Holi: Festival of Colors
It’s OK to get a little messy while celebrating this holiday in India.
If you ever visit India and someone throws colored powder over you, it means that you have arrived during the Hindu festival of Holi. Known as the festival of colors, Holi is celebrated on the last full moon in the lunar month of Phalguna—this usually occurs in March. This ancient tradition marks the end of winter and honors the triumph of good over evil.
The night before Holi, people light bonfires to say goodbye to winter. They gather at temples to sing and dance to music. During the festival, families also prepare gujiya, a dumpling-like sweet that’s filled with dried fruits and nuts spiced with cardamom.
But the real fun starts on the day of Holi. That’s when people throw gulal—bright powders and water—at anybody and everybody. These colored powders have special meaning: Red dye symbolizes love; blue represents the Hindu god Krishna, and green stands for new beginnings.
During the festival, people often wear their oldest clothes because they know they can’t avoid being hit! For days afterward, stains remain on people’s clothes. (And in some regions of India, the festival stretched for 16 days!)
Hindus around the world celebrate this ancient tradition, including in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Suriname, South Africa, and Malaysia. And people in the United States and the United Kingdom throw Holi parties, too!
