Holi: Know The Basics Of The Hindu Festival Of Colors

In 2011, Holi will be celebrated on March 19 and 20.

Holi is an annual festival celebrated by Hindus on the final full moon of the month Phalguna. Usually falling in March, Holi marks the coming of spring and is commonly known as the "Festival of Colors."

The celebration of Holi usually spans over two days with the festivals beginning with public bonfires and gatherings on the night of the full moon. It continues the following day with public festivities that feature the wearing and throwing of colored powders and liquids.

Holi commemorates the mythological tale of Hiranyakashipu and his son Prahlada. Prahlada is a devotee of Lord Vishnu who protects him in a series of murder attempts by his father. The bonfires of Holi represent one of these attempts in which Hiranyakashipu attempted to burn his son alive.

Despite this significance, Holi is generally considered to be one of the least religious festivals in the Hindu calendar. It largely developed as an agricultural holiday to praise the change of seasons and is widely loved for the general loosening of social norms associated with its celebration. The holiday's festivities serve as a joyous bridge across the social divisions that normally play an important role in Hindu society. The holiday is an occasion for all people, regardless of gender, age, wealth, or caste to join in the fun that takes place in the temples and streets of India and in cities around the world with large Hindu populations.

As is the case with many Hindu festivals, the observance of Holi can vary widely from region to region. In some areas the festival can last for much longer than the standard two days, and many Holi festivals have specific rituals that are oriented to their history and the deities that are associated with them.

Future Holi Dates are:

Holi 2012: March 8,9

Holi 2013: March 27, 28

Holi 2014: March 17, 18

Holi 2015: March 6, 7

Holi 2016: March 23, 24

Holi 2017: March 13, 14

Holi 2018: March 2, 3

Holi 2019: March 21, 22

Holi 2020: March 10, 11

Comments

[BayArea Desi]

04:19 AM on 03/28/2011

There is a list of all the holi events in the bay area at http://bayareadesi.com/holi

[Macready]

07:04 AM on 03/21/2011

it looks and sounds like fun . . . . .

[Ganeshari]

07:09 PM on 03/20/2011

Are these colored powders and liquids biodegradable? I just read about a Holi celebration at the local beach.

[Vijay from India]

04:22 PM on 03/21/2011

Dear Ganeshari - it seems impossible with the current wave of people, who are bent on commercializing everything from holi water to holi bang - so, it is like shouting to the deaf ears.
In the hindu epics and other canonical texts, there is a wide mention about this festival -
As with the custom of not commercializing anything and also using bio degradable and environment friendly ways in India, this festival was celebrated by showering the freshly blossoming flowers which abounded the then fertile Indian region as well as using the turmeric water got by mixing very little turmeric in water so as to get a mild yellowish colour -
This is still celebrated the same way in South and Central India, where the women folk of the village or township - prepare this turmeric water and ambush their loved ones and shower them with this water.
Nowadays - people do not realize the harmful effects of having chemical dies sprayed into their mouth and eyes as well as the effect it leaves behind on such quantities on the skin.
More worse is the environmental effects of the after math - when several tonnes of these liquids are washed down streams and kills or irritates the aquatic life there..
They do not realize that instead of inviting spring of the nature, they are killing the very nature for just one day in the calendar year..

[Ganeshari]

04:35 PM on 03/21/2011

How unfortunate.

[ZenSufi]

10:45 AM on 03/20/2011

It's a Holiday.

[naschkatze]

12:00 PM on 03/21/2011

Excellent!

[Patricia Russell]

06:43 PM on 03/19/2011

OUTSOURCED featured this holiday on Thursday. First time I've heard of Holi.

[ZenSufi]

10:41 AM on 03/20/2011

Outsourced is pretty good.

[ZenSufi]

10:54 AM on 03/20/2011

Todd's Holi War:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/222874/outsourced-todds-holi-war

[merlinspinoza]

03:31 PM on 03/19/2011

today Global Mother Divine on maharishichannel.in channel 5 broadcast a beautiful simple brief celebration of spring and Holi [ being rebroadcast all day ]

on channel 3 there is a half hour vedic calender presentation several times today in connection with the day of Phalgun Purnima and Vishnu

it includes a 15 minute recitation of the appropriate sections of vedic literature by maharishi vedic pandits

" yagya performances [ Grahashanti performance etc many kinds of yagya celebrations ] is fulfillment of all culture of all religion of all science " Maharishi :" vedic evolution of language "

highest quality http://www.vedic-arts.com/index.jsp

[enigmatic zero]

02:03 PM on 03/19/2011

Happy Holi everyone!

Btw..those living in the bay area can check out the Massive Stanford Holi festival (april 3rd).
I'm definitely going :)

Flicker pics of the 2010 Stanford Holi which had an attendance of more than 5000 people!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arcticpuppy/sets/72157623722861130/show/

This Stanford event(and the ones from previous years) is organized by the "Asha for education"(love for education) foundation, which is a zero overhead, non-profit organization aimed at funding the education of poor children.

The facebook page for this year's event
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=198434316839355

[quote][[[[
- We give you water to spray your friends with, and over 4000 pounds of color to help render them completely unrecognizable!
- Music, dancing and much much more! Sway your hips to a non-stop mix by DJ playing Hip-hop, Bhangra and Holi music
- Fun-packed games!
...- Delicious Indian food*
- Special kids corner for families with children
- Special dance performances!
]]]][/quote]

The website of the group organizing this event
http://ashastanford.shutterfly.com/

[manumoka]

02:32 PM on 03/19/2011

sounds awesome!

[Nicholas Rowley]

10:16 AM on 03/20/2011

Bugger, going to miss it by ten days.

Incidentally I'm pleased to see more than just the standard Judeo-Chrislamic topics turning up with greater frequency in this section. A pagan division wouldn't go a miss either.

[Macready]

07:05 AM on 03/21/2011

ditto

[sandalwood]

01:10 PM on 03/19/2011

And there is Bhang: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhang

"The traditional harvest and preparation of bhang occurs during the celebrations of Holi in March and Vaisakhi in April, hence associated with Lord Shiva. It has now become synonymous with Holi, to the point where consuming bhang at that time is a standard practice. It is also available as Bhang golis (balls) which is just freshly ground hemp with water. Apart from this, sweetened bhang golis are also widely available. These are not considered a drug, but a traditional sleeping aid and appetizer. Bhang is also part of many ayurvedic medicinal preparation, i.e. bhang powder is available at ayurvedic dispensaries throughout the country. Bhang is also enjoyed by Sikh Nihangs.

Bhang Ki Thandai (Hindi) also known as Shardai is a drink popular in many parts of India which is made by mixing bhang with thandai, a cold beverage prepared with almonds, spices (mainly black pepper), milk and sugar."

[manumoka]

02:32 PM on 03/19/2011

Jai Shivai!

[Vijay from India]

08:48 AM on 03/20/2011

Is Bhang advocated in any vedic religious rites for holi??? - Holi is the celebration of Vasantha ( Spring) period.. and traditional sources account for only using turmeric which is a natural dye to be used during the festival.. there is no account of colourful dies of chemical bases or bhang being used anywhere..
More over, please provide accurate vedic or puranic texts detailing the drinking or association of bhang with Lord Shiva...
these kinds of cheap associations of intoxicants with godliness are done by perverts for making their own mistakes look smaller as they could point that to god themselves...
Please avoid using them connecting to the divine..
also please provide references in Ayurvedic medications from Atharva Veda and Ayur vedic Shastra texts for the use of Bhang as an Ayurvedic medicinal preparation?? - These MISINFORMATIONS do more harm to the good medicinal curative work done by Ayurvedic medicines and their knowledge.

[sandalwood]

11:20 AM on 03/20/2011

Here... smoke this. And lighten up.

[Ganeshari]

07:16 PM on 03/20/2011

Yes, it would be nice if people more mindfully made the connection between celebrating Spring and using only natural, biodegradable substances. This event has lost much of its original meaning and has become just another reason to party and alot of chemical powders polluting the environment in the process.

[Henry Hudson]

12:18 PM on 03/19/2011

Tonight is the festival of Holi, the festival of Purim and the largest and closest full moon in 18 (a very special number) years... Instant Karma

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqP3wT5lpa4