What is holi and why it is celebrated?
What is holi?
Holi is an important festival of Indian and Nepalese people celebrated in the spring season. This festival is celebrated on the full moon day of Phalgun month according to the Hindu calendar.
Holi is a festival of colors and laughter. It is a major and famous festival in India, which is being celebrated all over the world today. This festival, called the festival of colors, is traditionally celebrated for two days. It is mainly celebrated in India and Nepal.
It is mainly celebrated in India and Nepal. This festival is also celebrated with pomp in many other countries where minority Hindu people live. On the first day, Holika is lit, which is also called Holika Dahan.
On the second day, mainly Dhulendi and Dhurdi, Dhurkhel or Dhulivandan are its other names.
People throw colors, abir-gulal, etc. at each other, Holi songs are sung by beating drums and people are smeared with color by going from house to house.
It is believed that on the day of Holi, people forget the old bitterness and hug and become friends again. The phase of coloring each other and singing goes on till noon.
After this, people take bath and rest, wear new clothes and visit each other’s house in the evening, hug and feed sweets.
Why it is celebrated?
Killing of Hiranyakashipu by Lord Nrisimha
Many stories are associated with the festival of Holi. The most famous of these is the story of Prahlad. It is believed that in ancient times there was a very powerful demon named Hiranyakashipu.
In the arrogance of his strength, he had started considering himself as God. He had banned only taking the name of God in his kingdom. Prahlad, the son of Hiranyakashipu, was a devotee of God. Enraged by Prahlad’s devotion to God, Hiranyakashipu gave him many harsh punishments, but he did not leave the path of devotion to God.
Hiranyakashipu’s sister Holika had a boon that she could not be consumed by fire. Hiranyakashipu ordered that Holika sit in the fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika got burnt while sitting in the fire, but Prahlad survived.
Holi is lit on this day in memory of God’s devotee Prahlad. Symbolically it is also believed that Prahlad means joy. The Holika (firewood) symbolizing enmity and oppression burns and Prahlad (Anand), the symbol of love and gaiety, remains intact.
Like other festivals in India, Holi also symbolizes the victory of good over evil. According to ancient mythology, the festival of Holi is associated with the story of Hiranyakashyap.
History of Holi
Holi is a very ancient festival of India which was celebrated by the name of Holi, Holika or Holaka. It is also called Vasantotsav and Kama-Mahotsav because it is celebrated with enthusiasm in the spring season.
Historians believe that this festival was prevalent among Aryans as well, but mostly it was celebrated in Eastern India only. The description of this festival is found in many ancient religious books.
Prominent among these are Jaimini’s Purva Mimamsa-Sutra and Katha Garhya-Sutra.
Well-known Muslim tourist Alberuni has also described Holikotsav in his historical travel memoirs. Many Muslim poets of India have mentioned in their writings that Holikotsav is celebrated not only by Hindus but also by Muslims. The pictures of the most authentic history are of the Mughal period and the stories of Holi in this period are intriguing.
There is a description of Akbar playing Holi with Jodhabai and Jahangir with Noor Jahan. A picture from the Alwar Museum shows Jahangir playing Holi.[8] By the time of Shah Jahan, the Mughal style of playing Holi had changed. History describes that in the time of Shah Jahan, Holi was called Eid-e-Gulabi or Aab-e-Pashi (shower of colors).
It is famous for the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and his ministers used to go to paint him on Holi. A detailed description of Holi is also found in the pastimes of Krishna depicted in medieval Hindi literature.
But how did colors become a part of Holi?
This story goes back to the time of Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that Lord Krishna used to celebrate Holi with colors, hence Holi became popular as the festival of colors. He used to celebrate Holi with his friends in Vrindavan and Gokul.
They used to play pranks in the whole village. Even today, Holi is not celebrated as fun-filled as Vrindavan.
Holi is the festival of spring and its arrival marks the end of winter.
In some parts, this festival is also related to the ripening of spring crops. Farmers celebrate Holi with the joy of producing a good crop. Holi is also known as ‘Vasant Mahotsav’ or ‘Kam Mahotsav’.
Holi colors
Earlier Holi colors were made from Tesu or Palash flowers and were called Gulal. Those colors were very good for the skin as they did not contain any chemicals. But with time the definition of colors kept changing.
In today’s time, people use harsh chemicals in the name of the color. Due to these bad colors, many people have stopped playing Holi. We should celebrate this ancient festival in its true form.
Holi 2023 date time and importance
2023 होली तिथि, होलिका दहन समय, कहानी