Festival of Colors

 The Festival of Colors

The tradition of throwing coloured powder into the air and catapulting water balloons has given Holi the title of being India’s most fun festival. This festival has attracted millions of international visitors to India, and taking a picture of the vivid, joyous celebrations outside the Taj Mahal has become a trend among tourists. The festival has gained popularity across the globe, and massive celebrations are held yearly in major capital cities. 

(Daksha, 2021)ICourtesy of DOGO News

Holi has been celebrated in India for a very long time now, with scriptures dating it back to the 4th century AD. Holi is an extremely positive festival that marks a numerous amount of things. It marks the beginning of spring after a long, difficult winter, and the victory of good over evil. The festival is celebrated annually in March, which in the Hindu calendar corresponds to Phalguna. 

The story of Holika Dahan:

According to legend, a very, very long time ago existed a powerful king that went by the name of Hiranyakashipu. He was a cruel king and a devil to his subjects. He was a selfish man who thought he was God and wanted everyone to respect him like one. Most importantly, he wanted his son to worship him as God. However, his son, Prahlada, chose to worship Vishnu, a true god, instead. This made Hiranyakashipu’s blood boil and attempted to murder him multiple times to no avail. Trying to end his son once and for all, he asked his evil sister, Holika, for help. Hiranyakashipu wanted to kill his son by burning him. Following this plan, Holika lured Prahlada into sitting on her lap on a pyre that was lit as soon as Prahlada entered it. Holika possessed a power that made her immune to fire, and so she assumed that the fire would consume Prahlada and she could leave untouched. As soon as the pyre was lit, Holika lost her immunity because of her evil thoughts and Prahlada was left untouched. This is the story begging why the first day of Holi is called Holika Dahan. 

The story of Radha and Krishna:

In Uttar Pradesh, in the region of Braj, Holi is celebrated in the memory of the love between Radha and Krishna. Braj is where Lord Krishna grew up. The story behind Holi here is that when Krishna was an infant, his skin turned blue after drinking the poisonous breast milk of the demon, Putana. As he grew into his teen years, he felt self-conscious about his skin color and wondered whether the fair-coloured Radha and her friends would like him even with his distinctive skin color. As a remedy for this, Krishna’s mother told him to color Radha’s face whatever color he saw fit to make it even. As Krishna started applying color to Radha’s face, they became a couple and people started taking after Krishna and applying colors to each other on Holi. 

This is how Holi is celebrated:

1. Preparing the Holika pyre

This is the very first thing people do to celebrate Holi. People start gathering wood, clothes and other flammable things to erect as a bonfire. People usually start doing this a few days before Holi. When Holi finally arrives, the materials are gathered together in a pyre with an effigy of Holika to be burned, just like the legend says. These bonfires are usually erected in public areas with entire colonies making one, massive bonfire. 

2. Holika Dahan

The first day of Holi is called Holika Dahan. After the sun sets, a large number of people gather around the pyre to light it as a community. Before lighting it, they perform some pujas. Some have been known to dance and sing around it, celebrating the triumph of good over evil. 

3. Playing with colours

Holi’s second day is called Rangwali Holi. This is the day where people throw colours at each other, attend parties and enjoy themselves. Children play together with dry colored flour called abir, pichkaris (water guns), water balloons filled with color. People also walk around on the streets banfing drums and singing. 

Citations:

https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/what-s-hot/story/why-do-we-celebrate-holi-do-you-know-the-legend-behind-this-festival-of-colours-1179233-2018-02-28

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/what-is-holi-and-why-is-it-celebrated/