Holi Festival is the most revered and celebrated festival in India and Nepal. The celebrations are predominantly a festival of fun where families gather to connect and interact with each other. It is usually the perfect time to bond with relatives irrespective of their age and mend broken relationships.
Let’s explore some of the fascinating fun facts about the fabulous and colorful Holi festival.
Holika Dahan is the first celebration day
Holi festival is the second-biggest Hindu festival after Diwali. The celebrations last for two days, with the first day being referred to as Holika Dahan. The day marks the triumph of good over evil, where religious rituals are practiced in front of the bonfire. A sanctified fire is burnt with holy mantras to shoo away evil spirits as a cultural practice.
It is believed that ‘Holika’ , sister of the king of demon ‘Hiranyakashipu’ depicts the evil inside you. Holika Dahan involves Indians worldwide burning effigies of ‘Holika’ in the form of an old trunk and stick as part of their traditions. Indians also express their submission to the evil inside them in holy fire by burning the bonfire at the street corner.
Rangwali Holi is the second celebration day
The second day of the festival is the color fight, where people celebrate by pelting each other with a colorful, aromatic powder called gulal and soaking with water pistols. Holi festival of color gives us a reason to reunite with family and friends and exchange great warmth and high spirit.
The festival adds color to the life of people where they dance to the beat of Holi songs and other popular folka music. The Festival of Color also teaches humankind to transcend the caste and creed.
Gujiya is the traditional Holi festival delicacy
Indian festivals are incomplete without delicious sweets. Aside from exchanging Holi gifts and greeting cards, it’s a norm for Indians to exchange snacks, sweets, and food during any celebration.
As you play with vibrant colored waters, you simultaneously want to enjoy hot snacks and cold beverages. The most popular Holi sweets include Gujiya, Ladoo Imarti, and Bufri.
Although Indian foods vary from one region to another, traditional foods like gujiya, thandai, Dahi bhalle, Puran Poli, malpua, rasmalai, badam phirni and bhang pakora are some of the mouth-watering dishes common in Holi fiesta.
Holi marks the beginning of Spring
Holi is a time when humans and nature shake off the gloom of winter and rejoice in the colors of Spring in the Indian subcontinent. The festival of love is celebrated after the full moon in the month of Phagun, the 12th month in the Hindu Calendar, and its arrival is based on the Gregorian calendar.
Holi is a national festival in India
Like the Diwali festival, Holi is a national festival celebrated across all the 28 states of India. The festival is perceived as a beacon of hope, love, and merriment. Specifically, in the Brag region of India, where Krishna was born, Holi celebrations go for at least 16 days.
Today, Holi has won the hearts of the masses and is embraced in the farthest corners of Europe and the United States. Reportedly, Germany even went to the extent of conducting a big open-air music festival to celebrate Holi.
Conclusion
What better way to forget all the resentment towards each other and create the most epic memories than to celebrate the Holi festival with loved ones! The two-day Hindu festival commemorates springs, love, and new life. Whether you call it the Festival of Love, the Festival of Color, or the Festival of Spring, the colorful event is indeed spectacular and eagerly awaited across the globe.