Holi

Holi is sometimes called the festival of colours. Find out more about this very special springtime festival in this article.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the article and do the exercise.

What is Holi and why is it celebrated?

Holi is an ancient Hindu festival that originated in India and Nepal and is now celebrated in many places around the world. The date changes each year depending on the full moon, but it is held some time between the end of February and the middle of March, and lasts a night and a day. It also represents the arrival of spring and the victory of good over evil. An important part of the celebration is forgiving anyone who has upset you and repairing any broken relationships. Holi is sometimes called the festival of colours.

What happens on Holika Dahan?

The festivities start the night before Holi, which is called Holika Dahan. People build bonfires which represent good winning over evil and the end of winter. They perform rituals around the fire. In ancient stories, Holika was a devil whom the God Vishnu destroyed through fire. People start collecting wood for the bonfires several days before so that they can build really big fires.

What happens on Rangwali Holi?

The next day is called Rangwali Holi. In the morning everyone goes into the streets and people throw coloured powders and water at each other. Some people use water guns and water balloons. After a few hours everyone is soaking wet and covered in a rainbow of different colours. Many people prepare themselves by putting oil on their skin and hair to make it easier to remove the colour afterwards. In the evening people put on clean clothes, go and visit their friends and family and exchange sweets and other delicious food.

Why do people throw colours?

Some people say that the colours are a way of celebrating the many colours of the flowers in springtime. But in the area around Mathura and Vrindavan the people also tell a story about the god Krishna. Krishna was passionately in love with a girl called Radha but he was worried that she would not love him because their skins were different colours. He didn't need to worry because Radha let him paint her face the same colour as his to show that she loved him. It is said that lovers nowadays often paint their faces the same colour during Holi to remember this story.

There is a spirit of togetherness and equality during the Holi festival as people from all backgrounds and walks of life celebrate and have fun together.  

Discussion

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Submitted by Min Htet Kaung on Sun, 28/03/2021 - 20:28

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No, I have never celebrated Holi. But in some Bollywood films, I have seen this festival and I didn't know why they use coloured powders. One fact I really want to know is which materials these powders are made of and whether these powder can cause lung cancer.
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Submitted by danisep on Sun, 14/02/2021 - 15:59

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I didn't know it, sounds like a very funny celebration, now I know where comes the idea to Color run, by the way, there are a lot of celebrations around the world which happened at the end or season's beginning.
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Submitted by OlaIELTS on Fri, 29/05/2020 - 18:05

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No. But, i 've had some similar experiences of the festival scenario.

Submitted by LeNhan on Wed, 25/03/2020 - 11:48

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I never have celebrated Holi. I'm interested in this festival. I hope I can join it one day.

Submitted by New_user on Tue, 10/03/2020 - 09:47

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Yes, but it's a long time back when I was a child. Later when I grew up I was certainly not able to attend the festivities in my hometown as most of the time I have been out for my studies However, I believe the celebrations for Holi is not supposed to be of the kind where we misuse a lot of water; instead we can play dry Holi too...

Submitted by cittàutopica on Wed, 26/02/2020 - 15:29

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I have never celebrated Holi, because I'm Italian and there isn't local foreign community who celebrate this happening in my region. But I see in many Italian regions numerous ritual for celebrating the end of the winter and the advent of the spring.
Sii ,this is amazing festival in india ,also I am from india ,this year is festival will be celebrate on 10 th march 2020,I am very excited

Submitted by parisaach on Sat, 31/08/2019 - 07:08

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Holi seems an interesting festival, but I've never be in one of them, and I didn't knew anything about it before I read this article. I love to participate in traditional celeberations of people around the world. unfortunately I don't have any enthusiast person around to join me to travel in different part of the world or even our country to participate in these festivals.
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Submitted by TracyChel on Tue, 19/03/2019 - 05:05

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It's seems to be an amazing celebration!!