If you are visiting India or if you interested in knowing about India, knowing how to celebrate Holi and why Holi is important will be an advantage to you as Holi is one of the most important festivals of India that is celebrated with great fervor in many parts of the country. It is also called the festival of colors because of the heavy use of dry and wet colors that are thrown by people over each other. This festival is celebrated in the Hindu month of Phalgun that usually falls in February or March every year. If you do not know how to celebrate Holi, this article will tell you what to do so as to enjoy this festival of colors in the best possible manner.
How to celebrate Holi – Meanings of different holi rituals
The evening before Holi festival
According to Hindu mythology, there was a cruel king Hiranakashyap, who wanted everyone to treat him like a god and pray him instead of Lord Vishnu. He had a pious and religious son Prahlad who was a worshipper of Lord Vishnu. As Prahlad refused to worship him instead of Vishnu, he ordered his son to be burnt alive. He made Prahlad sit on the lap of his sister Holika, who was immune to fire and lit the pyre. However, it was Holika who was burnt to ashes while Prahlad escaped unhurt. After this, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of singhavatar and killed Hiranakashyap. This is the reason the night before the festival of Holi a huge bonfire is made to signify the end of all evil.
The riot of colors on Holi morning
The use of splashing colors over each other started in remembrance of Lord Krishna who celebrated this festival along with his friends in this manner. He played pranks and enjoyed the festival by sprinkling colors over his friends. Holi in Vtindavan and Mathura that are places associated with Lord Krishna see the festival of Holi celebrated in this particular manner.
To celebrate Holi – Greet each other Happy Holi and spray colors
Holi is a festival that arrives when winter is saying goodbye and spring is setting in northern parts of India. Children and even adults take to streets and sing and dance in joy. Kids have sprinklers filled with colors and balloons filled with color in their hands and they have a one-point aim of drowning others in these colors. If you are in India and taking part in Holi celebrations, make sure to wear old clothes as you are sure to get drenched with water and colors. Also, do not be shocked if even strangers throw colors on you as this is a festival of the community and no one minds being drenched with water and colors on this day. Many people consume bhang that is prepared by mixing bhang powder into milk to further increase the festive spirit of the festival of Holi.
Images By: Gianluca Ramalho Misiti (CC BY 2.0), Kamalakanta777 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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