Holi
Holi is a spring festival also known as festival of colours, and sometimes
festival of love. It is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become
popular with non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, as well as people of
other communities.
It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, and other regions of the world
with significant populations of majority Hindus or people of Indian origin.
The festival has, in recent times, spread in parts of Europe and North
Americas as a spring celebration of love, frolic and colours.
Holi celebrations start with a Holika bonfire on the night before Holi where
people gather, sing and dance. The next morning is free for all carnival of
colours, where everyone plays, chases and colours 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 colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples
and buildings. Groups carry drums and musical instruments, go from place to
place, sing and dance.
People move and visit family, friends and foes, first play with colours on
each other, laugh and chit-chat, then share Holi delicacies, food and
drinks. In the evening, after sobering up, people dress up, visit friends
and family. It is a national holiday in India. Holi is celebrated at the
approach of vernal equinox, on the Phalguna Purnima (Full Moon). The
festival date varies every year, per the Hindu calendar, and typically comes
in March, sometimes February in the Gregorian Calendar. The festival
signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of
winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget
and forgive, and repair ruptured relationships.
Significance
There is a symbolic legend to explain why holi is celebrated. The word "Holi"
originates from "Holika", the evil sister of demon king Hiranyakashipu. King
Hiranyakashipu had earned a boon that made him virtually indestructible. The
special powers blinded him, he grew arrogant, felt he was God, and demanded
that everyone worship only him.
Hiranyakashipu's own son, Prahlada, however, disagreed. He was and remained
devoted to Vishnu. 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. Holika was wearing a cloak (shawl) that
made her immune to injury from fire, while Prahlada was not. As the fire
roared, the cloak flew from Holika and encased Prahlada.
Holika burned, Prahlada survived. Vishnu appeared and killed Hiranyakashipu.
The bonfire is a reminder of the symbolic victory of good over evil, of
Prahlada over Hiranyakashipu, of fire that burned Holika. The day after
Holika bonfire is celebrated as Holi.
In Braj region of India, where mythical Krishna grew up, the festival is
celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanchmi) in commemoration of the divine
love of Radha for Krishna, a Hindu deity. The festivities officially usher
in spring, with Holi celebrated as festival of love. There is a symbolic
myth behind commemorating Krishna as well. Baby Krishna transitioned into
his characteristic dark blue skin colour because a she demon Putana poisoned
him with her breast milk.
According to the myth, in his youth, Krishna despairs whether fair skinned
Radha and other Gopikas (girls) will 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. The playful colouring of the face of Radha has henceforth been
commemorated as Holi. Beyond India, these mythological stories of
significance for Holi (Phagwah) are common in some Caribbean and South
American communities of Indian origin such as Guyana and Trinidad and
Tobago.
Holi festival has other cultural significance. It is the festive day to end
and rid oneself of past errors, 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 new year.
Description
Holi is an important festival to Hindus. It is celebrated at the end of the
winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna
(February/March), (Phalgun Purnima), which usually falls in March, sometimes
in late February.
The festival has many purposes. First and foremost, it celebrates the
beginning of the new season, spring. In 17th century literature, it was
identified as a festival that celebrated agriculture, commemorated good
spring harvests and the fertile land. Hindus believe it is a time of
enjoying spring's abundant colours and saying farewell to winter. Holi
festivities mark the beginning of new year to many Hindus, as well as a
justification to reset and renew ruptured relationships, end conflicts and
accumulated emotional impurities from past.
It also has a religious purpose, symbolically signified by the legend of
Holika. The night before Holi, bonfires are lit, known as Holika Dahan
(burning of Holika) or Little Holi. People gather near fires, dance and
sing. 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 elders
tend to smear dry coloured powder (Abir) on each other's face. Visitors to
homes are first teased with colours, then served with Holi delicacies,
desserts and drinks. After playing with colours, and cleaning up, people
bathe, put on clean clothes, visit friends and family.
Like Holika Dahan, Kama Dahanam is celebrated in some parts of India. The
festival of colours is these parts is called Rangapanchami, and occurs on
fifth day after Panchami (full moon).
History and Rituals
Holi 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. The celebration of Holi is also mentioned
in the 7th-century Sanskrit drama, Ratnavali. 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-drived spellings: Houly (1687), Hooly (1698),
Huli (1789), Hohlee (1809), Hoolee (1825) and Holi in editions published
after 1910.
There are several cultural rituals associated with Holi:
Prepare Holika Pyre for Bonfire
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 colour pigments, food, party
drinks and festive seasonal foods such as gujiya, mathri, malpuas and other
regional delicacies.
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 sing and dance around the fire.
Play with Colours
Holi frolic and celebrations begin the morning after Holika bonfire. There
is no tradition of holding puja (prayer), and the day is for partying and
pure enjoyment. Children and youth groups form armed with dry colours,
coloured solution, means to fill and spray others with coloured solution (pichkaris),
balloons that can hold coloured water, and other creative means to colour
their targets.
Traditionally, washable natural plant-derived colours such as turmeric, neem,
dhak, kumkum were used; but water-based commercial pigments are increasingly
used. All colours are used. Everyone in open areas such as streets and parks
are game. Inside homes or at doorways though, 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 where the water is
coloured. 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.”
Groups sing and dance, some playing drums and dholak. After each stop of fun
and play with colours, people offer gujiya, mathri, malpuas and other
traditional delicacies. Chilled drinks, including adult drinks based on
local intoxicating herbs, is also part of the Holi festivity.
Other Variations
In Braj region around Mathura, in north India, the festivities may last more
than 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.
In south India, some worship and make offerings to Kaamadeva, the love god
of Indian mythology, on Holi.
The Party After
After a day of play with colours, people clean up, wash and bathe, sober and
dress up in the evening and greet friends and relatives by visiting them and
exchange sweets. Holi is also a festival of forgiveness and new starts,
which ritually aims to generate harmony in the society.
Regional Names, Rituals and Celebrations
Holi is also known as Phagwah, Festival of Colours, or Doḷajātra in Odisha,
and as Dol Jatra or Basantotsav ("spring festival"). The customs and
celebrations vary between regions of India.
Holi is of particular significance in the Braj region, which includes
locations traditionally connected to the Lord Krishna: Mathura, Vrindavan,
Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh, and Barsana, which become tourist destinations
during the season of Holi.
Outside India, Holi is observed by the minority Hindus in Bangladesh,
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, Mauritius, and Fiji. The
Holi rituals and customs outside South Asia also vary with local
adaptations.
Sources: Wikipedia
undo ...back