Holi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is celebrated in India and other countries with Indian communities. The festival involves people throwing colored powders and spraying colored water on each other. It begins with lighting bonfires the night before to commemorate a story from Hindu mythology. The next day, people participate in public celebrations, visiting friends and family to play with colors. The colors symbolize the arrival of spring after winter. The festival promotes positivity and togetherness.

1. Holi
Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi with a
Holika bonfire where people gather, do religious rituals in
front of the bonfire, and pray that their internal evil
should be destroyed as the bonfire starts. The next
morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi - a free-for-all
carnival of colours,[7] where participants play, chase and
colour each other with dry powder and coloured water,
with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled
balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair
game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman,
children and elders. The frolic and fight with colours
occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples
and buildings. Groups carry drums and other musical
instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance.
People visit family, friends and foes to throw coloured
powders on each other, laugh and gossip, then share Holi
delicacies, food and drinks. Some drinks are intoxicating.
For example, bhang, an intoxicating ingredient made from
cannabis leaves, is mixed into drinks and sweets and
consumed by many.[14][15] In the evening, after sobering up,
people dress up and visit friends and family.[1][16]

2. History and significance
Hiranyakashipu's own son, Prahlada,[22] however,
disagreed. He was and remained devoted to Lord
Vishnu.[16] This infuriated Hiranyakashipu. He
subjected Prahlada to cruel punishments, none of
which affected the boy or his resolve to do what he
thought was right. Finally, Holika, Prahlada's evil aunt,
tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her.[1] Holika was
wearing a cloak that made her immune to injury from
fire, while Prahlada was not. As the fire roared, the
cloak flew from Holika and encased Prahlada,[16] who
survived while Holika burned. Seeing this,
Hiranyakashipu, unable to control his anger, smashed a
pillar with his mace. There was a tumultuous sound,
and Lord Vishnu appeared as Lord Narasimha and
killed Hiranyakashipu. The bonfire is a reminder of the
symbolic victory of good over evil, of Prahlada over
Hiranyakashipu, and of the fire that burned Holika.[8]
The next day, when the fire had cooled down, people
applied ash to their foreheads,[23] a practice still
observed by some people.[24] Eventually, coloured
powder came to be used to celebrate Holi.

3. Importance
In the Braj region of India, where the Hindu deity Krishna grew up, the festival is
celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanchmi) in commemoration of the divine love
of Radha for Krishna. The festivities officially usher in spring, with Holi celebrated
as a festival of love.[25] There is a symbolic myth behind commemorating Krishna as
well. As a baby, Krishna developed his characteristic dark blue skin colour because
the she-demon Putana poisoned him with her breast milk.[26] In his youth, Krishna
despaired whether the fair-skinned Radha and other girls would like him because
of his skin colour. His mother, tired of the desperation, asks him to approach
Radha and colour her face in any colour he wanted. This he does, and Radha and
Krishna became a couple. Ever since, the playful colouring of Radha's face has been
commemorated as Holi.[27][28] Beyond India, these legends to explain the
significance of Holi (Phagwah) are common in some Caribbean and South
American communities of Indian origin such as Guyana and Trinidad and
Tobago.[29][30] It is also celebrated with great fervour in Mauritius.[31]
The Holi festival has further cultural significance. It is the festive day to end and
rid oneself of past errors, to end conflicts by meeting others, a day to forget and
forgive. People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in their lives.
Holi also marks the start of spring, and for many the start of the new year.[8][32]
The Holi festival has further cultural significance. It is the festive day to end and
rid oneself of past errors, to end conflicts by meeting others, a day to forget and
forgive. People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in their lives.
Holi also marks the start of spring, and for many the start of the new year.[8][32]

4. Description
The festival has many purposes; most prominently, it celebrates
the beginning of Spring. In 17th century literature, it was identified
as a festival that celebrated agriculture, commemorated good
spring harvests and the fertile land.[7] Hindus believe it is a time of
enjoying spring's abundant colours and saying farewell to winter.
To many Hindus, Holi festivities mark the beginning of the new
year as well as an occasion to reset and renew ruptured
relationships, end conflicts and rid themselves of accumulated
emotional impurities from the past.[8][32]
It also has a religious purpose, symbolically signified by the legend
of Holika. The night before Holi, bonfires are lit in a ceremony
known as Holika Dahan (burning of Holika) or Little Holi. People
gather near fires, sing and dance. The next day, Holi, also known
as Dhuli in Sanskrit, or Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is
celebrated. Children and youth spray coloured powder solutions
(gulal) at each other, laugh and celebrate, while adults smear dry
coloured powder (abir) on each other's faces.[1][32] Visitors to
homes are first teased with colours, then served with Holi
delicacies, desserts and drinks.[34] After playing with colours, and
cleaning up, people bathe, put on clean clothes, and visit friends
and family.[8]
Like Holika Dahan, Kama Dahanam is celebrated in some parts of
India. The festival of colours in these parts is called

5. History and rituals
Holi is an ancient Hindu festival with its cultural rituals. It is
mentioned in the Puranas, Dasakumara Charita, and by the poet
Kālidāsa during the 4th century reign of Chandragupta II.[5] The
celebration of Holi is also mentioned in the 7th-century Sanskrit
drama Ratnavali.[36] The festival of Holi caught the fascination of
European traders and British colonial staff by the 17th century.
Various old editions of Oxford English Dictionary mention it, but
with varying, phonetically derived spellings: Houly (1687), Hooly
(1698), Huli (1789), Hohlee (1809), Hoolee (1825), and Holi in
editions published after 1910.[7]
There are several cultural rituals associated with Holi:[37]
Prepare Holika pyre for bonfire Main article: Holika Dahan
Shops start selling colours for Holi in the days and weeks
beforehand.
Days before the festival people start gathering wood and
combustible materials for the bonfire in parks, community
centers, near temples and other open spaces. On top of the pyre
is an effigy to signify Holika who tricked Prahalad into the fire.
Inside homes, people stock up on pigments, food, party drinks
and festive seasonal foods such as gujiya, mathri, malpuas and
other regional delicacies.
Holika dahan

6. Holika dahan
On the eve of Holi, typically at or after sunset, the pyre is lit,
signifying Holika Dahan. The ritual symbolises the victory of good
over evil. People gather around the fire to sing and dance.[8]
Play with colours
Holi frolic and celebrations begin the morning after the Holika
bonfire. There is no tradition of holding puja (prayer), and the day is
for partying and pure enjoyment. Children and young people form
groups armed with dry colours, coloured solution and water
guns(pichkaris), water balloons filled with coloured water, and other
creative means to colour their targets.[37]
In the Braj region of North India, women have the option to playfully
hit men who save themselves with shields; for the day, men are
culturally expected to accept whatever women dish out to them.
This ritual is called Lath Mar Holi.[38]
Traditionally, washable natural plant-derived colours such as
turmeric, neem, dhak, and kumkum were used, but water-based
commercial pigments are increasingly used. All colours are used.
Everyone in open areas such as streets and parks is game, but
inside homes or at doorways only dry powder is used to smear each
other's face. People throw colours and get their targets completely
coloured up. It is like a water fight, but with coloured water. People
take delight in spraying coloured water on each other. By late
morning, everyone looks like a canvas of colours. This is why Holi is

7. Other variations
In the Braj region around Mathura, in north India,
the festivities may last more than a week. The
rituals go beyond playing with colours, and include a
day where men go around with shields and women
have the right to playfully beat them on their shields
with sticks.[40]
In south India, some worship and make offerings to
Kaamadeva, the love god of Indian mythology.
The after party
After a day of play with colours, people clean up,
wash and bathe, sober up and dress up in the
evening and greet friends and relatives by visiting
them and exchanging sweets. Holi is also a festival
of forgiveness and new starts, which ritually aims to
generate harmony in the society.[37]

8. Regional names, rituals and celebrations
Holi (Hindi: होली, Nepali: होली, Punjabi: ਹੋਲੀ, Kannada: ಹ ೋಳಿ) is also
known as Phakuwa or Phagwah (Assamese: ফাকুৱা), Festival of
Colours, or Dola jātra in Odisha, and as Dol Jatra (Assamese: দ’ল
যাত্ৰা) or Basanto utsav ("spring festival") in West Bengal and Assam.
The customs and celebrations vary between regions of India.
Basanto Utsav at Jorasanko Thakurbari.
Holi is of particular significance in the Braj region, which includes locations
traditionally associated with the Lord Krishna: Mathura, Vrindavan,
Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh, and Barsana, which become touristic during the
season of Holi.[25]
Outside India, Holi is observed by the minority Hindus in Bangladesh and
Pakistan as well in countries with large Indian subcontinent diaspora
populations such as Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa,
Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mauritius, and
Fiji. The Holi rituals and customs outside South Asia also vary with local
adaptations.

9. India
Gujarat
In Ahmedabad in Gujarat, in western India, a pot of
buttermilk is hung high over the streets and young boys try
to reach it and break it by making human pyramids. The
girls try to stop them by throwing coloured water on them to
commemorate the pranks of Krishna and the cowherd boys
to steal butter and "gopis" while trying to stop the girls. The
boy who finally manages to break the pot is crowned the
Holi King. Afterwards, the men, who are now very colourful,
go out in a large procession to "alert" people of Krishna's
possible appearance to steal butter from their homes.
In some places there is a custom in undivided Hindu
families that the woman beats her brother-in-law with a sari
rolled up into a rope in a mock rage and tries to drench him
with colours, and in turn, the brother-in-law brings sweets
(Indian desserts) to her in the evening.[42]
In Gujarat, Holi is a two-day festival. On the evening of the
first day people light the bonfire. People offer raw coconut
and corn to the fire. The second day is the festival of colour
or "Dhuleti", celebrated by sprinkling coloured water and
applying colours to each other. Dwarka, a coastal city of
Gujarat, celebrates Holi at the Dwarkadheesh temple and
with citywide comedy and music festivities.[41]

10. Uttar Pradesh
See also: Lath mar Holi
Barsana, a town near Mathura in the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh,
celebrates Lath mar Holi in the sprawling compound of the Radha
Rani temple. Thousands gather to witness the Lath Mar Holi when
women beat up men with sticks as those on the sidelines become
hysterical, sing Holi songs and shout "Sri Radhey" or "Sri Krishna".
The Holi songs of Braj mandal are sung in pure Braj, the local
language. Holi celebrated at Barsana is unique in the sense that here
women chase men away with sticks. Males also sing provocative songs
in a bid to invite the attention of women. Women then go on the
offensive and use long staves called lathis to beat the men, who
protect themselves with shields.
Mathura, in the Braj region, is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. In
Vrindavan this day is celebrated with special puja and the traditional
custom of worshipping Lord Krishna; here the festival lasts for
sixteen days.[25] All over the Braj region [43] and neighboring places like
Hathras, Aligarh, and Agra, Holi is celebrated in more or less the
same way as in Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana.