Holi

One of the major festivals of India, Holi is celebrated with enthusiasm and gaiety on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun which is the month of March as per the Gregorian calendar. Holi festival may be celebrated with various names and people of different states might be following different traditions. But, what makes Holi so unique and special is the spirit of it which remains the same throughout the country and even across the globe, wherever it is celebrated.

Facts about the history of Holi

  • The name Holi comes from “Holika”, the sister of demon King “Hiranyakashyap” (refer: Hindu mythology).
  • Legend has that the evil king – Hiranyakashyap – forbade his son Prahlad from worshiping one of the Hindu gods – Lord Vishnu. However, Prahlad worshiped Vishnu despite his father’s denial.
    Thus the demon king ordered Prahlad to sit on pyre (a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution) along with Holika (who was immune to fire) the sister of the demon king.
    When the fire started, Holika was burnt to death in spite of her immunity to fire, and miraculously Prahlad was saved because Prahlad asked the help of Lord Vishnu during the event.The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. However there are other arguments as well, that support the celebration of Holi and its origin. The story is also narrated in various ways but the conclusion remains the same i.e. – “victory of good over evil.”
  • Other legend behind the origin of Holi is that Lord Krishna as a baby was poisoned by the breast milk of Putana and thus he developed the characteristic blue color of his skin. Krishna was not sure if fair skinned Radha and other girls would like him. Thus he approached Radha and colored her face in some colors. Radha accepted Krishna despite the blue color of his skin and since that day the festival of Holi is celebrated.

 

The occurrence of Holi and its celebration

  • Occurrence: It is celebrated after the full moon in the month of ‘Phalguna’ which generally falls between February and March.
  • The exact date of the festival is determined by the Hindu Calendar and its arrival varies on the Gregorian calendar.
  • The festival of Holi is celebrated for at least 16 days in the Brag region of India where Krishna was born.
  • Holi is also celebrated in Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
  • The first day is known as Holika Dahan or Chhoti Holi and the second as Rangwali Holi, Dhuleti, Dhulandi or Dhulivandan.

Facts about rituals during Holi

  • The festival of Holi is predominantly a festival of fun. People spend a lot of their time during the festival days engaging in fun activities.
  • Kids start using water balloon and water pistols a week or 10 days before Holi. They hide and target the by-passers with balloons filled with colored water and water pistols.
  • A special delight that people make at their home is Gujiya. It is a stuffed sweet delicacy where the stuffing consists of dry fruits and other sweet items. It is very popular and people enjoy the delight to their full extent.
  • A popular saying:The festival of colors is also popular for a saying“Bura na mano, Holi hai!” which means “do not mind, it’s Holi.”
  • Synthetic vs natural colors:The use of synthetic colors during the festival of Holi is a concern for some people. However, many prefer playing with water and some homemade natural colors. Natural colors are derived from indigo, sunflower, and marigold flowers.
  • It is a national festival in India and people from all the states celebrate it.
  • The festival of Holi is celebrated by Hindus all over the world. People of Nepali origin also celebrate it in different parts of the world. With every passing year,the festival is being welcomed across the world in many forms and people find great relief and satisfaction celebrating it with their friends and family.
  • The festival starts on the night before Holi when people gather and start a bonfire. The bonfire is lit up between 8 pm and midnight. People gather around the fire to watch it while eating their favorite food items, and talk with friends.
  • The Holika bonfire is a place where people gather and do their religious rituals. People during their religious ritualsask for forgiveness from the god and pray that their evil should come to an end.
  • The second day of the festival of Holi which is also referred as“Rangwali Holi”is the main day when people play with wet and dry colors. People chase each other in an attempt to color one another.

How people connect and interact during the festival?

  • Water is a big part of the event as many people use water balloons and engage in interesting water fights with their family and friends. A lot of different colors are involved and it’s a great time for everyone as every one irrespective of their age participates.
  • People generally tend to gather and celebrate this festival in open as it provides a suitable environment for the use of colors and water.
  • Sweets, food and drinksare also shared during the festival.
  • Beware of this drink:Holi is also popular for the consumption of an intoxicating article –Bhang. This ingredient is mixed into drinks and sweets and is largely consumed by many during the festival. Bhang is made from cannabis leaves.
  • Holi is a festival of fun and colors for children. Children of all age groups gather and celebrate the festival with oneness and vigor. They throw dry colors and wet colored liquids on each other and family member.

The significance of the festival

The delightful festival of Holisignifies the victory of good over evil. It also marks the end of winter season and welcomes the spring.
Good for bonding:The festival of Holi, like Diwali, is a significant one in India and Nepal. It is a great occasion for people from different religious communities, castes, colors and creeds to come together and strengthen their bonds, and also repair their broken relationships.
The festival of Holi isa two-day festival.
The Holi also marks the demise of“Putana” who tried to kill Lord Krishna.

Preparations

Entire country wears a festive look when it is time for Holi celebration. Market places get a buzz with activity as frenzied shoppers start making preparations for the festival. Heaps of various hues of gulal and abeer can be seen on the roadside days before the festival. Pichkaris in innovative and modern design too come up every year to lure the children who wish to collect them as Holi memorabilia and of course, to drench everybody in the town.

Womenfolk too start making early preparations for the holi festival as they cook loads of gujiya, mathri and papri for the family and also for the relatives. At some places specially in the north women also make papads and potato chips at this time.

Season of Bloom

Everybody gets delighted at the arrival of Holi as the season itself is so gay. Holi is also called the Spring Festival – as it marks the arrival of spring the season of hope and joy. The gloom of the winter goes as Holi promises of bright summer days. Nature too, it seems rejoices at the arrival of Holi and wears its best clothes.
Fields get filled with crops promising a good harvest to the farmers and flowers bloom colouring the surroundings and filling fragrance in the air.

Legends

A Hindu festival, Holi has various legends associated with it. The foremost is the legend of demon King Hiranyakashyap who demanded everybody in his kingdom to worship him but his pious son, Prahlad became a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap wanted his son to be killed. He asked his sister Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap as Holika had a boon which made he immune to fire. Story goes that Prahlad was saved by lord himself for his extreme devotion and evil minded Holika was burnt to ashes, for her boon worked only when she entered the fire alone.

Since that time, people light a bonfire, called Holika on the eve of Holi festival and celebrate the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion to god. Children take special delight in the tradition and this has another legend attached to it. It says that there was once an ogress Dhundhi who used to trouble children in the kingdom of Prithu. She was chased away by children on the day of Holi. Therefore, children are allowed to play pranks at the time of ‘Holika Dahan’.

Some also celebrate the death of evil minded Pootana. The ogress tried to Lord Krishna as an infant by feeding it poisonous milk while executing the plan of Kansa, Krishna’s devil uncle. However, Krishna sucked her blood and brought her end. Some who view the origin of festivals from seasonal cycles believe that Pootana represents winter and her death the cessation and end of winter.

In South India, people worship Kaamadeva- the god of love and passion for his extreme sacrifice. According to a legend, Kaamadeva shot his powerful love arrow on Lord Shiva to revoke his interest in the worldly affairs in the interest of the earth. However, Lord Shiva was enraged as he was in deep mediation and opened his third eye which reduced Kaamadeva to ashes. Though, later on the request of Rati, Kaamadeva’s wife, Shiva was pleased to restore him back.

Holika Dahan

On the eve of Holi, called Chhoti or Small Holi people gather at important crossroads and light huge bonfires, the ceremony is called Holika Dahan. This tradition is also followed in Gujarat and Orissa. To render greatfulness to Agni, god of Fire, gram and stalks from the harvest are also offered to Agni with all humility.
Ash left from this bonfire is also considered sacred and people apply it on their foreheads. People believe that the ash protects them from evil forces.

Play of Colors

Great excitement can be seen in people on the next day when it is actually the time for the play of colours. Shops and offices remain closed for the day and people get all the time to get crazy and whacky. Bright colours of gulal and abeer fill the air and people take turns in pouring colour water over each other. Children take special delight in spraying colours on one another with their pichkaris and throwing water balloons and passers by. Women and senior citizen form groups called tolis and move in colonies – applying colours and exchanging greetings. Songs, dance on the rhythm of dholak and mouthwatering Holi delicacies are the other highlights of the day.

Expression of Love

Lovers too long to apply colours on their beloved. This has a popular legend behind it. It is said that the naughty and mischievous Lord Krishna started the trend of playing colours. He applied colour on her beloved Radha to make her one like him. The trend soon gained popularity amongst the masses. No wonder, there is no match to the Holi of Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana – the places associated with the birth and childhood of Radha and Krishna.

Ecstasy of Bhang

There is also a tradition of consuming the very intoxicating bhang on this day to further enhance the spirit of Holi. It is so much fun to watch the otherwise sober people making a clown of themselves in full public display.
Some, however, take bhang in excess and spoil the spirit. Caution should therefore be taken while consuming bhang delicacies.

Sober Evening

After a funfilled and exciting day, the evenings the spent in sobriety when people meet friends and relatives and exchange sweets and festive greetings.

It is said the spirit of Holi encourages the feeling of brotherhood in society and even the enemies turn friend on this day. People of all communities and even religions participate in this joyous and colouful festival and strenthen the secular fabric of the nation.

Different names of Holi in various states of India: Uttar Pradesh – Lathmar Holi; Uttarakhand – Khadi Holi;
Punjab – Hola Mohalla; West Bengal – Basant Utsav and Dol Jatra; Goa – Shigmo; Manipur – Yaosang; Kerala –
Manjal Kuli; Bihar – Phaguwa; Assam – Phakuwah; Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh – Rang Panchami; Rajasthan –
Royal Holi.