shields. In the Dolayatra (“Swing Festival”), images of the gods are placed on decorated platforms and are swung to the accompaniment of cycles of songs sung only in the spring season. In many locales, celebrants kindle an early morning bonfire that represents the burning of the demoness Holika (or Holi), who was enlisted by her brother, Hiranyakashipu, in his attempt to kill his son Prahlada because of the latter’s unshakable devotion to Vishnu. The burning of Holika prompts worshippers to remember how Vishnu (in the form of a lion-man, Narasimha) attacked and killed Hiranyakashipu, vindicating both Prahlada and Vishnu.

Holika Dahan

Main article: Holika Dahan

Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi with the ritual of Holika Dahan or "Chhoti Holi" where people gather and perform religious rituals in front of a bonfire and pray that their internal evils be destroyed the way Holika, the sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, was killed in the fire.

On the eve of Holi, typically at or after sunset, the pyre is lit, signifying Holika Dahan. The ritual symbolises the victory of good over evil. People gather around the fire to sing and dance.

Radha Krishna[edit]
Main article: Radha Krishna
Radha Krishna playing Holi

In the Braj region of India, where the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated until Rang Panchmi in commemoration of their divine love for each other. The festivities officially usher in spring, with Holi celebrated as a festival of love.Garga Samhita, a puranic work by Sage Garga was the first literature to mention the romantic description of Radha and Krishna playing Holi.There is also a popular symbolic legend behind the festival. In his youth, Krishna despaired whether the fair-skinned Radha would like him because of his dark skin colour. His mother Yashoda, tired of his desperation, asks him to approach Radha and ask her to colour his face in any colour she wanted. This Radha did, and Radha and Krishna became a couple. Ever since, the playful colouring of Radha and Krishna's face has been commemorated as Holi.Beyond India, these legends help to explain the significance of Holi (Phagwah) common in some Caribbean communities of Indian origin such as Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.It is also celebrated with great fervour in Mauritius, Fiji, and South Africa.

HOLI: A FESTIVAL OF COLOURS

It's a celebration of love and new beginnings - and it's also quite messy. It's the Hindu festival of Holi, and here's what you need to know about it.

Holi marks the end of winter

Observed by millions around the world, the religious event [pronounced like "holy"] celebrates new life and the victory of good over evil. It usually takes place over two days, and it's on 8 March in 2023.

It's best known for its bright colours

People gather in crowds to pelt each other with perfumed, coloured powder called gulal. They'll also use water pistols and water balloons to make the powder stick.

Each colour has a special meaning

There's no one sure story behind the colour-throwing. The god Krishna is sometimes said to have thrown coloured water at people when he was a boy, for example. He's represented by blue powder, while red is for love and yellow is like turmeric - a spice used lots in Indian cooking and associated with healing.

There's more to it than throwing powder

On the first day of Holi, people light bonfires in the belief they purify the air of anything evil. Offerings such as corn, coconuts and chickpeas are burnt to thank god for the spring and the crops. It's sometimes said the clouds of colours thrown the next day also represent the bonfire in the story most associated with Holi.

It's inspired by a prince's story

There are different origin stories, but according to one, Prince Prahlada insisted on worshipping the god Vishnu instead of his father the demon king Hiranyakashipu.

The king asked Prahlada's aunt Holika to kill the boy on a bonfire, but with Vishnu's help the flames killed her instead. It's thought the festival's name - Holi - is taken from hers.

Children get to break the rules

Holi is also seen as a time to celebrate the beauty of colour that god has put into the world. And it's a day where children are free to break rules and get messy without worrying about being told off.

It's also a time for unity

Like many religious festivals, Holi is a time for families to spend time together, and food and special dances feature in the celebrations. People from all backgrounds are encouraged to get involved.

It's not just in India

South Asian communities worldwide celebrate Holi, and it's a major event in Bangladesh, Nepal and parts of Pakistan. The city of Leicester, in the UK, is said to have the largest Holi celebration outside India and there are also big events in Australia and New York (where attendees are encouraged to wear white).

More on this story

• Check out a photo gallery of this year's festivities

  7 March

  

• Find out about Diwali, one of India's other big festivals

  24 October 2022

  

• And how an epic Hindu poem sparked a political row in the country

  9 February