HoliHoli celebrations start on the night before Holi with a Holika bonfire where people gather, do religious rituals in front of the bonfire, and pray that their internal evil should be destroyed as the bonfire starts. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi - a free-for-all carnival of colours,[7] where participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water, with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders. The frolic and fight with coloursoccurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and other musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People visit family, friends and foes to throw colouredpowders on each other, laugh and gossip, then share Holidelicacies, food and drinks. Some drinks are intoxicating. For example, bhang, an intoxicating ingredient made from cannabis leaves, is mixed into drinks and sweets and consumed by many.[14][15] In the evening, after sobering up, people dress up and visit friends and family.[1][16]

History and significanceHiranyakashipu's own son, Prahlada,[22] however, disagreed. He was and remained devoted to Lord Vishnu.[16] This infuriated Hiranyakashipu. He subjected Prahlada to cruel punishments, none of which affected the boy or his resolve to do what he thought was right. Finally, Holika, Prahlada's evil aunt, tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her.[1] Holika was wearing a cloak that made her immune to injury from fire, while Prahlada was not. As the fire roared, the cloak flew from Holika and encased Prahlada,[16] who survived while Holika burned. Seeing this, Hiranyakashipu, unable to control his anger, smashed a pillar with his mace. There was a tumultuous sound, and Lord Vishnu appeared as Lord Narasimha and killed Hiranyakashipu. The bonfire is a reminder of the symbolic victory of good over evil, of Prahlada over Hiranyakashipu, and of the fire that burned Holika.[8]

The next day, when the fire had cooled down, people applied ash to their foreheads,[23] a practice still observed by some people.[24] Eventually, colouredpowder came to be used to celebrate Holi.

ImportanceIn the Braj region of India, where the Hindu deity Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanchmi) in commemoration of the divine love of Radha for Krishna. The festivities officially usher in spring, with Holi celebrated as a festival of love.[25] There is a symbolic myth behind commemorating Krishna as well. As a baby, Krishna developed his characteristic dark blue skin colour because the she-demon Putana poisoned him with her breast milk.[26] In his youth, Krishna despaired whether the fair-skinned Radha and other girls would like him because of his skin colour. His mother, tired of the desperation, asks him to approach Radha and colour her face in any colour he wanted. This he does, and Radha and Krishna became a couple. Ever since, the playful colouring of Radha's face has been commemorated as Holi.[27][28] Beyond India, these legends to explain the significance of Holi (Phagwah) are common in some Caribbean and South American communities of Indian origin such as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.[29][30] It is also celebrated with great fervour in Mauritius.[31]

The Holi festival has further cultural significance. 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 also marks the start of spring, and for many the start of the new year.[8][32]

The Holi festival has further cultural significance. 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 also marks the start of spring, and for many the start of the new year.[8][32]

Description

The festival has many purposes; most prominently, it celebrates

the beginning of Spring. In 17th century literature, it was identified

as a festival that celebrated agriculture, commemorated good

spring harvests and the fertile land.[7] Hindus believe it is a time of

enjoying spring's abundant colours and saying farewell to winter.

To many Hindus, Holi festivities mark the beginning of the new

year as well as an occasion to reset and renew ruptured

relationships, end conflicts and rid themselves of accumulated

emotional impurities from the past.[8][32]

It also has a religious purpose, symbolically signified by the legend

of Holika. The night before Holi, bonfires are lit in a ceremony

known as Holika Dahan (burning of Holika) or Little Holi. People

gather near fires, sing and dance. The next day, Holi, also known

as Dhuli in Sanskrit, or Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is

celebrated. Children and youth spray coloured powder solutions

(gulal) at each other, laugh and celebrate, while adults smear dry

coloured powder (abir) on each other's faces.[1][32] Visitors to

homes are first teased with colours, then served with Holi

delicacies, desserts and drinks.[34] After playing with colours, and

cleaning up, people bathe, put on clean clothes, and visit friends

and family.[8]

Like Holika Dahan, Kama Dahanam is celebrated in some parts of

India. The festival of colours in these parts is called

Rangapanchami, and occurs on the fifth day after Poornima (full

History and ritualsHoli is an ancient Hindu festival with its cultural rituals. It is mentioned in the Puranas, Dasakumara Charita, and by the poet Kālidāsa during the 4th century reign of Chandragupta II.[5] The celebration of Holi is also mentioned in the 7th-century Sanskrit drama Ratnavali.[36] The festival of Holi caught the fascination of European traders and British colonial staff by the 17th century. Various old editions of Oxford English Dictionary mention it, but with varying, phonetically derived spellings: Houly (1687), Hooly(1698), Huli (1789), Hohlee (1809), Hoolee (1825), and Holi in editions published after 1910.[7]

There are several cultural rituals associated with Holi:[37]

Prepare Holika pyre for bonfire Main article: Holika DahanShops start selling colours for Holi in the days and weeks beforehand.Days before the festival people start gathering wood and combustible materials for the bonfire in parks, community centers, near temples and other open spaces. On top of the pyre is an effigy to signify Holika who tricked Prahalad into the fire. Inside homes, people stock up on pigments, food, party drinks and festive seasonal foods such as gujiya, mathri, malpuas and other regional delicacies.Holika dahan

Holika dahan

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.[8]

Play with colours

Holi frolic and celebrations begin the morning after the Holika

bonfire. There is no tradition of holding puja (prayer), and the day is

for partying and pure enjoyment. Children and young people form

groups armed with dry colours, coloured solution and water

guns(pichkaris), water balloons filled with coloured water, and other

creative means to colour their targets.[37]

In the Braj region of North India, women have the option to playfully

hit men who save themselves with shields; for the day, men are

culturally expected to accept whatever women dish out to them.

This ritual is called Lath Mar Holi.[38]

Traditionally, washable natural plant-derived colours such as

turmeric, neem, dhak, and kumkum were used, but water-based

commercial pigments are increasingly used. All colours are used.

Everyone in open areas such as streets and parks is game, but

inside homes or at doorways only dry powder is used to smear each

other's face. People throw colours and get their targets completely

coloured up. It is like a water fight, but with coloured water. People

take delight in spraying coloured water on each other. By late

morning, everyone looks like a canvas of colours. This is why Holi is

given the name "Festival of Colours".

Other variations

In the Braj region around Mathura, in north India,

the festivities may last more than a week. The

rituals go beyond playing with colours, and include a

day where men go around with shields and women

have the right to playfully beat them on their shields

with sticks.[40]

In south India, some worship and make offerings to

Kaamadeva, the love god of Indian mythology.

The after party

After a day of play with colours, people clean up,

wash and bathe, sober up and dress up in the

evening and greet friends and relatives by visiting

them and exchanging sweets. Holi is also a festival

of forgiveness and new starts, which ritually aims to

generate harmony in the society.[37]

Regional names, rituals and celebrationsHoli (Hindi: होली, Nepali: होली, Punjabi: ਹੋਲੀ, Kannada: ಹ ೋಳಿ) is also

known as Phakuwa or Phagwah (Assamese: ফাকুৱা), Festival of

Colours, or Dola jātra in Odisha, and as Dol Jatra (Assamese: দ’ল যাত্ৰা) or Basanto utsav ("spring festival") in West Bengal and Assam.

The customs and celebrations vary between regions of India.

Basanto Utsav at Jorasanko Thakurbari.

Holi is of particular significance in the Braj region, which includes locations

traditionally associated with the Lord Krishna: Mathura, Vrindavan,

Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh, and Barsana, which become touristic during the

season of Holi.[25]

Outside India, Holi is observed by the minority Hindus in Bangladesh and

Pakistan as well in countries with large Indian subcontinent diaspora

populations such as Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa,

Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mauritius, and

Fiji. The Holi rituals and customs outside South Asia also vary with local

adaptations.

India

Gujarat

In Ahmedabad in Gujarat, in western India, a pot of

buttermilk is hung high over the streets and young boys try

to reach it and break it by making human pyramids. The

girls try to stop them by throwing coloured water on them to

commemorate the pranks of Krishna and the cowherd boys

to steal butter and "gopis" while trying to stop the girls. The

boy who finally manages to break the pot is crowned the

Holi King. Afterwards, the men, who are now very colourful,

go out in a large procession to "alert" people of Krishna's

possible appearance to steal butter from their homes.

In some places there is a custom in undivided Hindu

families that the woman beats her brother-in-law with a sari

rolled up into a rope in a mock rage and tries to drench him

with colours, and in turn, the brother-in-law brings sweets

(Indian desserts) to her in the evening.[42]

In Gujarat, Holi is a two-day festival. On the evening of the

first day people light the bonfire. People offer raw coconut

and corn to the fire. The second day is the festival of colour

or "Dhuleti", celebrated by sprinkling coloured water and

applying colours to each other. Dwarka, a coastal city of

Gujarat, celebrates Holi at the Dwarkadheesh temple and

with citywide comedy and music festivities.[41]

Uttar Pradesh

See also: Lath mar Holi

Barsana, a town near Mathura in the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh,

celebrates Lath mar Holi in the sprawling compound of the Radha

Rani temple. Thousands gather to witness the Lath Mar Holi when

women beat up men with sticks as those on the sidelines become

hysterical, sing Holi songs and shout "Sri Radhey" or "Sri Krishna".

The Holi songs of Braj mandal are sung in pure Braj, the local

language. Holi celebrated at Barsana is unique in the sense that here

women chase men away with sticks. Males also sing provocative songs

in a bid to invite the attention of women. Women then go on the

offensive and use long staves called lathis to beat the men, who

protect themselves with shields.

Mathura, in the Braj region, is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. In

Vrindavan this day is celebrated with special puja and the traditional

custom of worshipping Lord Krishna; here the festival lasts for

sixteen days.[25] All over the Braj region [43] and neighboring places like

Hathras, Aligarh, and Agra, Holi is celebrated in more or less the

same way as in Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana.