Also known as the Colours Festival, the Holi Festival is a Hindu religious celebration that brings the Winter season to a close and welcomes the arrival of Spring. Principally, it is celebrated in India, although many other countries with Indian diaspora also celebrate it. It takes place during the last full moon of Phalguna, the 12th lunar month in Hindu calendar. In the western Gregorian calendar, the date oscillates in between the end of February and the month of March. This year it corresponds to the 6th of March. [tribulant_slideshow gallery_id="2"]
Traditionally, the celebration also included religious rituals for fertile land and productive crops for the new season. It also refers to different mythological Hindu legends. The most extensive is the legend of the king of the demons Hiranyakashipu, from the Vishnu mythology. It is said that it also commemorates love and drives off the evil spirits. It is also a worship to Vishnu and its avatar Krisha, representative Hinduism gods. Today, Holi is one of the most important festivities in India. People gather around a fire that represents Holika, the demon sister of Hiranyakashipu, to show the supremacy of good over evil. It is a holiday both for businesses and schools, where people enjoy eating, playing, and laughing together.
Beside everything, the most famous peculiarity of this festivity is the launching of coloured powders called Gulal. This is exactly what symbolize the Holi festivities throughout the world. The strong visual energy is undeniable, together with the seductive symbology between them: to dissipate the ethnic and racial differences into a homogeneous mass where all are equal, a big coloured patch. It is not only super fun to throw colour bombs, but it also results in a fascinating brotherhood environment and friendly interaction. The intrinsic values of this holiday, such as mutual respect and tolerance, makes it more than just a playful activity.
Today, the Holi Festival is quickly expanding throughout the World. Cities warmly receive this new welcome to good weather. Two consolidated festivities are: Holi Festival of Colours (in Germany) and Holi One Colour Festival, started in England and now expanded to many countries around the world (Peru, Brazil, Colombia, United States, South Africa, France, Spain, Croatia, Holland, Switzerland, Portugal, Luxenbourg, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Hungary, Guadeloupe, New Zealand, Australia).
Happy Holi!
