In Hinduism Holi is an annual festival celebrated on the day after the full moon in the in the Hindu month of early March. Holi is the least religious of Hindu holidays. During Holi, Hindus attend a public bonfire, spray friends and family with colored powders and water and generally go a bit wild in the streets.
The central ritual of Holi is the throwing and applying of colored water and powders on friends and family, which gives the holiday its common name “Festival of Colors”. This ritual is based on the story of Krishna and Radha as well as on Krishna’s playful splashing of the maids with water, but most of all it celebrates the coming of spring with all its beautiful colors and vibrant life.
The function is celebrated all over India since ancient times, Holi’s precise form and purpose display great variety. Originally Holi was an agricultural festival celebrating the arrival of spring. Holi also commemorates various events in Hindu Mythology, but for most Hindus it provides a temporary opportunity for Hindus to disregard social norms, indulge in merrymaking and generally let loose.
Holi is spread out for two days. Holi bridges social gaps and brings people together, employers and employees, men and women, rich and poor, young and old. In Bengal, Holi features the swing festival in which images of the Gods are placed on specially decorated platforms and devotees take turns swinging them. In the meantime, women dance around and sing special songs as men spray colored water at them. Have a colorful day.
