Holi is a Hindu festival that takes place every year in India and Nepal.
Holi is a Hindu festival that takes place every year in India and Nepal. It falls on the last full moon of the lunar month Phalguna, which usually falls in March or April. Holi celebrations are vibrant, joyous and colourful, with people throwing coloured powder at each other and dancing around bonfires. Holi is also known as the Festival of Colours, as it’s traditionally celebrated by dousing friends and family with coloured powder and gulal. The festival is also associated with young people meeting their partners for the first time.
What does Holi mean?
The word “Holi” comes from two Sanskrit words: “Holika”, which means “festival of colours”, and “Dhuleti”, which means “to remove all sorrows”. The word Dhuleti also refers to a ritual carried out during Holi where people throw water on each other to wash away their sins.
Why do we celebrate Holi?
Holi celebrations have been held for over 2,000 years but have changed over time to reflect the changing political climate in India. It was originally a celebration of spring but became associated with Hinduism when it was incorporated into mythology.
In this mythological story, Lord Vishnu sent his sister Holika to kill his evil nephew Prahlad by burning him alive in her pyre while he sat inside her lap. Prahlad survived by reciting a prayer to Lord Vishnu who appeared before him as a flame at the last moment before he was burned alive.
Since then it has become an annual event where Hindus celebrate good triumphing over evil through colours instead of fire.
It is believed that dousing yourself or others with coloured water symbolises good defeating evil.
“Why do we celebrate holi”
