Holi 2023: One of the most vibrant festivals celebrated by the Hindu community, Holi is enjoyed by people of age groups and genders with immense enthusiasm. The festival of colours marks the blooming of spring after a long winter season. It is celebrated on a full-moon day of spring in the Phalguna month of the Hindu calendar (February-March). This year, the festival of Holi will be celebrated on March 8 with Chhoti Holi being marked on March 7. Like Diwali, Holi also signifies the triumph of good over evil and is an occasion when people let go of grudges and negative energies to start afresh. On the pious occasion, it is said that love blossoms when people smear colours on each other and mend broken relationships. On the day of Holi, people come together and smear dry and wet colours on each other. They also play with water-filled balloons and water guns. As with any other festival, people also treat each other to special Holi delicacies like gujiya and bhang. The main celebrations of “Rangwali Holi” is preceded by “Holika Dahan”, where people worship Holika, a demoness, and perform rituals around a bonfire. The legend goes that King Hiranyakashipu, the ruler of demonic Asuras, earned a boon that he could not be killed either by a human or animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor night, neither by a weapon, and neither on land, water nor air. Hiranyakashipu wanted everyone to worship him but could not convince his son Prahlada, who remained devoted to Lord Vishnu. The king then began to subject his son to cruel punishments. Prahlada’s aunt Holika tricked him into sitting on a pyre. But the cloak Holika was wearing to protect herself flew off and encased Prahlada, who survived. Meanwhile, Lord Vishnu appeared in the Narasimha avatar–half lion-half human, at dusk, took the king by the doorstep, placed him on his lap and killed him with his lion claws. The Holika fire is burned to celebrate the victory of good over evil. Another legend associated with the festival is that of Lord Krishna — another avatar of Lord Vishnu — and his consort Radha. In the Braj region of India — where Krishna is believed to have grown up — the festival is celebrated until Rang Panchmi, in commemoration of the divine love between Radha and Krishna. While Krishna, a dark-skinned lad once playfully complained to his mother about his complexion, she told him that Radha would like him as he is, and that he can even ask her to paint his face and hers in any colour of her choice. While Radha agreed to this, the colour that was on her face, reflected on his and vice-versa. Thus, this was the occasion wherein RadhaKrishna became one, and came to be understood as a part of one another. While the Holi celebrations of Vrindavan and Mathura are very famous, Barsana is famous for its Lathmar Holi in which women beat men (playfully) with sticks, and celebrations start a week before Holi. This Holi, before splashing colour on anyone, please keep in mind to first ask them if they are comfortable with it. Holi is about spreading love and happiness and everybody should be able to enjoy it in their own way. 📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don't miss out on the latest updates!
