Holi: The Festival of Colors

We often find our breaths taken away by the presence of color in our everyday lives, and thankfully there are three times as many opportunities to celebrate it. While the carnivals of Brazil and New Orleans explode with vibrancy, there is something simpler and yet equally joyous about Holi, the festival of color that takes place in early March of each year in India and Nepal. It is also known as Phagwa, or in West Begal, Boshonto Utsav (meaning "Spring Festival.")

by RichieWJA

India's people believe that bright colors are synonymous with life, joy and positive energy. Holi is a day to celebrate these concepts, but it also holds other symbolism as well (which seem to differ depending on what region the celebration is held in.) For some, Holi means celebrating the divine love of Lord Krishna and Radna (this is most popularly believed in Vrindavan and Mathura, where Krishna grew up.) The festival is celebrated for 16 days in the aforementioned areas (in some areas it is as short as six days.) There is a story that tells of Krishna complaining to his mother about his dark skin in contrast to Radna's fair cheek, which Krishna's mother addressed by applying color to Radna's face, transforming her from starkly contrasting to brilliantly colorful.

by Matthieu :: giik.net/blog

A second story about Holi's origins involves Kamadeva, the Hindu God of Love. Kama was destroyed by Shiva, but Shiva recreated his body as a mental image for sake of Kama's wife. The concept behind this story is that Shiva gave Kama's wife back the symbol of her emotional and spiritual devotion, which outweighed the importance of his physicality (the latter signifying physical lust.) The Holi bonfire, which is traditionally held on the first night of Holi, is believed by some to pay homage to this story. Other believe in the bonfires as a recreation of the burning of the demoness Holika, for which the festival was named. This ritual is called "Holika Dahan."

by freestyler

The morning after the bonfires, people run free in the streets, shouting, dancing and smearing one another with color. At noon, everything comes to an end and people head to the river or to their bathtubs to clean their bodies and then spend the afternoon resting from the day's activity, creating an atmosphere of pure reverence and peace. This is only one of the ways that Holi is celebrated, as each region has customized the celebration in their own unique way. People sometimes give each other boxes of sweets or brightly colored flowers. While the gifts themselves are treasured, great importance is put upon the spirit in which the gift is given in, and people are often seen presenting these gifts with joyful smiles.

The colors that are used to celebrate Holi were originally derived from the blossoms of Spring trees, but over the years these beautiful natural resources came to be replaced by industrial dyes. Much like the way the white face paint used by geisha was harmful to the skin, these artificial colors can contain toxic chemicals which should never be applied to human flesh. Since Holi colors are sold loosely on the roads, it is difficult to know if what one is buying is natural or artificial. Since recent studies have revealed this information, several organizations such as Development Alternatives have sprung up to try to teach children how to make their own Holi colors using natural resources. The CLEAN India campaign has also made efforts to do the same. Hopefully these resources can help to keep the festival safe as well as help it to continue to thrive, reminding people to celebrate the joy of life using instruments of color.

More faces of Holi:

by wanderinghome

by RichieWJA

by subhasish

by subhasish

by Light and life_Murali

by thepetpoet