The most sought after Hindu festival of Holi is celebrated across the world with great splendor. This sacred Holi festival is celebrated across the world not only by Hindu people but also people from other religious community across the globe.
This festival is celebrated in India almost in every corner and across all the states. This sacred festival is also called the ‘’Festival of love’’ as the people get reunited on this occasion forgetting all the animosity and enmity.
This grand Hindu festival is a phenomenon that takes place for a day and night. This sacred occasion takes place on the Full Moon day (Punrnima) in the month of Falgun. The next Holi Festival is going to fall on 29th March 2021.
It is also celebrated as Holika Dahan or Chhoti Holi on the first day of the festival in some states in India and the Holi is celebrated the next day. This sacred festival of colors is known differently in the different states of India.
The vibration of colors that brings positivity among the people and the people really rejoice to a great extent during this mega festive occasion.
Holi is the most popular festival that is celebrated with great entertainment and grandeur across different states in India. The festival starts with the bonfire that takes place just before the festival in the evening. The process of bonfire denotes the triumph of the good over bad. On the occasion of the festival the people play with colors with their members of the family and friends. Although the recommended color is Abir, the people nowadays have been playing with synthetic colors which are extremely harmful not only to the eyes but also the skin.
History of Holi
Holi is an important festival in India that takes place during the spring season in India. This special occasion is a national holiday in India and a local holiday in Nepal. The Holi festival is observed across the country with great splendor.
It is a color festival that is celebrated by Hindu people in India. However, it is also observed by some Non-Hindu people. During this playful event, the people throw colors at other such as members of the family and friends. Even the colors are thrown on the unfamiliar people in jest.
The Holi festival is especially played in the Indian subcontinent every year in the month of either February or March according to the Gregorian calendar.
The Holi festival is observed according to the Hindu Luni-solar calendar on the full moon day of the month of Falgun. It is celebrated at the end of the winter and the beginning of the spring.
The festival has many stories behind it. As a rule, it is celebrated in the commencement of the spring season. According to the 17th-century literature, the Hindus celebrate it as the harvesting festival and goodbye to winter. The Hindus welcome the spring with great grandeur.
For many Hindus, it is the beginning of the New Year and time to restore the ruptured relations and forget the jealousy, enmity and animosity. It is mainly intended to get rid of accumulated emotional impurities from the past.
History of the religious significance
The festival has religious and spiritual importance. The people celebrate with bonfires that are called Holika Dahan. It is also called Holika or little Holi (Chhoti Holi in Hindi). The people in the villages, towns and cities gather together and various performances are done such as singing and dancing.
The next day the Holi is celebrated. It is also known as Dhuli in Sanskrit. Dhulheti and Dhulandi or Dhulendi are celebrated across the country.
The people among the members of family and friends greet each other and play with colors. The elderly people would play with the color called Abir. They put Abir on each other’s head and cheek.
Significance of Holi
The Holi is one of the most significant festivals in India that is celebrated with a great pump. There are various socio-religious benefits due to the Holi festival. The people altogether forget their enmity and start a new lease of life.
The Holi festival is closely connected to the story of the Hiranyakashyapu and his son Prahlad. Hiranyakashyapu was a demon and he always wanted that everyone should worship him. However, his son was not the follower of his father instead he worshipped Lord Vishnu who was the deadly enemy of his father.
However, his demon father got angry and said his sister Holika to sit in the blazing fire keeping Prahlad in her lap so that Prahlad will get burnt. However, Pralhad did not get burnt and Holika paid for it. Holika had a boon that she can enter blazing fire unhurt. But, she got burnt due to her misdeed.
Since then the story has been prevailing and the Holika Dahan is being celebrated just before Holi.
There have been other stories as well. The story is as follows. Radha and Krishna were playing colors. Krishna applied colors on the Radha and other Gopis as well. The prank of the color by Krishna is celebrated as Holi.
The mythology also says that the Holi is celebrated due to the killing of Pootana. The Ogress Pootna tried to kill infant Krishna by feeding toxic milk. However, Lord Krishna killed while drinking milk from Pootna. Since then the celebration is being observed.
Holi in Andhra Pradesh
Although the festival of Holi is not celebrated as similar to north India, the people still play the color festival with great harmony and happiness. The people put colors on each other bodies and enjoy the festival. The Banjara tribe is particularly known for the graceful dance performance during the Holi festival.
Holi in Assam
The Holi festival is known as Phagwa in the Indian states of Assam. It is a 3-5 days event in the Assam for the people living here. Barpeta a place in Assam is popularly known for its own style of celebrating Holi. The people not only from India but also all over the world do visit Barpeta during this occasion. This occasion of Lord Krishna is known as Doulustava. During the festival of Doul the people worship Radha and Krishna.
Holi in Bengal
In West Bengal, the festival is called Dol Purnima, Dol Utsava, Dol Yatra and it is also called Basant Utsav or spring festival. The tradition of Basant Utsav was reintroduced by Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Shanti Niketan.
The boys and girls during the occasion sing the song and dance and perform cultural activities in the state. Some boys and girls appear at the festival with saffron-colored attires.
Holi in Bihar
The people in Bihar celebrate this festival with great splendor. They are as joyful as the North Indian people like in U.P and Delhi during the festival. The tradition of the bonfire or Holika Dahan takes place in this region too.
The people put cow dung cake, various woods, coconut, vegetables and grains in the fire to celebrate the festival. The festival is also called Phalgun purnima. The folk songs are sung with a high pitch with the traditional musical instruments.
The people would consume bhang and various delicious food during the festival of Holi.
Holi in Chhattisgarh
The Indian state of Chhattisgarh is the central region of India that is full of greenery and forests. The people observe the Holi festival in their unique style. On the first day of Holi, the people collect the tree called Chhatigarhri Jada and that is made stand in the center. The people keep various dried branches of the tree around it including leaves of rice.
Then the tree is burnt and the people take small pieces of the burnt tree to their home believing that it will remove all the evil and illnesses of the home.
On the 2nd day both elderly people and children start playing with Gulal, water, ballon, flower petals and Pitchkari etc.
Holi in Delhi
Since Delhi is the capital of India and monetary hub, the people leave no stone unturned to celebrate this mega festival. The people perform this festival in a different way. The people meet each other and put colors on each other.
The whole day remains a busy day. The first half of the Holi is played enjoyed with various colors. In the evening the people make the feast and consume food together.
The people in Delhi also perform Holika Dahan the bonfire that denotes the triumph of good over bad. Since Delhi is the center of Indian politics, the people celebrate it with great enthusiasm. Even this sacred festival is celebrated by the President and Prime Minister of India.
Holi in Goa
During the festival of Holi, the people in Goa are more energetic. The festival is known as Sigmo. The festival is celebrated with masses. There are various cultural activities do happen. The people play this festival with Gulal irrespective of religion. The people perform various dance programs with drumbeats that enlighten Goa during Sigmostav.
Holi in Gujarat
In Gujarat, the young people celebrate this festival with great spiritual spirit. The people would sing the devotional song such as ‘’Govinda Ala Re, Zara Matki Sambhal Brijbala.
The people also perform Holika Dahan across the state. The people create a human pyramid and break the earthen pot filled with buttermilk that is hung very high. The person who breaks the pot is crowned with “Holi King’’. The people keep on throwing water on the boy who breaks the pot.
On the next day, the people play with colors and exchange sweets and hug each other.
Holi in Haryana
The festival in Haryana is celebrated with enthusiasm by the people from all walks of life. The people make the human pyramid and break the pot filled with buttermilk hung very high.
The people play with colors forgetting all kinds of animosity. The Bhabi the wife of brother play prank with Devar the younger brother of the husband of the Bhabi. There is a social sanction for the Bhabi to beat their Devars and make them pay the cost for the prank they have played for a year.
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