HISTORY OF HOLI – THE FESTIVAL OF COLORS

The traditional Hindu festival named Holi is celebrated in the spring. Holi is celebrated to commemorate the triumph of good over evil. It is a two-day celebration of love, fertility, and color. Holi is said to be one of the major festivals in India and the most vibrant of all.

This festival is the most fun one as well; hence, even though it originated in India and is widely celebrated as a religious festival in the country, it has also been adapted in many places and music festivals around the world. This festival is split into two days and two events, namely, Holika Dahan and Rangwali Holi.

HolikaDhan is performed the night before Rangwali Holi. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu helped burn Holika to death, who was a devil. Holika Dhan is celebrated to signify the victory of good over evil. A fire is made with wood and dung cakes, and then everyone prays in front of this fire.

The next morning, people take part in rangwali Holi. Not only is this lively and colorful celebration of Holi associated with deities and legends, but it is also known for the traditional dance, loud music, and, of course, forceful scrubbing of bright colors like gulal and abeer while chasing our relatives and friends around. And then there are pichkaris (long syringes you can throw fountains of water from) and water balloons available to throw at people. You can also mix the above-mentioned color in water and then fill balloons out of this water and throw them on people.

Traditionally, you only used to get a few colors, but now, of course, a wide range of colors are available. By the time this day ends, you will be covered in different colors all over. I know it sounds really yucky and fun at the same time. This year, believe me, gather your friends and family in someone’s backyard, buy some organic colors, and celebrate this festival of colors, loud music, and fun.

HISTORY OF HOLI

Holi is a very old festival with social ceremonies. It was specified by the great Indian writer Kalidasa in the Puranas, Charita, and Dasakumara in the middle of the 4^th century, during the rule of Chandragupta II. This festival is also mentioned in the Sanskrit play Ratnavali from the seventh century.

This festival caught the attention of British pilgrims and European dealers in the seventeenth century and was also given a mention in the British Oxford Dictionary. It was spelled phonetically like Houly, Huli, Hohlee, and finally HOLI in the 1910 version that was printed.

WHAT IS GULAL?

The legend narrates that Lord Krishna used to complain to his mother about his skin color being dark compared to that of his companion, Radha. Lord Krishna’s mother did not like that her son felt he looked darker than Radha, so as a result, she went and smeared color on her face. This is the reason why today Holi is celebrated by throwing colors at people.

Traditionally, gulal was made of a paste of flowers, plant extracts, and turmeric. Today, synthetic versions of this gulal are widely available and are made of corn starch blended with drug, food, and cosmetic-grade colors. These pigments, known as FD&C colors, are the same ones that are added to candy to bring out the rainbow colors.

ABEER?

Abeer is made of small chips of mica, which look like crystals of paper. Abeer is mixed with gulal to give it a rich shine. The four main colors that are used in Holi are red, yellow, blue, and green. Each color symbolizes something, which is as follows:

Red symbolizes love and fertility.

Blue is the color of Lord Krishna.

Yellow: The color of turmeric

Green symbolizes spring and a new beginning.

TRADITIONAL SOURCES OF COLOR

ORANGE AND RED

The blossoms of the tesu or palash tree, also called the fire of the backwoods, are a brilliant option to get the hues of orange and red. Dried hibiscus flower, powdered and fragrant red shoe wood, radish, pomegranate, and mardar flowers are also great substitutes for this color.

Mixing turmeric powder with lime gives it a nice orange color, as does saffron when boiled in water.

BLUE

This color is derived from flowers like blue hibiscus and the blooms of jacaranda. We can also get this color from the Indigo plant, types of grapes, and Indian berries.

GREEN

The dried leaves of the Gulmohar tree mixed with mehendi make a nice green color. Some people also use spring leaves, herbs, and yields to create a lush green color.

YELLOW

Turmeric is the primary source of this color. It may be mixed with gram, chickpea, or other flours to get the right color. Flowers like marigolds and chrysanthemums and yields of bael were also used in the making of this color.

BROWN

When dried tea leaves are mixed with water, they give us the brown color. Certain types of mud are also abundant sources of this color.

PURPLE/MAGENTA

Beetroot is an abundant source of magenta and purple. When beetroot is boiled in water, the water automatically turns purple, which is useful in the Holi celebration.

BLACK.

We get this color from different types of grapes and gooseberry (Amla). We can also use vegetable carbon (charcoal) to get hues of this color.

When is Holi celebrated?

The dates of each Holi celebration vary every year because they are synchronized with the moon. In 2021, this festival will be celebrated on the 28th and 29^th of March.

WHY IS HOLI CELEBRATED?

According to the Bhagwat Gita, King Hiranayakashipu was the king of Asuras, a demonic region, who could not be killed by an animal or human, killed by using a weapon or killed at night or day. Because of this, he thought he was immortal and could not be killed at all. He became arrogant and demanded everybody worship him as a god.

But the king’s son, Prahlada, was a Lord Vishnu devotee. He refused to worship his father, which made the king furious. He started giving his son cruel punishments. Finally, Holika, who was the king’s sister, tricked Prahlada into sitting in the fire with her. A cloak was supposed to protect Holika, and Prahlada was supposed to remain exposed. But as the fire blazed, the cloak flew from Holika's body and protected Prahlada, thus protecting him and burning Holika in the process.

Later, Lord Vishnu appeared in the avatar of Narasimha (half man, half lion) and killed the king at twilight, which is not day or night, using his sharp fingernails and tearing the king’s stomach apart. This is the reason why Holi begins with a born fire, which symbolizes the end of evil.

According to another legend, Lord Krishna developed a blue skin color after a demon named Putana poisoned him with her breast milk. Lord Krishna felt inferior and worried that his companion Radha would not like him. He told his mother about his worries, and his mother went and painted Radha’s face with multiple colors. Of course, Lord Krishna followed as well and playfully colored Radha’s face. This playful coloring with loved ones, friends, and family eventually evolved as a tradition and was later observed as a festival in multiple regions of India.

TIPS FOR AN ENJOYABLE AND SAFE HOLI

• Do not wear anything that cannot be thrown away later. Believe me, every piece of your clothing will be ruined and filled with color.
• Try wearing a full-sleeve top and full pants as well, so that you have very little skin exposed.
• Buy cheap sunglasses and wear them to protect your eyes from color, and because they are cheap, you would not even mind throwing them away.
• Before you step out to enjoy this beautiful festival of color, make sure you apply a generous amount of coconut oil to every part of your body and hair. Because you will realize soon after the fun ends how annoying it is to get those colors off your body, and if one of your friends has a synthetic color, then God save you, as it is very difficult to take those out.
• Apply nail polish to all 20 fingers, even though it is just a transparent coat. This rule goes for men as well. Nails absorb the color pigments when the color is in your hand for applying to others and while washing your hands. This color cannot be washed off easily, and you have to wait for your nails to grow out. So instead, just apply two or three coats of transparent nail polish to protect your nails from absorbing the color.
• Make sure you take off all your valuables, watches, and jewelry, or they will also be soaked in multicolor.
• Please play Holi carefully and amongst known people, as all the water around the floor might get slippery and someone can get injured as well.
• Please decide on a meeting place with your friends on the ground in case you get separated or lost.

Even though cleaning up after Holi is not fun and you will see color coming out of each crevasse of your body for days, all your clothes will be ruined and drenched in different colors, and you will definitely have to toss them in the garbage bin. Your skin might feel a little itchy at times due to the chemicals in the color, but the whole experience will be totally worth it. Do try playing Holi this year with your friends and family and let me know how your experience was.