Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Holi - The Festival of Colors

Hello :)


Tomorrow is Holi; a Hindu festival of colors. It is celebrated every year on the day after the full moon, in March. It is a day when people sing, dance, play with lots of bright colors, laugh, dunk friends in mud pools, squirt colored water/powder and water balloons on anyone who passes by and get intoxicated on bhaang (An ancient native Indian drink, consisting of various spices, creamed milk, and copious amounts of cannabis ground up with a mortar and pestle). On this day, one can get away with anything just by saying "Bura na mano, Holi hai!" which means "Don't mind, it's Holi." Being mischievous is just part of the festival. 



Holi celebrates the beginning of the spring season and says farewell to the winter. It glorifies good harvest and fertility of the land. The color powder is called gulal.

Gujiya
A traditional sweet called Gujiya is made on Holi in most Indian households. These are distributed when people pay visits to their friends and relatives, to give them wishes as well as to strengthen their bonds and forgiving any hard feelings. The festival brings the nation together as it is not just celebrated by Hindus but also by the Sikhs, Christians and Jains. Everyone is then able to cast off the bad air and begin again with a fresh and spotless heart.

Holi celebration at Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah.
The Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple in Utah holds the biggest Holi celebrations in the Western Hemisphere for an audience of diverse ages and religious backgrounds. Last year 65,000 revelers flooded the temple for two days of brightly colored powder, mantra, music and "Holi mayhem."


I hope this festival fills your life with beautiful colors. Enjoy.

Best wishes and happy Holi to everyone.
x

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  3. As holi is a festival of colors you will see people playing colors to everywhere so if you are going to play there then you should have to wear a white T-shirt so you will feel the enjoyment of the Holi.
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