The ancient Holi Festival of Colours returns this week - and millions around the mirror .co.uk/news/ world -news/>world will celebrate peace and forgiveness as we head into spring. Held annually, the Hindu festival is a tradition which marks the start of spring. Also known as the festival of love , Holi is a Hindu tradition observed predominantly in
India , Nepal and south Asia but has been adopted across the world - including here in the UK. The festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring by highlighting play, laughter and forgiveness. People gather in crowds to pelt each other with perfumed, coloured powder called gulal. They also use water pistols and water balloons to make the powder stick. Holi festival of colours marked with paint-splattered
Google Doodle The festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring by highlighting play, laughter and forgiveness ( Image: Getty Images) When is Holi 2024? The date of Holi varies from year to year and in 2024, it lands on Monday, March 25. The festival follows Hindu lunar calendar, rather than the Gregorian calendar, hence it's date change every year. Holi begins with the full
moon in the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna. Holi's first evening is called Holika Dahan, or Chhoti Holi, on which
Friends and families gather around a bonfire to celebrate the victory of good over evil. The next day is called Holi, or Rangwali Holi. What is the Holi festival? Holi marks the passing of winter and beginning of spring and is celebrated each year around the vernal equinox, the first day of the new season on the astronomical calendar. Generally, it falls between February and March. The festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships. How is Holi celebrated? Around the world, Hindus mark the festival by playing with colours and lighting bonfires. The festival is famous internationally for its custom of throwing coloured powder into the air and over other people. The Encyclopedia Britannica says: “Participants throw coloured water and powders on one another, and, on this one day only, licence is given for the usual rankings of caste, gender, status, and age to be reversed. In the streets the celebrations are often marked by ribald language and behaviour, but at its conclusion, when everyone bathes, dons clean white clothes, and visits friends, teachers, and relatives, the ordered patterns of society are reasserted and renewed." An ancient Hindu festival, Holi is marked as a triumph of good over evil ( Image: Barcroft Media) How is Holi being celebrated in the UK? Each year across the
UK, there are massive events with all sorts of stalls, entertainment and, of course, gulal being chucked all over the place. From 3pm onwards there is a countdown to throwing the colours in the air, every hour, as part of the celebration. The last countdown is at 9.50pm. And just to note - most of the guests come in white clothes to make the effect of the colours more visible. What is the story behind Holi? The word Holi is derived from the word ‘Holika’, who was the demonic sister of King Hiranyakashipu and was burned to death with the help of Vishnu. There is an alternative version of history associated with Holi. It is said Lord Krishna as a baby was poisoned by the breast milk of Putana and developed the characteristic blue colour of his skin. Krishna was sceptical whether the fair-skinned Radha and other girls would like him. When he told his mother, Yashoda, she told him to colour Radha’s face in whatever colour he liked. Since then, Holi is commemorated as the festival of love. The Encyclopedia Britannia says: “In many locales, celebrants kindle an early morning bonfire that represents the burning of the demoness Holika (or Holi), who was enlisted by her brother, Hiranyakashipu, in his attempt to kill his son Prahlada because of the latter’s unshakable devotion to Vishnu. The burning of Holika prompts worshippers to remember how Vishnu (in the form of a lion-man, Narasimha) attacked and killed Hiranyakashipu, vindicating both Prahlada and Vishnu.”