HOLI is the Festival of Colors. It is celebrated on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Phalugn (Phalgun Purnima) which falls in early March every year.
The celebrations last for 2 days. The night before Holi is called
Holika. The day of Holi is called "Dhuleti". Holi also heralds the arrival of spring and is also known as the Spring festival in India. It celebrates the season of hope and new beginnings and marks the re-kindling of the spirit of life according to the Bhagvad
Gita.
Did you know
that Holi is celbrated in India, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, the UK and Nepal.
The main day of Holi is called Rangapanchami, Dhulheti, Dhulandi or
Dhulendi, is celebrated by people throwing
colored powder and colored water at each other. Bonfires are lit the day
before Holi, also known as Holika Dahan (death of Holika) or
Chhoti Holi (little
Holi).
Holika purnima is also
called Hutasani. It is the celebration
of the arrival of Spring - the season of hope and new beginnings and
marks the re-kindling of the spirit of life according to the
Bhagvad Gita.
Holi is
also a day to celebrate with friends and neighbors. People perform havan
and offer the new grains that are harvested to the gods. The
history of the origin of Holi goes back to Hindu mythology when Lord
Krishna killed the demon "Madhu" in ancient Braj or modern
Mathura in U.P. Although the festival is based on mythology, it now
signifies the coming of spring.
The festivities begins on the night of the full moon. Bonfires are lit on
street corners to cleanse the air of evil spirits and bad vibes, and
to symbolize the destruction of the wicked "Holika", for
whom the festival was named.
On "Dhuleti"
the
following morning, the are streets filled with people dancing,
splashing and throwing colored powder and spraying colored water
with "pitchkaris" or water guns and even dousing each other
with buckets of water. Kids love this festival as they have fun with
water ballons, gulal and pitchkaris.
"Gulal"
is the name of the red colored powder used during the festival of Holi.
Holi powders come in a range of colors from
orange, yellow, green, purple, blue to even metallic.
"Pitchkari"
or water
gun filled with colored water to spray and soak your friends with.
The best part
of Holi is to catch someone unawares, one can get away with almost anything on
this day. Kids especially like throwing water filled balloons at
each other from atop buildings. For the teenagers its a great day to
spend flirting. Friends and neighbors go out in groups enjoying
together. After an exhaustive morning, in
the afternoon, the craziness comes to an end and everyone heads home
to clean up and enjoy the holi sweets and savories.
"Rang
Barse" The Bollywood song from the 1981 movie Silsila, that embodies the spirit of holi - starring
Amitabh Bachan and the sexy sultry Rekha.
Homes
are thrown open to visitors to feast on the season's first crop of
sweet mangoes. There are many special sweets prepared on the
occasion of Holi. "- condensed milk confections, and a variety of
savory party foods like "samosas", "pakoras",
kebabs and stuffed breads like "Puran Poli", "Gur poli",
and "Sakharpoli" are eaten in Western India.
They render the
taste of just harvested jaggery or sugar. In northern India, "Gujias"
made with khoya and nut stuffing and sugar "Batashas" are
shared by the community. In the South, different kinds of sweet rice
preparations are served and different varieties of fruit mixtures are offered to
visitors. Also served in the South are cold beverages called sherbets.
They also eat food laced with "bhang", an aphrodisiac that
leaves one feeling light, happy, and reckless.
Holi's
crazy drink!!!
Bhaang
: is a preparation from the leaves and flowers (buds) of the female cannabis plant. It is consumed either in a special beverage called Thandai or smoked. It causes a high and enhances intimacy. Bhang lassi is a special lassi that contains bhang and is made especially during Holi.
Pakoras are
also sometimes laced with bhaang.
On "No Reservations" celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain visited a "Govt
Authorized" Bhang Shop in Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan. The owner offered him three varieties of the drink: "normally strong, super duper sexy strong, and full power 24 hour, no toilet, no shower."
The Mythology behind Holi
"The
Hoilika Story"
The
story centers around an arrogant king Hiranyakashyapu who resents his
son Prahlada for worshipping Lord Vishnu. He attempts to kill his son
but fails each time. Finally, the king's sister Holika who is said to
be immune to burning, sits with the boy in a huge fire. However, the
prince Prahlada emerges unscathed, while his aunt burns to death. Holi
commemorates this event from mythology where good triumphs evil. Huge bonfires are burnt on
the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation.
"Krishna"
The
history of the origin of Holi goes back to Hindu mythology when Lord
Krishna killed the demon "Madhu" in ancient Braj or modern
Mathura in U.P. Therefore, Lord Krishna who was from Nandagaon and
Radha who was from the small town of Barsana are worshiped on this
auspicious day.
Holi,
especially in Mathura & Vrindavan is spread over 16 days - the two cities with which Lord Krishna shared a deep
affiliation. Apart from the usual fun with colored powder and water,
Holi is marked by vibrant processions which are accompanied by folk
songs, dances and a general sense of abandoned vitality. It is
celebrated with special joy and zest at Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandgaon,
and Barsnar.
Regional
Celebrations
Each
Indian region celebrates Holi differently.
Uttar
Pradhesh , Mathura or known as Braj in the olden days is
Lord Krishna's birth place. Holi is also called Braj ki Holi.
With week long celebrations, the temples here celebrate Holi with
pomp.
The Bhil tribesmen of
western Madhya
Pradesh, who've retained many of their pre-Hindu
customs, celebrate holi in a unique way.
In rural
Maharashtra State,
where the festival is known as "Rangapanchami" it is
celebrated with dancing and singing and the making of the Indian sweet
"Puran Poli".
In Bengal, Holi is called Dol
Yatra. The word "dol" literally
means a swing and "yatra" means a procession.. Idols
of Lord Krishna and Radha are placed in a little swing-cradle and
decorated with flowers and painted with colored powders.
Devotees dance around the swing and also take turns to swing the
cradle while chanting the name of Sri Krishna and singing Holi-songs
relating to the frolics of little Krishna with the Gopis. Men spray colored
water and powder called abheer.
In the towns of
Rajasthan — especially
Jaisalmer — the music's great, and clouds of pink, green, and
turquoise powder fill the air. The grounds of Jaisalmer's Mandir
Palace are turned into chaos, with dances, folk songs, and
colored-powder confusion.
In the
Punjab, a sect of Sikh community
observes Hola Mohalla a day after the Holi and stages mock battles
with ancient weapons.
