March 17 is well known in Dallas as Saint Patrick’s Day, but March 18 is also a very special day for some in the community. It marks the date of the Hindu celebration known as Holi.
The Holi festival is celebrated on the last full-moon day of the Hindu lunar-solar calendar month marking the spring, so the celebration sometimes takes place in February and sometimes in March, according to the Gregorian calendar. This year it falls on March 18.
The Holi festival commemorates the change of the season, from winter to spring, and good overcoming evil. A joyful event, it includes bold colors, bonfires, music, and dance as a way of bringing people together.
The celebration of Holi dates back to India in the third century. The popular Hindu holiday originally was a rite of passage ceremony for married women to wish prosperity and well-being over their family and married life. In more contemporary times, the holiday marks the celebration of good over evil.
According to holifestival.org, Holi’s roots come from the story of Hiranyakashipu. He was a king who believed he was immortal and should be worshiped as a god.
His son, Prahlad, was a devoted worshiper of Lord Vishnu, a Hindu deity. Hiranyakahipu did not like that his son worshiped Lord Vishnu over him, so he plotted with his sister, Holika, to kill his son.
Immune to fire, Holika tricked her nephew Prahlada into sitting in a pyre with her. With the pyre ignited, the boy’s devotion to Lord Vishnu helped him walk away from the fire unharmed while Holika, the festival’s namesake, burned to death despite her immunity.
Lord Vishnu appeared to Hiranyakashipu as half-lion, half-man, and killed him; thus, good won over evil.
The story forms the basis for the bonfire held on the eve of the Holi festival, often called Holika Dahan. Large pyres are lit in many parts of India to mark the burning of evil spirits. People throw wood, dried leaves, and twigs into the flames.
The day after Holika Dahan is Rangwali Holi, often referred to as Holi, a day of celebration with family and friends tossing colored waters and colored powders in the air and at one another.
The powders, such as flour, are dyed in various colors: blue for Krishna, a Hindu god with bright blue skin; green for rebirth and new beginnings; red, symbolizing marriage and fertility; and yellow, symbolizing India’s third caste, the Vaisyas, who are merchants within Hindu society.
The addition of water balloons, candy, music, and dancing make it a fun and colorful event for all ages.
In recent years Holi has been celebrated worldwide, including in Western cultures.
However, the adoption of Holi elements by other cultures has not been without controversy.
American and European color marathons have been criticized for using the colored powder while ignoring the religious significance of the festival, with claims reducing it to another wild party.
Places like New York, Houston, New Jersey, and Utah have a sizable Indian population, with Holi festivals bringing thousands together in celebration.
This year’s celebration of Holi will commence on Friday, offering an opportunity for people to gather together to both honor their own culture and broaden their horizons by learning about others’.