Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors, is a popular Hindu festival celebrated annually on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna, which falls in early March. The festival commemorates the triumph of good over evil, signified by the destruction of the demoness Holika.
Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors, is a popular Hindu festival celebrated annually on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna, which falls in early March.
The festival commemorates the triumph of good over evil, signified by the destruction of the demoness Holika.
People of all religions gather the night before Holi to perform religious rituals and pray for the destruction of their internal evil. The next day, people take to the streets to dance, sing, and spray each other with colored powders, water guns, and water-filled balloons. The event lasts a day and a night, and the first evening is called Holika Dahan, where people gather around a bonfire, perform religious rituals, and pray for the evil inside them to be destroyed.
Holi originated as an agricultural festival celebrating the arrival of spring, but its legend is based on the Hindu demon king, Hiranyakashipu, who forbade his son from worshipping Lord Vishnu. When the fire started, Holika was burnt to death, and Prahlad survived unscathed, leading to the burning of Holika being celebrated as Holi.
Holi has great cultural significance in Hindu culture, symbolizing the end of conflicts and a day of forgiveness and forgetting. The festival is celebrated across India with different traditions in each region, and people celebrate by preparing food, lighting bonfires, and using various colors, including washable natural colors and water-based commercial pigments.