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Holi (also called Holaka or Phagwa) is an annual
festival celebrated on the day after the full moon in
the Hindu month of Phalguna (early March). It celebrates
spring, commemorates various events in Hindu mythology
and is time of disregarding social norms and indulging
in general merrymaking.
Holi is probably the least religious of Hindu holidays.
During Holi, Hindus attend a public bonfire, spray
friends and family with colored powders and water, and
generally go a bit wild in the streets.
History and Meaning of Holi
Celebrated all over India since ancient times, Holi's
precise form and purpose display great variety.
Originally, Holi was an agricultural festival
celebrating the arrival of spring. This aspect still
plays a significant part in the festival in the form of
the colored powders: Holi is a time when man and nature
alike throw off the gloom of winter and rejoice in the
colors and liveliness of spring. Holi also commemorates
various events in Hindu mythology, but for most Hindus
it provides a temporary opportunity for Hindus to
disregard social norms, indulge in merrymaking and
generally "let loose."
The legend commemorated by the festival of Holi involves
an evil king named Hiranyakashipu. He forbade his son
Prahlad from worshipping Vishnu, but Radhu continued to
do offer prayers to the god. Getting angry with his son,
Hiranyakashipu challenged Prahlad to sit on a pyre with
his wicked aunt Holika who was believed to be immune to
fire. (In an alternate version, Holika put herself and
Prahlad on the fire on orders from her brother.) Prahlad
accepted the challenge and prayed to Vishnu to keep him
safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in
amazement as Holika was burnt to death, while Prahlad
survived without a scar to show for it. The burning of
Holika is celebrated as Holi. According to some
accounts, Holika begged Prahlad for forgiveness before
her demise, and he decreed that she would be remembered
every year at Holi.
An alternative account of the basis of the holiday is
associated with a legend involving Lord Shiva, one of
the major Hindu gods. Shiva is known for his meditative
nature and his many hours spent in solitude and deep
meditation. Madana, the God of love, decided to test his
resolve and appeared to Shiva in the form of a beautiful
nymph. But Shiva recognized Madana and became very
angry. In a fit of rage he shot fire out of his third
eye and reduced her to ashes. This is sometimes given as
the basis of Holi's bonfire.
The festival of Holi is also associated with the
enduring love between Lord Krishna (an incarnation of
Vishnu) and Radha, and Krishna in general. According to
legend, the young Krishna complained to his mother
Yashoda about why Radha was so fair and he so dark.
Yashoda advised him to apply colour on Radha's face and
see how her complexion would change. Because of this
associated with Krishna, Holi is extended over a longer
period in Vrindavan and Mathura, two cities with which
Krishna is closely affiliated.
Krishna's followers everywhere find special meaning in
the joyous festival, as general frivolity is considered
to be in imitation of Krishna's play with the gopis
(wives and daughters of cowherds).
Holi Rituals and Customs
Holi is spread out over two days (it used to be five,
and in some places it is longer). The entire holiday is
associated with a loosening of social restrictions
normally associated with caste, sex, status and age.
Holi thus bridges social gaps and brings people
together: employees and employers, men and women, rich
and poor, young and old. Holi is also characterized by
the loosening of social norms governing polite behavior
and the resulting general atmosphere of licentious
merrymaking and ribald language and behavior. A common
saying heard during Holi is bura na mano, Holi hai
("don't feel offended, it's Holi").
On the evening of the first day of Holi, a public
bonfire is held, commemorating the burning of Holika.
Traditionally, Hindu boys spend the weeks prior to Holi
combing the neighborhood for any waste wood they can
find for the bonfire. The fire is lit sometime between
10 PM and midnight (at the rising of the moon), not
generally in an orderly fashion. Everyone gathers in the
street for the event, and the air rings with shouts,
catcalls, curses and general mayhem.
The central ritual of Holi is the throwing and applying
of colored water and powders on friends and family,
which gives the holiday its common name "Festival of
Colors." This ritual is said to be based on the above
story of Krishna and Radha as well as on Krishna's
playful splashing of the maids with water, but most of
all it celebrates the coming of spring with all its
beautiful colors and vibrant life.
In Bengal, Holi features the Dolayatra (Swing Festival),
in which images of the gods are placed on specially
decorated platforms and devotees take turns swinging
them. In the meantime, women dance around and sing
special songs as men spray colored water at them. |
