Holi: The Festival of Colours and Hope



We, Indians, need no particular reason to celebrate.

Indian Cricket team winning world cup, or even a wedding in the neighbourhood can get people dancing on the streets to the beats of latest tunes from Bollywood.

Holi provides the ideal setting for a large scale and joyous celebrations we are so fond of. The festival of colours is a spring celebration of love, fun, and colours, and is celebrated in India, Nepal, and other parts of the world with sizeable Indian diaspora.

Holi is celebrated at the approach of the vernal equinox, on the Phalguna Purnima. The festival date varies from year to year as it is based on the Hindu calendar.

Like Christmas and Diwali, Holi is celebrated across religious, ethnic and linguistic lines.

The celebrations typically begin the night before Holi. A bonfire (Holika Dahan) is lit around which people gather to sing, dance and party.

The next day,  participants splash colours at each other with coloured powder and water. Water fights break out using water guns and balloons filled with colour water.

Large groups of people with drums and other musical instruments roam the streets, singing and dancing, and inviting more people to join them in the revelry.

Everyone is welcome.

Friends, strangers, rich or poor, all wear the same colour on this day. It’s a big happy family, divided by circumstances, but united by the colours of Holi.

There is more to Holi than revelry and splashing of colours.

      Holi, like all festivals, is a symbol of  victory of good over evil. It signifies the arrival of spring, and end of winter. (traditionally, the two seasons represent new hope and lethargy, respectively).

      It is a free-for-all carnival of colours, where differences are forgotten, family ties are strengthened, bonds of friendship are renewed, and even bridges with enemies are built.

      It is also a time of thanksgiving for a good harvest and to take a pledge to protect environment that nourishes and looks after us.

      The bonfire or the Holika Dahan also signifies forgetting the unpleasant aspects of the past and making a fresh beginning.

Finally, to ensure a safe and joyous Holi, use protective eye gear and safe colour powder.

Mount Litera Zee School (MLZS) wishes you a bright, colourful and joyful Holi!