Celebrate Holi on a Holiday

Holi, the festival of color, marking the reawakening of spring.

Holi is a sacred ancient tradition of Hindus, it is a festival celebrated as the Festival of Colors, Love, and Spring. Holi originated and is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent of India and Nepal, but has also spread to other regions of Asia and parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora.

Holi is a popular and significant Hindu festival, a holiday in many states of India and Nepal with regional holidays in other countries. It is a cultural celebration that gives Hindus and non-Hindus alike an opportunity to have fun banter with other people by throwing colored water and colored powder at each other. To many Hindus, Holi festivities mark an occasion to reset and renew ruptured relationships, end conflicts, and rid themselves of accumulated emotional impurities from the past.

The festival has many purposes; most prominently, it celebrates the beginning of Spring. Holi is celebrated at the end of winter, on the last full moon day of the Hindu lunar-solar calendar month, marking the spring, making the date vary with the lunar cycle. The date falls typically in March, but sometimes late February of the Gregorian calendar. Holi is a celebration of the arrival of Spring in India and Nepal, the end of winter, and the blossoming of love. It is also an invocation for a good spring harvest season.

In 17th century literature, it was identified as a festival that celebrated agriculture, commemorated as good spring harvests, and the fertile land. Hindus believe it is a time to enjoy spring's abundant colors and saying farewell to winter.

The Holi festival has a cultural significance among various Hindu traditions of the Indian subcontinent. It is the festive day to end and rid oneself of past errors, to end conflicts by meeting others, a day to forget and forgive. People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in their lives. Holi also marks the start of spring, an occasion for people to enjoy the changing seasons and make new friends.

Holi is a Festival of Unity and Brotherhood. It is not just a festival of colors and joyous celebrations; it is also a festival of unity and brotherhood. It is a time when people come together to celebrate the triumph of good over evil and renew their relationships with family and friends. The festival is also an occasion to bridge the gap between different communities and foster harmony and peace.

The ancient festival has Hindu roots, but growing numbers worldwide are taking part in the celebration, which features bonfires, singing, dancing, prayer, feasting and spreading clouds of pigmented powder. The Holi rituals and customs can vary with local adaptations.