Holi: Colors and Happiness
Just like most of the other Hindu festivals, Holi is also a community festival where people collect in groups to celebrate this day. Festival of Holi is associated with colors, excitement, thrill and joy. Most of the festivals in India are linked with land and its fertility as India is agricultural country. Holi is also the festival of rich harvest and fertility of the land.
Date of Holi:
Holi symbolizes the arrival of good times ahead by bring spring with it. Air is filled with joy and excitement as one can see blooming of flowers of different colors including gulmohar, corals, mango trees and other. There is color everywhere in surroundings.
According to Hindu calendar, Holi is celebrated on the full moon day of Phalgun month. This day usually arrives in March and sometimes in February.
Legend of Holi:
Holi is celebrated to commemorate the mythological event when Lord Vishnu killed arrogant King Hirnyakashyap who detested worshipping of Lord Vishnu by his son Prhalad. He ordered his sister Holika, who was immune to burning, to let Prhalad sit in her lap and a fire is burnt around them to kill Prahlad. But the fire engulfed Holika and boy came out unscathed.
Holi is also linked with Lord Krishna who used play pranks with Radha and other gopis by applying color and water on them.
Holi Celebrations:
Celebrations of Holi are the most interesting and unique. No where in the world, any festival is celebrated with so much vigor and happiness as Holi.
Holi is celebrated for two days. On the first day, effigies of Holika are burnt by collecting dry stick into a heap. In this bonfire, grams and stalks are offered to pray God. In some parts, women folk observe fast till evening on this day for wellbeing of the family.
On the second day, which is called Dulhandi in North India , people smear dry and wet colors and water on each other. This is the time to forget each other’s faults and embrace each other.
In the evening, families gather for a grand dinner. Holi of Mathru, Brindavan, Nandgaon and Barsana are very famous. These places are believed to be the home of Lord Krishna and Radha.
