Holi celebration at the College of Engineering in Adoor. Photo credit: Sandeep Pranavam, public domain.
Holi होली is a religious festival celebrated especially in Northern India by Hindus in the spring to mark the arrival of spring and new life and the end of gloomy winter. Farmers begin to plant their crops, the flowers begin to bloom, and people celebrate the new season of hope (for a good harvest) and happiness. There are also various religious legends associated with the holiday. Read here for The Legend of Prahalad and Holika. Typical food that is eaten is gujiya (a sweet puff), mathri (salty crackers) and papri (fried dough wafers).
But what truly makes this holiday unique and special is the exuberant singing, dancing, and throwing of scented powder and perfume at each other, with no distinction of caste, class, age, or gender. In fact, the playful flirting and competition between men and women has many people consider this a romantic festival.
Sanjeev Bhaskar from the BBC gets painted in India:
Photographer Steve McCurry on Holi (Incredible India CNN):
A lot of dancing by the Lakshmi Narayan Temple Youth Group, Sanatan Dharam Sabha:
This last one is a presentation of stunning photos from Gujarat, India:
Happy Holi!
DId you go to the Holi celebration in Rosenberg this weekend?! It was SO much fun. Lots of dancing, laughing, and color throwing.
It was great to be in a family friendly party atmosphere. We felt very welcomed as well.
The event was thrown by Marsala Radio, which I am going to make a point to listen to now, b/c I love the music.
http://masalaradio.net/
No, I didn’t know about it! I would have LOVED to go with the kids!:) Thanks for the radio link- I will check it out. Anytime you’d like to go to any cultural festival let me know!!