Indian colourful fastival Holi

Holi Celebration In South-East Asia

'Holi Hai!'

By Tapas Saha,28/02/2020

Holi celebration takes place with a lot of joy and verve throughout the country. The enthusiasm of the people reaches its peak and matches with nature which is in full bounty at the time of Holi.

Holi is being celebrated in Indian since time immemorial but the popularity of Holi celebrations seems to be rising with every passing year and so is the level of hoo-ha. As no other festival gives so much liberty to the people to let their hair loose and enjoy their hidden crazy self.

Differences of any sort are drowned in the coloured waters of Holi and people just enjoy being a play animal. To further enhance the festive spirit of Holi celebrations we have a social sanction to get a kick with the tradition of bhang. Then there is total wildness as people dance to the rhythm of dholak and sing traditional folk songs in loudest possible pitch.

Children particularly enjoy the festival as they throw water-filled balloons at passersby...and if anybody stares..they have a ready answer, 'Bura na mano Holi hai..' and evoke a smile on the irritated face. Besides, they have their water missiles, called pichkaris to drench the person from far and escape further drenching.

In the midst of these colouring games are savoured the mouth-watering Holi specialities like gujiya, Malpas, Mathri, Puran Poli, Dahi badass etc and downed with glasses full of thandai.

In some states, there is also a tradition of breaking the pot full of buttermilk which is hung high on the streets. A group of boys form a human pyramid and one of them break the pot. All this while womenfolk throw buckets of colour water on them and sing folk songs.

And after a wild and eventful day, evenings are celebrated in a dignified manner by visiting friends and relatives. People exchange sweets and hug each other conveying the warm wishes for Holi. These days there people also participate and organise Holi Meets and enjoy the festival till late in the night.

Holi celebrations that start with the burning of Holika on the eve of Holi thus culminates with a lot of funfilled activity and bonhomie. However, at some places, especially Mathura and Barsana Holi celebrations continue for a week as each major temple organise a Holi bash on a different day. Lovers of the festival enjoy every moment to the hilt.

What Is Holi?

Holi is considered as one of the most revered and celebrated festivals of India and it is celebrated in almost every part of the country. It is also sometimes called as the “festival of love” as on this day people get to unite together forgetting all resentments and all types of bad feeling towards each other. The great Indian festival lasts for a day and a night, which starts in the evening of Purnima or the Full Moon Day in the month of Falgun. It is celebrated with the name Holika Dahan or Choti Holi on the first evening of the festival and the following day is called Holi. In different parts of the country, it is known with different names.

The vibrancy of colours is something that brings in a lot of positivity in our lives and Holi being the festival of colours is actually a day worth rejoicing. Holi is a famous Hindu festival that is celebrated in every part of India with utmost joy and enthusiasm. The ritual starts by lighting up the bonfire one day before the day of Holi and this process symbolizes the triumph of good over the bad. On the day of Holi people play with colours with their friends and families and in the evening they show love and respect to their close ones with Abeer.

History of Holi

Holi is an ancient festival of India and was originally known as 'Holika'. The festivals find a detailed description of early religious works such as Jaimini's Purvamimamsa-Sutras and Kathaka-Grhya-Sutras. Historians also believe that Holi was celebrated by all Aryans but more so in the Eastern part of India.

It is said that Holi existed several centuries before Christ. However, the meaning of the festival is believed to have changed over the years. Earlier it was a special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon (Raka) was worshipped.

Calculating the Day of Holi

There are two ways of reckoning a lunar month- 'purnimanta' and 'amanta'. In the former, the first day starts after the full moon; and in the latter, after the new moon. Though the amanta reckoning is more common now, the purnimanta was very much in vogue in the earlier days.

According to this purnimanta reckoning, Phalguna Purnima was the last day of the year and the new year heralding the Vasanta-Ritu (with spring starting from next day). Thus the full moon festival of Holika gradually became a festival of merrymaking, announcing the commencement of the spring season. This perhaps explains the other names of this festival - Vasanta-Mahotsava and Kama-Mahotsava.

Significance of Holi

In spite of being such a colourful and gay festival, there are various aspects of Holi which makes it so significant for our lives. Though they might not be so apparent a closer look and a little thought will reveal the significance of Holi in more ways than meets the eyes. Ranging from socio-cultural, religious to biological there is every reason why we must heartily enjoy the festival and cherish the reasons for its celebrations.

So when, its time for Holi, please don't hold yourself back and enjoy the festival to the hilt by participating with full enthusiasm in every small tradition related to the festival.


Cultural Significance of Holi

Celebration of the various legends associated with Holi reassure the people of the power of the truth as the moral of all these legends is the ultimate victory of good over evil. The legend of Hiranyakashyap and Prahlad also points to the fact that extreme devotion to god pays as god always takes his true devotee in his shelter.

All these legends help people to follow good conduct in their lives and believe in the virtue of being truthful. This is extremely important in the modern-day society when so many people resort to evil practices for small gains and torture one who is honest. Holi helps the people to believe in the virtue of being truthful and honest and also to fight away the evil.


Besides, Holi is celebrated at a year when the fields are in full bloom and people are expecting a good harvest. This gives people a good reason to rejoice make merry and submerge themselves in the spirit of Holi.



Holi in India

Holi is one of the major festivals of India and is the most vibrant of all. The joys of Holi knows no bound. The festival is celebrated across the four corners of India or rather across the globe. The festival is filled with so much fun and frolic that the very mention of the word 'Holi' draws smile and enthusiasm amongst the people. Holi also celebrates the arrival of Spring, a season of joy and hope.

Holi Celebrations in India

Holi is famous as Basant Utsav in rural India. It is one of the major festivals in India and is celebrated with extreme enthusiasm and joy. Gulal, abeer and pichkaris are synonymous with the festival. Elaborate plans are made to colour their loved ones. Everybody wants to be the first one to colour the other. In the ensuing battle of colours, everybody is drowned not just in colours of gulal but also in love and mirth. People love to drench others and themselves in the colored water. Gujiyas and other sweets are offered to everyone who comes across to colour.

Temples are beautifully decorated at the time of Holi. The idol of Radha is placed on swings and devotees turn the swings singing devotional Holi songs. Nowadays small plays are organized reflecting the spirit of the festival.



What is remarkably same across the country is the spirit of Holi. Fun, frolic, boisterousness to the extent of buffoonery marks this festival of colours. What more can be expected- when the people get a social sanction to get intoxicated on the bhang, open not just their hearts' out but also their lungs. And viola, nobody is expected to take offence too, as the norm of the day is, 'Bura na mano Holi hai'.

Legends of Holi

Legends of Holi are as colourful as Holi itself. There are myriad shades and tones in them from the subtle ones of love and devotion to the darker hues pertaining to demons and their devilish desires.

What is remarkable is the faith of millions of Hindus in these legends. They relive these stories every year and bring to life the incidents which occurred (or might not have occurred) thousands of years ago.

A belief in the legends, devotion to god and a strong belief in the fact that it is good and the truth that ultimately prevails over the evil pulls the people to religiously follow the set traditions each year.

And, this faith - in God and the ancient traditions is what still binds the people in a spirit of love and harmony in this otherwise divided society.

Holy Related Indian other Festivals                                                             

Gangaur

Dole yatra

Spring festival

Hola Mohalla

Holi recipes

Cannabis recipes

Cool recipes

Indian Regional Names of Holi

Dulandi Holi

Colourful

Spring festival

Dol Poornima

Lathmar Holi

Hola Mohalla

Shimano

Command Pondigai

Fagu Purnima

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