Happy Holi

Holi is the festival all of us wait for, at least the ones who love colours. Yes, we are talking about Holi, the festival of colours, celebrated all across the country.

Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi with a Holika Dahan where people gather, perform religious rituals in front of the bonfire. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi – a free-for-all festival of colours, where people smear each other with colours and drench each other.

Holi is based on a legend about King Hiranyakaship. `Hiranyakashyap had a son, Prahlad. Prahlad was the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap wanted to kill his son, so he called his sister, Holika. She had a magic robe. This robe had the power to save the wearer from burning in fire. Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister to sit on a burning fire along with Prahlad. He thought that his sister would not be harmed by the fire because of the magic robe and Prahlad would be burnt to death. But the result was the opposite to what the evil demon king planned.

Thus Prahlad came out of the burning fire safely and Holika was burnt to death. It is celebrated with colors to mark the victory of virtue and goodness over evil.

The festival is celebrated for five days. The 5th day, Rang Panchami, marks the closing day of the Holi festival.

People are seen with different varieties of colors on Holi. They put colors on each other, sing, dance. They worship Lord Krishna and put colors on his idol.

Families gather together and party the whole day. They distribute sweets and enjoy to the fullest.

I wish with all my heart that it brings more colors to your life. Wishing you all a fabulous happy Holi!