Holi is the festival of colors and the celebration of the triumph of benevolence over evil. It is celebrated in India and other parts of the world annually during the month of March. The Indian diaspora has circulated throughout a plethora of places around the world, increasing the universality of Holi. It unravels the beginning of Spring and the season of exuberance and optimism. Spring is the time when flowers start to bloom, birds start to chirp, the crispy air starts to spring forth a breeze of resilience and sanctity. There cannot be a better way to indulge in the pleasures of spring without the jubilant celebration of Holi.
Holi is an extremely playful, sprightly, and exhilarating holiday which forms the ingredients towards enriching a fully free-spirited life. It is a celebration of love between friends, family, and even your enemies. Enemies becoming friends is significantly showcased on Holi. As a matter of fact, Holi can be celebrated with almost everyone, even with the elderly.
Holi is a very romantic and clandestine way of splashing color on someone’s beloved. Legend also dictates that the manner in which Lord Krishna would mischievously adorn his beloved Radha with a bountiful mix of vibrant colors while actively flirting with the other gopis (ladies). It is a flirtatious holiday for all the lovers out there.
Furthermore, the exotic and energetic celebration of Holi is utterly incomplete without the amalgamation of music and dance. Rhythmic simulations within the body can only be initiated with the sound of music and rapid rolling of drums and other instruments. It is known to be an idyllic and euphoric festival.
There are ancient mythological legends associated with the free-spirited festival of Holi. One such myth includes the villainous King Hiranyakashyap who was extremely egoistic with daunting pride and considered him as the avatar of God. However, to his dismay, his little son Prahlad chose to worship Lord Vishnu causing a major uproar of anger and anguish to engulf him. Disappointed with the unexpected turnout of events, King Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister Holika to jump into a blazing fire with Prahlad in her arms and die.
The reason why King Hiranyakashyap was confident that nothing will happen to his sister was that she possessed a boon which would prevent her from getting burned. Apparently, the boon only works when Holika is inside a fire alone and even she was unaware of it. The extraordinary twist was when Prahlad was saved due to his extreme devotion towards God and Holika was burned to ashes. The ideology that malevolence is never victorious against benevolence is further solidified by the aftermath of Holika whose obnoxious desire to kill Prahlad led to her eventual demise. Thus, the celebration of Holi is derived from Holika and the tradition of burning Holika (Holika Dahan) who signifies evil around a bonfire occurs the night before the actual colorful celebration of Holi.
Lifelong and meaningful lessons can be learned from the ubiquitous celebration of Holi because Holi preaches the power of good over evil along with being honest and immersing yourself in the various colors of life while always remembering to respect others. Therefore, do not feel bad when someone smears you with a splash of colors during Holi!
