Holi Festival 2016

Holi is an Indian festival, also known as the festival of colors is celebrated with immense joy and pleasure all over the Indian subcontinent. It arrives during the Indian spring season of Phalgun or during the month of February-March of the Gregorian calendar. Every Hindu festival which is celebrated has some religious significance attached to it. It also has a religious purpose, symbolically signified by the legend of Holika. The night before Holi, bonfires are lit in a ceremony known as Holika Dahan (burning of Holika) or Little Holi. People gather near fires, sing and dance. The next day, Holi, also known as Dhuli in Sanskrit, or Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is celebrated by spraying colors and teasing with colours, then everyone is served with  Holi delicacies, desserts and drinks. Holi is celebrated in many ways across the country according to the customs and rituals prevailing in the region. The type or way of Holi celebrated in the Braj region of North India is famous of all, in Braj region of North India, women have the option to playfully hit men who save themselves with shields; for the day, men are culturally expected to accept whatever women order out to them. This type of holi is called Lath Mar Holi. The elephant festival of Jaipur is very famous all over the country, it is celebrated during the days of holi.

HOLI celebration India

Holi is the festival of cultural socialism in India the society which is so intricately woven and is divided in four major castes and many other sub castes are found together on the same platform in celebrating the festival. Holi brings together the hearts of people. Rich and poor, old and young, boss and junior, officer and attendant they all greet each other put color on each other offer sweets to each other.

Holi  Celebration  India

Holi is the festival of color, music and dance and is celebrated in entire india with a lot of enthusiasm and joy. The festival is celebrated for two days but the preparations are made almost one month before. On the first day of the festival which is the full moon according to the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna, a ceremonial bonfire is created and burnt. The married women worship the bonfire dressed in beautiful clothes offer sweets, cakes, vermilion and rice. The people gather around the bonfire and someone elder in the society group or the priest lits the bonfire. People carry fresh wheat, gram and barley and get them roasted in that bonfire which is consumed by the entire family. This roasting of new grown grain is called Navan Eshti Yagna which is a symbolic tradition of offering the fresh grain to the God.

Next day morning people assemble at on places or they visit the houses of friends and family and offer Gulaal which is colored arroroat. Children amuse themselves by sprinkling colored water from Pichkari(water gun) on each other. The festival continues  all along the day.

Story about Holi Festival

Holi is the cultural,social and religious reflection of Indian society as per the religious story, there was a king known as Hiranyakashipu who by virtue of a boon was indestructible and he thus started abusing his power by torturing the common people, he considered himself a God. He had a son called Prahalad who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. The father did not like his son as he used to worship and pray Vishnu. He decided to kill his son Prahalad in many ways but could not succeed. Finally his sister Holika suggested him that she can help her brother in killing the boy. She had a fire proof cloak which she wore and took the boy in her lap and asked the fire to be lit around them. She was thinking that the fireproof cloak would work and protect her and the boy will catch fire but it happened in quite a different way, the boy was saved by the divine grace of Lord Vishnu and Holika was burnt to ashes. This is after the evil sister of Hiranyakashipu Holika that the festival is known to be celebrated as Holi. The festival is celebrated with a lot of pomp and show at Mathura and Vrindavan which are the places associated with Lord Krishna, so the Holi of Brij(mathura and vrindavan collectively know to as)is famous around the world. 

Happy Holi

The people of Indian origin living in other parts of the world also celebrate the festival with enthusiasm. If somebody wants to understand India and Indians, this festival provides the golden opportunity of absorbing the essentials of human relation in Indian society. Jaipur is famous for the elephant festival which takes place during the festival of Holi and thousands of tourist come specially to be a part of this festival.