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Holi is a religious spring festival celebrated
by Hindus, as a festival of colours.It is
primarily observed in India and Nepal. It is
observed by the minority Hindus in
Bangladesh and Pakistan as well in countries
with large Indic diaspora populations
following Hinduism.
In Vaishnavism , Hiranyakashipu is the great
king of demons, and he had been granted a boon
by Brahma, which made it almost impossible for
him to be killed. The boon was due to his long
penance, after which he had demanded that he
not be killed "during day or night; inside the home or outside, not on earth or in the sky; neither by a
man nor an animal; neither by astra nor
by shastra".
Consequently, he grew arrogant and attacked the
Heavens and the Earth. He demanded that people
stop worshipping Gods and start praising
respectfully to him.
According to this belief, Hiranyakashipu's own
son, Prahlada, was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. In
spite of several threats from Hiranyakashipu,
Prahlada continued offering prayers to Lord
Vishnu.
He was poisoned by Hiranyakashipu, but the
poison turned to nectar in his mouth. He was
ordered to be trampled by elephants yet remained
unharmed. He was put in a room with hungry,
poisonous snakes and survived. All of
Hiranyakashipu's attempts to kill his son failed.
Finally, he ordered young Prahlada to sit on
a pyre in the lap of Holika, Hiranyakashipu's
demoness sister, , who also could not die because
she had a boon preventing her from being burned
by fire.Prahlada readily accepted his father's
orders, and prayed to Lord Vishnu to keep him
safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in
amazement as Holika burnt to death, while
Prahlada survived unharmed. The salvation of
Prahlada and burning of Holika is celebrated as
Holi.
In Mathura , where Lord Krishna grew up, in
commemoration of the divine love of Radha for
Krishna. The festivities officially usher in spring,
the celebrated season of love.
Every year, thousands of Hindus participate in
the festival Holi. The festival has many
purposes. First and foremost, it celebrates the
beginning of the new season, spring. Originally,
it was a festival that commemorated good
harvests and the fertile land. Hindus believe it
is a time of enjoying spring's abundant colors
and saying farewell to winter.
It also has a religious purpose, commemorating
events present in Hindu mythology. Although it
is the least religious holiday, it is probably one
of the most exhilarating ones in existence.
During this event, participants hold a bonfire,
throw colored powder at each other, and
celebrate wildly.
Rangapanchami occurs a few days later on a
Panchami (fifth day of the full moon), marking
the end of festivities involving colors.
The main day, Holi, also known as Dhuli in
Sanskrit, or Dhulheti,Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is
celebrated by people throwing scented powder
and perfume at each other. Bonfires are lit on the eve of the festival, also known as Holika
Dahan (burning of Holika) or Chhoti holi.
The bonfires are lit in memory of the miraclous
Escape that young Prahlad accomplished
when demoness Holika , carried him into fire.
Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch
devotee of god Vishnu, escaped without any
injuries due to his devotion. Holika Dahan is
referred to as Kama Dahanam in South India.
Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter
season on the last full moon day of the lunar
month Phalguna which usually falls in the
later part of February or March.
In most areas, Holi lasts about two days. Holi
lowers the strictness of social norms, which
includes gaps between age, gender, status, and
caste.
Together, the rich and poor, women and men,
enjoy each other’s presence on this joyous day.
No one expects polite behavior; as a result, the
atmosphere is filled with excitement, fun and
joy.
Though there have been references in Sanskrit
texts to similar festivals, like ratnavali where
people sprayed coloured waters using bamboo
syringes, the origin of the modern Holi festival
has been traced to ancient Bengal. It was
a Gaudiya Vaishnav festival, in accordance to
Vaishnaviya Tantra. People went
to Krishna temples, applied red color to the
icon and then distributed the red coloured
powder or Abir along with malpua prasad to
family and friends.
Red signified the colour of passion and Lord
Krishna is the king of desires. The ritual signified that all our desires should be
diverted for the attainment of Krishna and
for the well being of society.
In some cultures though, the ritual of burning
wood and leaves on the full moon night
already existed.
This ritual was to signify the end of winter
and full advent of spring. Old wood and leaves that had fallen were burnt to signify
that it was time for new leaves and flowers.
People then smeared their bodies with ash.
Later, however, the story of Holika Dahan
became associated with this ritual.
The earliest textual reference to the celebration
of Holi is found in the 7th century Sanskrit
drama, Ratnavali. Certainly there are
perennial rituals attached to Holi: the first is
smearing of coloured powder on each other,
and throwing coloured and scented water at
each time. On the first day of this festival,
Hindus participate in a public bonfire.
Prior to the event, men prepare for this by
collecting extra wood. The fire itself is lit near
midnight, as the moon rises.
The main custom of Holi is the use of the
colored powders and water on others. This is
why Holi is given the name “Festival of
Colors.”
An alleged environmental issue related to the
celebration of Holi is the traditional Holika
Dahan bonfire, which is believed to
contribute to deforestation. A local tabloid
had a view published that 30,000 bonfires
each burning approximately 100 kg of wood
are lit in one season.
Several methods of preventing this big
consumption of wood have been proposed ,
including the replacement of wood with
waste material or lighting of a single fire per
community, rather than multiple smaller
fires. However, the idea of lighting waste
material antagonizes large sections of a
certain community who take it as a