Complete with bright colors and lively music, this Hindu festival celebrates the arrival of spring and the triumph of good over evil. Not everyone has had the opportunity to learn about this holiday from school or their peers, so here’s everything you need to know about Holi.
Holi is a festival in India that is celebrated during the month of March, signifying the start of spring. This year, Holi will take place on March 8th, 2023. It is a day to mark the end of errors and conflicts and start anew. In Hinduism, it also celebrates the victory of the god incarnate Narasimha over a demon king, Hiranyakashyap.
Holi is celebrated by Indians everywhere, and the most known part of this celebration is the throwing of colors. People dress up in white or light-colored clothes, and throw dry-colored powder and colored water at each other. Usually these colors are naturally derived from plants like turmeric and neem. All through the morning, this game of throwing colors will be played until the streets resemble an artist’s color palette. There is lively music as well. In my opinion, some of the best Bollywood songs are inspired by this colorful holiday. Even Spotify has a Holi playlist with the best songs for this Holi season.
If you’re a young adult in India, you use this day to get high with your friends. Bhang is a drink from the Indian subcontinent that is made from cannabis and has been consumed in India since 1000 AD. It is used medicinally and religiously in India, especially during Hindu festivals like Holi.
There is of course, more history and religious significance to Holi than I’ve detailed here, but these are the basics that should win you some brownie points with your Indian friends. As always, I encourage you to do your own research into the holidays of different religions of the world and learn just how culturally vast our world is.