Love and Colours: Holi Festival

You might have noticed, that yesterday, social media was packed with Holi songs, good wishes and photos of people covered in all the colours of the rainbow. “Why would someone have colourful powder thrown at them, is this some kind of rave party?” No, it’s much more than that!

Holi is the celebration of the triumph of “good” over “evil,” it is the festival of colour and sharing love. During this day, people who celebrate it, hug and wish each other a “Happy Holi.”
Originally, they called the festival “Holika,” and according to historians, it was held by Aryans and people living in the Eastern parts of India. They also think that Holi was existent before Christ, but the meaning of the celebration changed throughout time; at first, it was all about the worship of the Full Moon (called Raka,) and brides had to perform a ritual that would bring happiness to their families.

 
Fun Fact: The literal meaning of Holi is “burning.” Now, the legend usually associated with Holi is the story of the evil demon king, Hiranyakashyap. He wanted everybody in his kingdom to only worship him, but he found out that his son, Prahlad, didn’t wish to worship him – instead, he continued worshipping Lord Vishnu. To take revenge, Hiranyakashyap asked his sister, Holika, to sit on a bonfire, and trick her nephew to come sit in her lap. Holika had a special cloak that would protect her from burning to death, and Prahlad would die. However, Holika and the evil king didn’t know that the trick only worked when Holika went into the fire alone – as a result, she burned in the fire. Prahlad survived due to his faith in Vishnu, and was rewarded. It is thus that the legend of Holi, the triumph of good over evil came about.
 

Another legend linked to the festivities is the legend of Radha and Krishna. Krishna was sad that he had a dark complexion, and didn’t understand why his love, Radha was fair. Seeing that his son was unhappy, Krishna’s mother, Yashoda suggested a game: why not smear some colourful paint onto Radha’s face? This way she could be any colour Krishna wanted. The children started playing this game, and this is how the festival of colour came about.
The Festival of Holi is made up of numerous rituals. A couple of days before the celebrations, people start gathering wood for the Holika bonfire at main crossroads of villages and cities. On the eve of Holi, a replica sculpture of the evil Holika is thrown in the fire and burnt. Next day, there are different types of celebrations across –mostly – Northern India; for example, playing with colours is incredibly popular.

In the Southern parts of the country, people rather worship Kaamadeva, the god of love. Kaamadeva’s legend goes this way: he put his life at risk by shooting his arrow at Shiva to break his meditation and draw his attention to what was happening in the world. During the celebrations, people visit relatives and give each other sweets and delicacies.
Send a Holi E-card to your loved ones to let them know that you’re thinking of them! And maybe after you have experienced the magic of Holi, dive into adventure with us!