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[[File:Holi-Celebration.jpg|right|300px|Playing Holi]]
{{Short description|Hindu spring festival of colours}}
[[File:Littile Girl Playing Holi with Gulaal.jpg|thumb|300px|Girl playing Holi with gulaal colors]]
{{Redirect2|Basanta Utsav|Holli|the film|Basanta Utsav (film)|the ice hockey player|Antti Hölli}}
'''Holi'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehinduopinion.com/2020/03/happy-holi.html|title=Holi 2020|last=Hindu Opinion|first=THe|website=The Hindu Opinion}}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> is one of the major [[festival]]s of [[Hindus]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://researchguides.case.edu/Holi-BasantPanchami|title=Festivals for Spring: Holi and Basant Kite Festival: Holi|quote=Holi celebrates love, forgiveness, and triumph of good over evil}}</ref> It is celebrated in South Asian countries, especially in India and Nepal. Hiranyanaksap wanted to kill his son, so he called his sister, Holika. She had a magic robe. This robe had the power to save the wearer from burning in fire. Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister to sit on a burning fire along with Prahlad. He thought that his sister would not be harmed by the fire of the magic robe and Prahlad would be burnt to death. But the result was the opposite to what the evil demon king planned.
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = Holi
| image        = A Holi Festival - Krishna Radha and Gopis.jpg
| caption      = [[Krishna]] playing Holi with [[Radha]] and other [[gopis]]
| type          = Hindu
| nickname      = <!-- Festival of Rangs! -->
| observedby    = [[Hindus]],<ref name="OED-Holi"/> [[Sikhs]], [[Jains]],<ref name=wiley42/> [[Newar Buddhism|Newar Buddhists]],<ref name=bal269/> and others<ref name=wpnonhindus/>
| longtype      = Religious, cultural, spring festival
| date          = {{Hindu festival date}}
| date2022      = 17-18 March in India<ref>{{cite news |title=Holi 2022 Date: When is Holi and Holika Dahan this year, know the Muhurta and its importance |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/holi-2022-date-when-is-holi-and-holika-dahan-this-year-know-the-muhurta-and-its-importance/2462439/ |access-date=16 March 2022 |work=Financialexpress |date=16 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Holi 2022: Know The Date, Time, Significance And History Of The Festival |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/holi-2022-date-time-significance-and-history-2823361 |access-date=16 March 2022 |work=NDTV |date=16 March 2022}}</ref> <br/> 17-18 March in Nepal<ref>{{cite news |title=Nepal festival calendar: 15 major festivals of Nepal in 12 months every year - OnlineKhabar English News |url=https://english.onlinekhabar.com/nepal-festival-calendar-major-festivals.html |access-date=16 March 2022 |work=Online Khabar |date=1 May 2021}}</ref>
| celebrations  = Night after [[Holika Dahan]], Kama Dahan<br />'''On Holi:''' spraying coloured dye, playing with [[Gulal|coloured powder]], dancing, greetings, festival delicacies<ref name=ht/>
| frequency    = Annual
|relatedto=[[Hola Mohalla]]
}}
{{Hindu festival date info}}
{{Hinduism}}


Thus Prahlad came out of the burning fire safely and Holika was burnt to death. and holi is the festival of colours.It is celebrated with colors to mark the victory of virtue and goodness over evil.
'''Holi''' ({{IPAc-en|pron|'|h|əʊ|l|i:}}) is a popular ancient Hindu festival,<ref name="OED-Holi"/><ref>{{Cite news |title=What is Holi? |language=en-GB |work=BBC Bitesize |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zh86n39/articles/z4qqy9q |access-date=18 March 2022}}</ref> also known as the '''Festival of Spring''', the '''Festival of Colours''' or the '''Festival of Love'''.<ref name="OED-Holi">The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) {{ISBN|0-19-861263-X}} p. 874 "'''Holi''' /'həʊli:/ '''noun''' a Hindu spring festival ...".</ref><ref name=yg/><ref>{{cite book|author=McKim Marriott|editor=John Stratton Hawley and Vasudha Narayanan|title=The Life of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9hairjdT-ekC|year=2006|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-24914-1|page=102}}, Quote: "Holi, he said with a beatific sigh, is the Festival of Love!"</ref> The festival celebrates the eternal and divine love of [[Radha Krishna]].<ref name="Schwartz">{{cite book|last1=Schwartz|first1=Susan L.|url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Rasa/cITGAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=holi+festival+celebrates+the+eternal+and+divine+love+of+Radha+and+Krishna&pg=PA100&printsec=frontcover|title=Rasa: Performing the Divine in India|date=6 October 2004|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13145-2|page=100|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Deepta" />
It also signifies the triumph of good over evil,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XC9bwMMPcwC&q=holi+symbolizes+triumph&pg=RA1-PA230|title=What Is Hinduism?|date=2007|publisher=Himalayan Academy Publications|isbn=978-1-934145-27-2|page=230|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://researchguides.case.edu/Holi-BasantPanchami|title=Festivals for Spring: Holi and Basant Kite Festival: Holi|quote=Holi celebrates love, forgiveness, and triumph of good over evil}}</ref> as it celebrates the victory of Lord [[Vishnu]] as [[Narasimha]] [[Narayana]] over [[Hiranyakashipu]].<ref name="Lorenzen"/><ref name=Roveda/> It originated and is predominantly celebrated in the [[Indian subcontinent]] but has also spread to other regions of [[Asia]] and parts of the [[Western world]] through the South Asian diaspora.


The festival is celebrated for two days. The 2nd day, Rang Panchami, marks the closing day of the Holi festival.
Holi celebrates the arrival of spring, the end of winter, the blossoming of love and for many, it is a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships.<ref name=keholi/><ref name=wd/> The festival is also an invocation for a good spring [[harvest]] season.<ref name=keholi/><ref name=wd/> It lasts for a night and a day, starting on the evening of the [[Purnima]] (Full Moon Day) falling in the [[Hindu calendar]] month of [[Phalguna]], which falls around the middle of March in the [[Gregorian calendar]]. The first evening is known as [[Holika Dahan]] (burning of Demon Holika) or Chhoti Holi and the following day as Holi, '''Rangwali Holi''', '''[[Dol Purnima]]''', '''Dhuleti''', '''Dhulandi''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://holidhuleti.in/about-holi-dhuleti-colorful-spring-festival/|title=About Holi – Dhuleti Colorful Spring Festival|work=Holi Dhuleti Celebrations|access-date=16 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329150157/http://holidhuleti.in/about-holi-dhuleti-colorful-spring-festival/|archive-date=29 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> '''Ukuli''', '''Manjal Kuli''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindu-blog.com/10/02/ukuli-or-manjal-kuli-holi-in-kerala.html|title=Ukuli or Manjal Kuli – Holi in Kerala}}</ref> '''Yaosang''', '''Shigmo'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ritiriwaz.com/different-names-of-holi-festival/|title = Different Names of Holi Festival &#124; RitiRiwaz|date = 9 March 2020}}</ref> or '''Phagwah''',<ref>{{cite book|author=Helen Myers|title=Music of Hindu Trinidad: Songs from the India Diaspora|url=https://archive.org/details/musicofhindutrin00myer|url-access=registration|year=1998|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-55453-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/musicofhindutrin00myer/page/430 430]}}</ref> '''Jajiri'''.<ref name="Jagiri"/>


People are seen with different varieties of colors on Holi. They put colors on each other, sing, dance. They worship Lord Krishna and put colors on his idol.
Holi is an [[Ancient India]]n religious [[festival]] that has also become popular outside of India.<ref name=keholi>Ebeling, Karin (10), Holi, an Indian Festival, and its Reflection in English Media; Die Ordnung des Standard und die Differenzierung der Diskurse: Akten des 41. Linguistischen Kolloquiums in Mannheim 2006, 1, 107, {{ISBN|978-3631599174}}</ref> In addition to India and [[Nepal]], the festival is celebrated by South Asian diaspora in countries such as [[Suriname]], [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Jamaica]], [[South Africa]], [[Mauritius]], [[Fiji]], [[Malaysia]],<ref name="Wilson2004">{{cite book|author=Amber Wilson|title=Jamaica: The people|url=https://archive.org/details/jamaicapeople00wils|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-7787-9331-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/jamaicapeople00wils/page/18 18]}}</ref> [[Singapore]], the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], and [[New Zealand]].<ref name=yg/><ref name="online.wsj.com"/> The festival has spread to parts of [[Europe]] and [[North America]] as a spring celebration of love, frolic, and colours.<ref name=wsj-holifight/><ref name="online.wsj.com">[https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303722604579111531979056974 Holi Festivals Spread Far From India] The Wall Street Journal (2013)</ref><ref name="Holi Festival of Colours">[http://www.visitberlin.de/en/event/05-11-2013/holi-festival-of-colours Holi Festival of Colours] Visit Berlin, Germany (2012)</ref>


Families gather together and Parvi the whole day.
Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi with a [[Holika Dahan]] where people gather, perform religious rituals in front of the bonfire, and pray that their internal evil be destroyed the way [[Holika]], the sister of the demon king [[Hiranyakashipu]], was killed in the fire. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi (Dhuleti) – a free-for-all festival of colours,<ref name=keholi/> where people smear each other with colours and drench each other. Water guns and water-filled balloons are also used to play and colour each other. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children, and elders. The frolic and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and other musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People visit family, friends and foes come together to throw coloured powders on each other, laugh and gossip, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks.<ref name=cj/><ref name="williamsholifood">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_58DQAAQBAJ|title=Celebrating Life Customs around the World|author=Victoria Williams|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4408-3659-6|page=75}}</ref> In the evening, people dress up and visit friends and family.<ref name=ht/><ref name=cj/>
{{TOC limit|limit=3}}
 
==Cultural significance==
{{anchor|History and Significance}}
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{{anchor|Importance of the Festival}}
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[[File:Holi Bonfire Udaipur.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Holika bonfire in front of Jagdish Temple in [[Udaipur]], [[Rajasthan]], 2010.]]
{{See also|Holika}}
The Holi festival has a cultural significance among various Hindu traditions of the Indian subcontinent. It is the festive day to end and rid oneself of past errors, to end conflicts by meeting others, a day to forget and forgive. People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in their lives. Holi also marks the start of spring, an occasion for people to enjoy the changing seasons and make new friends.<ref name=wd/><ref name=ihh>[http://www.indiaheritage.org/culture/holi.htm Holi] India Heritage: Culture, Fairs and Festivals (2008)</ref>
 
=== Radha Krishna ===
{{Main|Radha Krishna}}
[[File:Radha and Krishna playing Holi.jpg|thumb|Radha Krishna playing Holi]]
In the [[Braj]] region of India, where the Hindu deities [[Radha]] and [[Krishna]] grew up, the festival is celebrated until [[Rang Panchami|Rang Panchmi]] in commemoration of their divine love for each other. The festivities officially usher in spring, with Holi celebrated as a festival of love.<ref name="Schwartz"/><ref name=ind/> There is a symbolic legend behind the festival. In his youth, Krishna despaired whether the fair-skinned Radha would like him because of his dark skin colour. His mother [[Yashoda]], tired of his desperation, asks him to approach Radha and ask her to colour his face in any colour she wanted. This Radha did, and Radha and Krishna became a couple. Ever since, the playful colouring of Radha and Krishna's face has been commemorated as Holi.<ref name="Deepta">R Deepta, A.K. Ramanujan's ‘Mythologies’ Poems: An Analysis, Points of View, Volume XIV, Number 1, Summer 2007, pp. 74–81</ref><ref>Lynn Peppas (2010), Holi, Crabtree Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-7787-4771-0}}, pp. 12–15</ref> Beyond India, these legends help to explain the significance of Holi (''Phagwah'') are common in some Caribbean and [[South America]]n communities of Indian origin such as [[Guyana]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/commentary/columnist/2009/03/12/arrival-phagwa The arrival of Phagwa - Holi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412021433/http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/commentary/columnist/2009/03/12/arrival-phagwa |date=12 April 2018 }} ''The Guardian'', Trinidad and Tobago (12 March 2009)</ref><ref>[https://reflectu.in_r=0 Eat, Pray, Smear][https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/dining/23phagwah.html?_r=0 Eat, Pray, Smear] Julia Moskin, New York Times (22 March 2011)</ref> It is also celebrated with great fervour in Mauritius.<ref>[http://www.holifestival.org/holi-in-mauritius.html Holi in Mauritius]. "Just as the many other major Hindu festivals, the large Indian majority.. celebrate Holi with a lot of enthusiasm in the island of Mauritius. It is an official holiday in the country..."</ref>
 
===Vishnu ===
There is a symbolic legend to explain why Holi is celebrated as a festival of triumph of good over evil in the honour of Hindu god [[Vishnu]] and his devotee [[Prahlada]]. King [[Hiranyakashipu]] father of Prahlada, according to a legend found in chapter 7 of ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'',<ref name="Lorenzen">{{cite book|author=David N. Lorenzen|title=Praises to a Formless God: Nirguni Texts from North India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tE3sShuid5gC&pg=PA22|year=1996|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-2805-4|pages=22–31}}</ref><ref name=Roveda>{{cite book|author=Vittorio Roveda|title=Images of the Gods: Khmer Mythology in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tv7VAAAAMAAJ |year=2005|publisher=River Books|isbn=978-974-9863-03-9|page=70}};<br />{{cite book|author1=Sunil Kothari|author2=Avinash Pasricha|title=Kuchipudi|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa8FamiJJKgC&pg=PA66 |year= 2001|publisher=Abhinav|isbn=978-81-7017-359-5|pages=66–67}}</ref> was the king of demonic [[Asura]]s, and had earned a [[Blessing|boon]] that gave him five special powers: he could be killed by neither a human being nor an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by ''astra'' (projectile weapons) nor by any ''shastra'' (handheld weapons), and neither on land nor in water or air. Hiranyakashipu grew arrogant, thought he was God, and demanded that everyone worship only him.<ref name=ht>[http://www.hinduismtoday.com/pdf_downloads/pagers/Hindu-Festival_Holi_broadsheet-color.pdf Holi: Splashed with colors of friendship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041446/http://www.hinduismtoday.com/pdf_downloads/pagers/Hindu-Festival_Holi_broadsheet-color.pdf |date=24 September 2015 }} Hinduism Today, Hawaii (2011)</ref>
Hiranyakashipu's own son, [[Prahlada]], however, disagreed. He was and remained devoted to [[Vishnu]].<ref name=cj>Constance Jones, Holi, in J Gordon Melton (Editor), Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays Festivals Solemn Observances and Spiritual Commemorations, {{ISBN|978-1598842067}}</ref> This infuriated Hiranyakashipu. He subjected Prahlada to cruel punishments, none of which affected the boy or his resolve to do what he thought was right. Finally, Holika, Prahlada's evil aunt, tricked him into sitting on a [[pyre]] with her.<ref name=ht/> Holika was wearing a [[cloak]] that made her immune to injury from fire, while Prahlada was not. As the fire roared, the cloak flew from Holika and encased Prahlada,<ref name=cj/> who survived while Holika burned. Vishnu, the god who appears as an [[avatar]] to restore [[Dharma]] in Hindu beliefs, took the form of [[Narasimha]] – half human and half lion (which is neither a human nor an animal), at dusk (when it was neither day nor night), took Hiranyakashyapu at a doorstep (which was neither indoors nor outdoors), placed him on his lap (which was neither land, water nor air), and then eviscerated and killed the king with his lion claws (which were neither a handheld weapon nor a launched weapon).<ref>{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA275 |year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|page=275}}</ref>
 
The Holika bonfire and Holi signifies the celebration of the symbolic victory of good over evil, of Prahlada over Hiranyakashipu, and of the fire that burned [[Holika]].<ref name=wd>Wendy Doniger (Editor), Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions, 2000, {{ISBN|978-0877790440}}, Merriam-Webster, p. 455</ref>
 
=== Kama and Rati ===
Among other Hindu traditions such as [[Shaivism]] and [[Shaktism]], the legendary significance of Holi is linked to [[Shiva]] in [[yoga]] and deep meditation, goddess [[Parvati]] wanting to bring back Shiva into the world, seeks help from the Hindu god of love called [[Kamadeva]] on [[Vasant Panchami]]. The love god shoots arrows at Shiva, the yogi opens his third eye and burns Kama to ashes. This upsets both Kama's wife [[Rati]] (''Kamadevi'') and his own wife ''Parvati''. ''Rati'' performs her own meditative asceticism for forty days, upon which Shiva understands, forgives out of compassion and restores the god of love. This return of the god of love, is celebrated on the 40th day after Vasant Panchami festival as Holi.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|title=Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMPYnfS_R90C&pg=PA135 |year=2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-905-8|pages=135–137}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Michelle Lee|title=Holi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K166DAAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Scobre|isbn=978-1-62920-572-4|pages=8–11}}</ref> The Kama legend and its significance to Holi has many variant forms, particularly in South India.<ref>{{cite book|author=Usha Sharma|title=Festivals in Indian Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6OYRUEAF7oC&pg=PA80 |year=2008|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-8324-113-7|pages=80–82}}</ref>
 
===Other Indian religions===
[[File:Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India - The emperor Jahangir celebrating the Festival of Holi with the ladies of the zenana - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The [[Mughal India]]n emperor [[Jahangir]] celebrating Holi with ladies of the [[zenana]].]]
The festival has traditionally been also observed by non-Hindus, such as by Jains<ref name=wiley42>{{cite book|author=Kristi L. Wiley|title=The A to Z of Jainism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cIhCCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA42|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow|isbn=978-0-8108-6337-8|page=42}}</ref> and Newar Buddhists ([[Nepal]]).<ref name=bal269>{{cite book|author=Bal Gopal Shrestha|title=The Sacred Town of Sankhu: The Anthropology of Newar Ritual, Religion and Society in Nepal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9EwsBwAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=978-1-4438-3825-2|pages=269–271, 240–241}}</ref>
 
In [[Mughal India]], Holi was celebrated with such exuberance that people of all castes could throw colour on the Emperor.<ref name="Safvi2016">{{cite web |last1=Safvi |first1=Rana |title=In Mughal India, Holi was celebrated with the same exuberance as Eid |url=https://scroll.in/article/800900/in-mughal-india-holi-was-celebrated-with-the-same-pomp-as-eid |publisher=[[Scroll.in]] |access-date=22 March 2019 |language=en |date=23 March 2016}}</ref> According to Sharma (2017), "there are several paintings of Mughal emperors celebrating Holi".<ref>Sharma, Sunit (2017) Mughal Arcadia: Persian Literature in an Indian Court. Harvard University Press [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qaA4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175&dq=holi+mughal+india&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPvIXnw53hAhVATxUIHerNC2AQ6AEINzAD#v=onepage&q=holi&f=false]</ref> Grand celebrations of Holi were held at the [[Lal Qila (Delhi)|Lal Qila]], where the festival was also known as ''Eid-e-gulaabi'' or ''Aab-e-Pashi''.<ref name="Safvi2016"/> [[Mehfil]]s were held throughout the walled city of Delhi with aristocrats and traders alike participating.<ref name="Safvi2016"/> This changed during the rule of Emperor Aurangzeb. He banned the public celebration of Holi using a ''Farman'' issue in November 1665.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Powers|first=Janet M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5JxDwAAQBAJ&q=aurangzeb+1665+holi&pg=PA36|title=Kites over the Mango Tree: Restoring Harmony between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat: Restoring Harmony between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat|date=30 November 2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-35158-7|language=en}}</ref> However, the celebration were later restarted after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb.  [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]] himself wrote a song for the festival, while poets such as [[Amir Khusrau]], [[Raskhan|Ibrahim Raskhan]], [[Nazeer Akbarabadi]] and Mehjoor Lakhnavi relished it in their writings.<ref name="Safvi2016"/>
 
Sikhs have traditionally celebrated the festival, at least through the 19th century,<ref name="McLeod2009p95">{{cite book|author=W. H. McLeod|title=The A to Z of Sikhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC&pg=PA95|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6344-6|page=95}}</ref> with its historic texts referring to it as ''Hola''.<ref name="Roy2005p192">{{cite book|author=Christian Roy|title=Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKqOUfqt4cIC&pg=PA192 |year=2005|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-089-5|pages=192–193}}</ref> [[Guru Gobind Singh]] – the last human guru of the Sikhs – modified Holi with a three-day [[Hola Mohalla]] extension festival of martial arts. The extension started the day after the Holi festival in [[Anandpur Sahib]], where Sikh soldiers would train in mock battles, compete in horsemanship, athletics, archery and military exercises.<ref>{{cite book|author1=James K. Wellman Jr.|author2=Clark Lombardi|title=Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective|url=https://archive.org/details/religionandh_xxxx_2012_000_10856028 |url-access=registration|year=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-982775-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/religionandh_xxxx_2012_000_10856028/page/n125 112] note 18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh|title=Sikhism: An Introduction|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=e0ZmAXw7ok8C&pg=PA93| year=2011| publisher=I.B.Tauris| isbn=978-1-84885-321-8|pages=93–94}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Peter J. Claus|author2=Sarah Diamond|author3=Margaret Ann Mills|title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC&pg=PA552 |year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-93919-5|page=552}}</ref>
 
Holi was observed by [[Ranjit Singh|Maharaja Ranjit Singh]] and his Sikh Empire that extended across what are now northern parts of India and Pakistan. According to a report by Tribune India, Sikh court records state that 300 mounds of colours were used in 1837 by Ranjit Singh and his officials in [[Lahore]]. Ranjit Singh would celebrate Holi with others in the Bilawal gardens, where decorative tents were set up. In 1837, Sir [[Henry Fane (British Army officer)|Henry Fane]] who was the commander-in-chief of the [[British Indian army]] joined the Holi celebrations organised by Ranjit Singh. A mural in the Lahore Fort was sponsored by Ranjit Singh and it showed the Hindu god Krishna playing Holi with ''gopis''. After the death of Ranjit Singh, his Sikh sons and others continued to play Holi every year with colours and lavish festivities. The colonial British officials joined these celebrations.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110313/spectrum/main2.htm Holi on Canvas], The Sunday Tribune Holi on Canvas, Kanwarjit Singh Kang, 13 March 2011</ref>
 
==Description==
[[File:Radha celebrating Holi, c1788.jpg|thumb|left|[[Radha]] and the [[Gopi]]s celebrating Holi, with accompaniment of music instruments.]]
Holi is an important spring festival for Hindus, a national holiday in India and Nepal with regional holidays in other countries. To many Hindus and some non-Hindus, it is a playful cultural event and an excuse to throw coloured water at friends or strangers in jest. It is also observed broadly in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. Holi is celebrated at the end of winter, on the last [[full moon]] day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month marking the spring, making the date vary with the lunar cycle.{{refn|group=note|name=holicalendars|Since ancient times, the Indian subcontinent has had several major [[Hindu calendar]]s, which places Holi and other festivals on different local months even though they mean the same date. Some Hindu calendars emphasise the solar cycle, some the lunar cycle. Further, the regional calendars feature two traditions of Amanta and Purnimanta systems, wherein the similar-sounding months refer to different parts of a lunar cycle, thus further diversifying the nomenclature. The Hindu festival of Holi falls on the first (full moon) day of ''Chaitra'' lunar month's dark fortnight in the Purnimanta system, while the same exact day for Holi is expressed in Amanta system as the lunar day of ''Phalguna Purnima''.<ref name=fuller292>{{cite book|author=Christopher John Fuller|title=The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=To6XSeBUW3oC|year=2004|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-69112-04-85|pages=291–293}}</ref> Both time measuring and dating systems are equivalent ways of meaning the same thing, they continue to be in use in different regions.<ref name=fuller292/><ref name="Reingold2008p275">{{cite book|author1=Nachum Dershowitz|author2=Edward M. Reingold|title=Calendrical Calculations|title-link= Calendrical Calculations |year=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-88540-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/calendricalcalcu00ders/page/n155 123]–133, 275–311}}</ref> In regions where the local calendar places it in its ''Phalguna'' month, Holi is also called ''Phaguwa''.}} The date falls typically in March, but sometimes late February of the Gregorian calendar.<ref>{{cite book|author=Javier A. Galván|title=They Do What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2RyBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA137| year=2014| publisher= ABC-CLIO|isbn= 978-1-61069-342-4|pages=137–138}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=J. Gordon Melton|author2=Martin Baumann|title=Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 2nd Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v2yiyLLOj88C&pg=PA1337 |year=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-204-3|pages=1337–1338}}</ref>
 
The festival has many purposes; most prominently, it celebrates the beginning of Spring. In 17th century literature, it was identified as a festival that celebrated agriculture, commemorated good spring harvests and the fertile land.<ref name=keholi/> Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying spring's abundant colours and saying farewell to winter. To many Hindus, Holi festivities mark an occasion to reset and renew ruptured relationships, end conflicts and rid themselves of accumulated emotional impurities from the past.<ref name=wd/><ref name=ihh/>
 
It also has a religious purpose, symbolically signified by the legend of Holika. The night before Holi, bonfires are lit in a ceremony known as Holika Dahan (burning of [[Holika]]) or Little Holi People gather near fires, sing and dance. The next day, Holi, also known as ''Dhuli'' in Sanskrit, or ''Dhulheti'', ''Dhulandi'' or ''Dhulendi'', is celebrated.<ref>{{Cite news|date=27 March 2021|title=Holika Dahan Story: Why is the demoness Holika worshipped on Holi? - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/religion/rituals-puja/holika-dahan-story-why-demoness-holika-is-worshipped-on-holi/articleshow/81702634.cms|access-date=28 March 2021|work=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref>
 
In Northern parts of India, Children and youth spray coloured powder solutions (''gulal'') at each other, laugh and celebrate, while adults smear dry coloured powder (''abir'') on each other's faces.<ref name=ht/><ref name=ihh/> Visitors to homes are first teased with colours, then served with Holi delicacies (such as ''puranpoli'', ''dahi-bada'' and ''gujia''), desserts and drinks.<ref name="williamsholifood"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Andrew Smith|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOJMAgAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-973496-2|page=185}}</ref><ref>[http://www.holifestival.org/holi-festival.html Holi Festival] see Play of Colors (2009)</ref> After playing with colours, and cleaning up, people bathe, put on clean clothes, and visit friends and family.<ref name=wd/>
 
{{anchor|Rangapanchami}} Like Holika Dahan, ''Kama Dahanam'' is celebrated in some parts of [[India]]. The festival of colours in these parts is called ''Rangapanchami'', and occurs on the fifth day after Poornima (full moon).<ref>[http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=26285 Rangapanchami in Bhopal] Los Angeles Times (2011)</ref>
 
==History and rituals==
The Holi festival is an ancient Hindu festival with its cultural rituals. It is mentioned in the [[Puranas]], Dasakumara Charita, and by the poet [[Kālidāsa]] during the 4th century reign of Chandragupta II.<ref name=yg>Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions, Volume 1, {{ISBN|978-1851099801}}, p. 212</ref> The celebration of Holi is also mentioned in the 7th-century Sanskrit drama ''[[Ratnavali]]''.<ref name=ori>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/holi_1.shtml Religions – Hinduism: Holi]. BBC. Retrieved 21 March 2011.</ref> The festival of Holi caught the fascination of European traders and British colonial staff by the 17th century. Various old editions of Oxford English Dictionary mention it, but with varying, phonetically derived spellings: ''Houly'' (1687), ''Hooly'' (1698), ''Huli'' (1789), ''Hohlee'' (1809), ''Hoolee'' (1825), and ''Holi'' in editions published after 1910.<ref name=keholi/>
 
There are several cultural rituals associated with Holi:<ref name=htor>[http://www.holifestival.org/rituals-of-holi.html Rituals of Holi] Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India (2010)</ref>
 
=== Holika Dahan ===
{{Main|Holika Dahan}}
 
==== Preparation ====
Days before the festival, people start gathering wood and combustible materials for the bonfire in parks, community centers, near temples and other open spaces. On top of the pyre is an effigy to signify [[Holika]] who tricked Prahalad into the fire. Inside homes, people stock up on pigments, food, party drinks and festive seasonal foods such as ''[[gujiya]]'', ''[[mathri]]'', ''[[malpua]]s'' and other regional delicacies.
 
==== Bonfire ====
On the eve of Holi, typically at or after sunset, the pyre is lit, signifying [[Holika Dahan]]. The ritual symbolises the victory of good over evil. People gather around the fire to sing and dance.<ref name=wd/>
 
[[File:HoliSelfie.jpg|thumb|Taking a selfie while playing Holi.]]
 
==== Playing with colours ====
In North and Western India, Holi frolic and celebrations begin the morning after the Holika bonfire. Children and young people form groups armed with dry colours, coloured solution and [[water guns]] (''pichkaris''), water balloons filled with coloured water, and other creative means to colour their targets.<ref name=htor/>
 
Traditionally, washable natural plant-derived colours such as [[turmeric]], [[neem]], [[Butea monosperma|dhak]], and [[kumkum]] were used, but water-based commercial pigments are increasingly used nowadays. All colours are used. Everyone in open areas such as, streets and parks is game, but inside homes or at doorways only dry powder is used to smear each other's face. People throw colours and get their targets completely coloured up. It is like a [[water fight]], but with coloured water. People take delight in spraying coloured water on each other. By late morning, everyone looks like a canvas of colours. This is why Holi is given the name "Festival of Colours".
 
Groups sing and dance, some playing drums and ''[[dholak]]''. After each stop of fun and play with colours, people offer [[gujiya]], [[mathri]], [[malpua]]s and other traditional delicacies.<ref>[http://blog.zhdk.ch/idss/files/2013/07/final-presentation-Festival-Circle.pdf Holi Festival] Rex Li Indrajeet Deshmukh and Marielle Roth, Festival Circle, IDSS 2013</ref> Cold drinks, including drinks made with marijuana,<ref name="TOIBhang">{{cite web|title=High on Holi with bhang|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/High-on-Holi-with-bhang/articleshow/4245535.cms|access-date=26 March 2014|work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> are also part of the Holi festivity.
 
==== Other variations ====
In the [[Braj]] region around [[Mathura]], in north India, the festivities may last more than a week. The rituals go beyond playing with colours, and include a day where men go around with shields and women have the right to playfully beat them on their shields with sticks.<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/449244/20130322/holi-2013-celebrations-begin-lathmar-photos-mathura.htm Holi 2013] Ankita Mehta, International Business Times, (22 March 2013)</ref> It is known as Latthmaar Holi, traditionally celebrated in the [[Barsana]] village. Barsana is the village of Radha and women assume the role of gopikas ([[Radha]]'s friends) and men as gopas ([[Krishna|Krishna's]] friends).
 
In southern India, some worship and make offerings to Kamadeva, the god of love in Indian mythology.
 
==== Later in the day ====
After a day of play with colours, people clean up, wash and bathe, sober up and dress up in the evening and greet friends and relatives by visiting them and exchanging sweets. Holi is also a festival of forgiveness and new starts, which ritually aims to generate harmony in society.<ref name=htor/> Many cities in Uttar Pradesh also organise [[Kavi sammelan|Kavi Sammelan]] in the evening.
 
==Regional names, rituals and celebrations==
[[File:Holi Festival of Colors Utah, United States 2013.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Holi Festival in March 2013 at the [[Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (Spanish Fork)|Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple]] in [[Utah County, Utah|Utah County]], [[Utah]].]]
''Holi'' ({{Lang-hi|होली}}, {{Lang-kn|ಹೋಳಿ}}, {{Lang-mr|होळी}}, {{Lang-ne|होली}}, {{Lang-pa|ਹੋਲੀ}}, {{Lang-te|హోళి}}) is also known as ''Basanto Utsav'' ({{Lang-bn|বসন্ত উত্সব}}) ("Spring festival") in [[West Bengal]] and [[Assam]]; ''Festival of Colours'', or ''Dol Jatra'' ({{Lang-as|দ’ল যাত্ৰা}}) in [[Assam]], ''Dola jātra'' ({{Lang-or|ଦୋଳଯାତ୍ରା}}) in [[Odisha]]; also known as ''Phakuwa'' or '''''Phagwah''''' ({{Lang-as|ফাকুৱা}}). The customs and celebrations vary between regions of India.
 
Holi is of particular significance in the Braj region, which includes locations traditionally associated with the [[Krishna]]: [[Mathura]], [[Vrindavan]], [[Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh]], and [[Barsana]], which become touristic during the season of Holi.<ref name=ind/>
 
Outside India and Nepal, Holi is observed by Hindus in [[Bangladesh]] and [[Pakistan]] as well in countries with large Indian subcontinent [[diaspora]] populations such as [[Suriname]], [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[South Africa]], [[Malaysia]], the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[Mauritius]], and [[Fiji]]. The Holi rituals and customs outside South Asia also vary with local adaptations.
 
== Celebrations ==
 
=== India ===
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2018}}
 
==== Bihar/Jharkhand ====
Holi is known as ''Phaguwa'' in the local [[Bhojpuri]] dialect. In this region as well, the legend of Holika is prevalent. On the eve of Phalgun Poornima, people light bonfires. They put dried cow dung cakes, wood of the Araad or Redi tree and Holika tree, grains from the fresh harvest and unwanted wood leaves in the bonfire. At the time of Holika people assemble near the pyre. The eldest member of the gathering or a [[purohit]] initiates the lighting. He then smears others with colour as a mark of greeting. Next day the festival is celebrated with colours and a lot of frolic. Traditionally, people also clean their houses to mark the festival.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Holi in Jharkhand – Holi Festival in Jharkhand, Holi Celebration in Jharkhand|url=https://www.holifestival.org/holi-in-jharkhand.html|access-date=27 March 2021|website=www.holifestival.org}}</ref>
 
Holi Milan is also observed in [[Bihar]], where family members and well-wishers visit each other's family, apply colours ([[abir|abeer]]) on each other's faces, and on feet, if elderly. Usually, this takes place on the evening of Holi, day after Holi with wet colours is played in the morning through the afternoon. Due to large-scale internal migration issues faced by the people, recently, this tradition has slowly begun to transform, and it is common to have Holi Milan on an entirely different day either before or after the actual day of Holi.<ref>{{cite web |title=Holi Milan |url=http://www.indiacitytrip.com/festivals/Destinations-to-enjoy-Festivals-of-India/Holi/east-india.html |website=indiacitytrip.com}}</ref>
 
Children and youths take extreme delight in the festival. Though the festival is usually celebrated with colours, in some places, people also enjoy celebrating Holi with water solutions of mud or clay. Folk songs are sung at high pitch and people dance to the sound of the [[dholak]] (a two-headed hand-drum) and the spirit of Holi. Intoxicating [[bhang]], made from [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], milk and spices, is consumed with a variety of mouth-watering delicacies, such as [[pakora]]s and [[thandai]], to enhance the mood of the festival.<ref name=HuffPostBhang>{{cite web|title=Holi 2014: Festival Of Colors Celebrates Spring (Songs, Photos)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/16/holi-2014_n_4965026.html|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=16 March 2014|access-date=17 March 2014}}</ref>
 
==== Goa ====
{{Main|Shigmo}}
Holi is locally called Ukkuli in [[Konkani language|Konkani]]. It is celebrated around the Konkani temple called Gosripuram temple. It is a part of the [[Goa]]n or Konkani spring [[festival]] known as '''Śigmo''' or शिगमो in [[konkani language|Koṅkaṇī]] or ''Śiśirotsava'', which lasts for about a month. The colour festival or Holi is a part of longer, more extensive spring festival celebrations.<ref name="gsg">{{cite book|last=Guṅe|first=Viṭhṭhala Triṃbaka|title=Gazetteer of the Union Territory Goa, Daman and Diu: district|publisher=Goa, Daman and Diu (India). Gazetteer Dept|year=1979|volume=1|page=263}}</ref> Holi festivities (but not Śigmo festivities) include: ''Holika Puja'' and ''Dahan'', ''Dhulvad'' or ''Dhuli vandan'', ''Haldune'' or offering yellow and saffron colour or ''Gulal'' to the deity.
 
==== Gujarat ====
[[File:Holi (1).JPG|thumb|upright|"Celebration of Spring by Krishna and Radha", 18th-century [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]]; in the [[Guimet Museum]], [[Paris]].]]
In [[Gujarat]], Holi is a two-day festival. On the evening of the first day people light the bonfire. People offer raw coconut and corn to the fire. The second day is the festival of colour or "Dhuleti", celebrated by sprinkling coloured water and applying colours to each other. [[Dwarka]], a coastal city of Gujarat, celebrates Holi at the [[Dwarkadheesh temple]] and with citywide comedy and music festivities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pndwarka.com/news.html|title=You are being redirected...|website=pndwarka.com}}</ref> Falling in the Hindu month of ''Phalguna'', Holi marks the agricultural season of the [[rabi crop]].
 
In some places, there is a custom in undivided Hindu families that the woman beats her brother-in-law with a sari rolled up into a rope in a mock rage and tries to drench him with colours, and in turn, the brother-in-law brings sweets (Indian desserts) to her in the evening.<ref>[http://topnews.in/law/files/Holi_3_0.jpg topnews.in], Holi in Gujarat</ref>
 
==== Jammu and Kashmir ====
In [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], Holi celebrations are much in line with the general definition of Holi celebrations: a high-spirited festival to mark the beginning of the harvesting of the summer crop, with the throwing of coloured water and powder and singing and dancing.<ref>{{cite web |title=Holi celebration in Jammu and Kashmir |url=https://www.holifestival.org/holi-in-jammu-and-kashmir.html |website=holifestival.org}}</ref>
 
==== Karnataka ====
Traditionally, in rural [[Karnataka]], children collect money and wood in the weeks prior to Holi, and on "Kamadahana" night, all the wood is put together and lit. The festival is celebrated for two days. People in northern parts of Karnataka prepare special food on this day.
 
In [[Sirsi, Karnataka|Sirsi]], Karnataka, Holi is celebrated with a unique folk dance called "Bedara Vesha", which is performed during the nights beginning five days before the actual festival day. The festival is celebrated every alternate year in the town, which attracts a large number of tourists from different parts of India.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/10/stories/2009031050660300.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314053547/http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/10/stories/2009031050660300.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 March 2009 |title=Karnataka |date=10 March 2009 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=23 September 2013}}</ref>
 
==== Maharashtra ====
In [[Maharashtra]], Holi Purnima is also celebrated as Shimga, festivities that last five to seven days. A week before the festival, youngsters go around the community, collecting firewood and money. On the day of Shimga, the firewood is heaped into a huge pile in each neighbourhood. In the evening, the fire is lit. Every household brings a meal and dessert, in the honour of the fire god. [[Puran Poli]] is the main delicacy and children shout "Holi re Holi puranachi poli". Shimga celebrates the elimination of all evil. The colour celebrations here take place on the day of [[Rang Panchami]], five days after Shimga. During this festival, people are supposed to forget and forgive any rivalries and start new healthy relations with all.
 
==== Manipur ====
[[Meitei people|Manipuris]] celebrate Holi for 6 days. Here, this holiday merges with the festival of [[Yaosang]]. Traditionally, the festival commences with the burning of a thatched hut of hay and twigs. Young children go from house to house to collect money, locally known as ''nakadeng'' (or ''nakatheng''), as gifts on the first two days. The youths at night perform a group folk dance called [[Thabal chongba]] on the full moon night of Lamta ([[Phalgun]]), traditionally accompanied by folk songs and rhythmic beats of the indigenous drum, but nowadays by modern bands and [[fluorescent lamp]]s. In Krishna temples, devotees sing devotional songs, perform dances and celebrate with ''aber'' (''gulal'') wearing traditional white and yellow turbans. On the last day of the festival, large processions are taken out to the main Krishna temple near [[Imphal]] where several cultural activities are held. In recent decades, [[Yaosang]], a type of Indian sport, has become common in many places of the valley, where people of all ages come out to participate in a number of sports that are somewhat altered for the holiday.
 
==== Odisha ====
[[File:Elevation of the black stone arch.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An 1822 drawing showing elevation of a black stone arch in [[Puri]], Odisha. It carried [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavite]] gods and goddess, the ritual noted to be a part of the Holi festival.<ref>{{cite web|title=Elevation of the black stone arch|url=  http://m.vam.ac.uk/collections/item/O403895/elevation-of-the-black-stone-drawing-unknown/?q |website=V&A: Search the Collections|publisher= Victoria and Albert Museum|access-date=10 April 2016|quote=Object history note: The arch is covered with figures of Vaishnavite gods and hung with rings. A crowd of Hindus are celebrating the festival of the Dol Jatra or Swing festival in which the image of Vishnu and his consort are swung in a throne suspended by chains from the rings of the arch. The celebration is part of the Holi festival and takes place at the full moon of the month of Phalguna (February to March).}}</ref>]]
The people of [[Odisha]] celebrate "Dola" on the day of Holi where the icons of [[Jagannath]] replace the icons of Krishna and Radha. Dola Melana, processions of the deities are celebrated in villages and [[bhog]]a is offered to the deities. "Dola yatra" was prevalent even before 1560 much before Holi was started where the idols of [[Jagannath]], [[Balabhadra]] and [[Subhadra]] used to be taken to the "Dolamandapa" (podium in [[Jagannath temple]]).<ref name="Ray2007">{{cite book|author=Dipti Ray|title=Prataparudradeva, the Last Great Suryavamsi King of Orissa (A.D. 1497 to A.D. 1540)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=to_U9I6Ol9wC&pg=PA90|year=2007|publisher=Northern Book Centre|isbn=978-81-7211-195-3|pages=90–}}</ref> People used to offer natural colours known as "abira" to the deities and apply on each other's feats.<ref name="Pati2001">{{cite book|author=Biswamoy Pati|title=Situating Social History: Orissa, 1800-1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJtnQN3KueEC&pg=PA74|year=2001|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-2007-3|pages=74–}}</ref>
 
==== Punjab ====
In [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], the eight days preceding Holi are known as luhatak.<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dGnRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA417&dq=holi+punjab++eight+days&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi724y02pDhAhUfQxUIHcv4CAAQ6AEINDAD#v=onepage&q=holi%20punjab%20%20eight%20days&f=false A dictionary of the Panjábí language (1854) Mission Press]</ref> Sekhon (2000) states that people start throwing colours many days before Holi.<ref>Sekhon, Iqbal Singh (2000) The Punjabis. 2. Religion, society, and culture of the Punjabis. COSMOS [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bU0wAQAAIAAJ&q=Many+days+ahead+of+it+the+urchins+start+throwing+coloured+water+on+one+...&dq=Many+days+ahead+of+it+the+urchins+start+throwing+coloured+water+on+one+...&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwidjcn4mY7hAhUaShUIHW8kB7cQ6AEIKDAA]</ref>
 
Holi is preceded by [[Holika Dahan]] the night before when a fire is lit. Historically, the Lubana community of Punjab celebrated holi "with great pomp and show. The Lubanas buried a pice and betel nut. They heaped up cow-dung cakes over the spot and made a large fire. When the fire had burnt out, they proceeded to hunt for the pice and betel-nut. Whosoever found these, was considered very lucky."<ref>Proceedings – Punjab History Conference (2000) Publication Bureau, Punjabi University [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PSpuAAAAMAAJ&dq=holi++punjab++pice&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=++pice]</ref> Elsewhere in Punjab, Holi was also associated with making fools of others. Bose writing in Cultural Anthropology: And Other Essays in 1929 noted that "the custom of playing Holi-fools is prevalent in Punjab".<ref>Bose, Nirmal Kumar (1929) Cultural Anthropology: And Other Essays. [Reprinted with Additions]Indian Associated Publishing Company, Limited [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=19w9AAAAMAAJ&dq=The+custom+of+playing+holi-fools+is+also+prevalent+in+the+Punjab&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=+playing+holi-fools+]</ref>
 
On the day of Holi, people engage in throwing colours<ref>Parminder Singh Grover and Moga, Davinderjit Singh, Discover Punjab: Attractions of Punjab [https://books.google.com/books?id=Dy-pOAnlQL0C&pg=PT180&lpg=PT180&dq=punjab++holi&source=bl&ots=RaFXq2ML4s&sig=T-YkgBcEQEQRJeQ_21DkXo7J6dU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nFmtVKWZFaOI7QbctICoBw&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=punjab%20%20holi&f=false]</ref> on each other.<ref name="autogenerated1">Jasbir Singh Khurana, Punjabiyat: The Cultural Heritage and Ethos of the People of Punjab, Hemkunt Publishers (P) Ltd., {{ISBN|978-81-7010-395-0}}</ref> For locals, Holi marks the end of winter. The Punjabi saying ''Phaggan phal laggan'' (''Phagun'' is the month for fructifying) exemplifies the seasonal aspect of Holi. Trees and plants start blossoming from the day of Basant and start bearing fruit by Holi.<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1O0eAQAAMAAJ&q=%27Phaggan+phal+laggan%27&dq=%27Phaggan+phal+laggan%27&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt0Mih5c3ZAhUKesAKHf_5AJoQ6AEIKzAB Census of India, 1961: Punjab. Manager of Publications]</ref>
 
During Holi in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], walls and courtyards of rural houses are enhanced with drawings and paintings similar to [[rangoli]] in South India, ''mandana'' in Rajasthan, and rural arts in other parts of India. This art is known as ''[[Chowk poorana|chowk-poorana]]'' or ''chowkpurana'' in Punjab and is given shape by the peasant women of the state. In courtyards, this art is drawn using a piece of cloth. The art includes drawing tree motifs, flowers, ferns, creepers, plants, peacocks, palanquins, geometric patterns along with vertical, horizontal and oblique lines. These arts add to the festive atmosphere.<ref>[http://www.deccanherald.com/content/362722/drawing-designs-walls.html Drawing Designs on Walls], Trisha Bhattacharya (13 October 2013), ''Deccan Herald''. Retrieved 7 January 2015</ref>
 
Folk theatrical performances known as swang or nautanki take place during Holi,<ref>Alka Pande (1999) Folk Music & Musical Instruments of Punjab: From Mustard Fields to Disco Lights, Volume 1. Mapin Pub [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CgraAAAAMAAJ&dq=punjab+swang++holi&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=+swang+]</ref> with the latter originating in the Punjab.<ref>Nandini Gooptu (2001) The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India. Cambridge University Press. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wZTLEEGmZfQC&pg=PA219&dq=swang+prahlad+punjab&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj889bY6M3ZAhVpLsAKHSGbAkoQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=swang%20prahlad%20punjab&f=false]</ref> According to Self (1993), Holi fairs are held in the Punjab which may go on for many days.<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=kr8IyXOmhyAC&pg=PA32&dq=panjab+holi&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYjbG61YvhAhWTUhUIHR3SDZUQ6AEIOTAD#v=onepage&q=panjab%20&f=false Self, David (1993) One Hundred Readings for Assembly. Heinemann]</ref> Bose (1961) states that "in some parts of Punjab, Holi is celebrated with wrestling matches".<ref>[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.10901 <!-- quote=panjab holi. --> Bose, Nirmal Kumar (1961) Cultural Anthropology. Asia Publishing House]</ref>
 
==== Tamil Nadu ====
In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated as the [[Panguni Uthiram]] festival that signifies the blossoming of love and marriage. [[Rati]] and [[Kamadeva]] are worshipped in many parts. Temples also celebrate the marriages of [[Parvati]] and [[Shiva|Parameswara]], [[Murugan]] and [[Deivanai]], [[Andal|Kodhai Aandaal]] and [[Thirumal|Rangamannar]] on this day. In the [[Sarangapani temple]] in [[Kumbakonam]], Narayana marries Komalavalli Naachiyar and gave Kalyana Kola Seva to his Bhakthas on this day. Valmiki's Ramayana says it is on this day that Sita's marriage with Rama was celebrated. Devotees throng to temples to witness the divine wedding ceremonies. It is also an auspicious date for engagements and weddings to finalise. From Brahmanda Puranam, it is said that on this Panguni Uthiram, all holy waters join the seven sacred tanks in Tirupati Tirumala.
 
==== Telangana ====
Holi is called as ''Kamuni Punnami/Kama Purnima'' or ''Jajiri'' in [[Telugu language|Telugu]]. Hindus celebrate Holi as it relates to the legend of [[Kamadeva]]. Holi is also known by different names: Kamavilas, Kamuni Panduga and Kama-Dahanam.<ref>{{cite book|author=G. Rajagopal|title=Beyond Bhakti: Steps Ahead |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3nnXAAAAMAAJ|year=2007|publisher=B.R. Publishing|isbn=978-81-7646-510-6|page=75}}</ref>
[[File:Madan-Bhasma (Shiva Turns to Ashes).jpg|thumb|Kama Dahanam (Shiva Turns Kama to Ashes)]]
It  is a 10-day festival in Telangana, of which last two days are of great importance. As in other parts of India, in rural [[Telangana]], the 9 days preceding Holi, children celebrate ''kamuda'' by playing [[Kolata]] sticks along with singing folk songs called ''jajiri'' and collect money, rice, corn and wood.<ref name="Jagiri">{{cite news |last1=Reddy |first1=P. Laxma |title=Jajiri, another festival for unity |url=https://telanganatoday.com/jajiri-another-festival-for-unity |access-date=28 March 2021 |work=Telangana Today |date=7 March 2017}}</ref> For this reason Holi is well known for "Jajiri Paatalu Kamudi aatalu", which means festival of "Jajiri songs and Kamudi games" and on 9th night i.e. Holy eve, all the wood is put together and set on fire representing [[Holika Dahan|Kama Dahanam]].
[[File:Holika Dahan.jpg|thumb|Kama Dahanam or Holi Bonfire]]
Next morning i.e. 10th day is celebrated as Holi, with colours traditionally extracted from Moduga/Gogu Flowers (Palash/[[Butea monosperma]]).<ref>{{cite book|author=The Hans India|title=Moduga flowers start blooming|date=5 March 2015|url=https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2015-03-05/Moduga-flowers-start-blooming/135443}}</ref>
 
==== Tripura ====
In [[Tripura]] Holi is known as "Pali" which means colour in Tripuri language, it's celebrated all over Tripura.
 
==== Uttar Pradesh ====
{{See also|Lathmar Holi}}
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Samaj gathering during Lathmar hoil.jpg|Colour drenched gopis in Krishna Temple, [[Mathura]], India.
File:Lath Mar Holi at Braj.jpg|In the [[Braj]] region of North India, women have the option to playfully hit men who save themselves with shields; for the day, men are culturally expected to accept whatever women dish out to them. This ritual is called [[Lath mar Holi|''Lath Mar'' Holi]].<ref>[http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/03/lathmar_holi_festival.html Lathmar Holi Festival] Lane Turner, ''Boston Globe'', (5 March 2012)</ref>
File:A play of colors then a dance at Holi India.jpg|A play of colours then a dance at a Hindu temple near Mathura, at Holi.
</gallery>
[[Barsana]], a town near [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]] in the [[Braj]] region of [[Uttar Pradesh]], celebrates [[Lath mar Holi]] in the sprawling compound of the Radha Rani temple. Thousands gather to witness the Lath Mar Holi when women beat up men with sticks as those on the sidelines become hysterical, sing Holi songs and shout "Sri Radhe Radhe" or "Sri Radhe Krishna".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.manoramaonline.com/entertainment/music/2019/03/20/holi-songs-celebrations-festival-playlist.html|title=Play Holi Song}}</ref> The Holi songs of Braj Mandal are sung in pure Braj, the local language. Holi celebrated at [[Barsana]] is unique in the sense that here women chase men away with sticks. Males also sing provocative songs in a bid to invite the attention of women. Women then go on the offensive and use long staves called [[Fighting stick|lathis]] to beat the men, who protect themselves with shields.<ref>{{cite web |title=ganga Mela Kanpur |url=https://www.bhaskar.com/news/UP-KAN-kanpur-people-celebrate-ganga-mela-after-holi-festival-5284748-PHO.html |website=bhaskar.com|date=27 March 2016 }}</ref>
 
Mathura, in the Braj region, is the birthplace of [[Krishna]]. In [[Vrindavan]] this day is celebrated with special [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] and the traditional custom of worshipping Radha Krishna; here the festival lasts for sixteen days.<ref name=ind>[http://www.indiaexpress.com/rangoli/holi.html Holi&nbsp;– the festival of colours] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201214422/http://www.indiaexpress.com/rangoli/holi.html |date=1 February 2016 }} ''The Indian Express''.</ref> All over the Braj region<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jagran.com/spiritual/religion-so-drop-colors-holi-brij-lal-was-11169083.html?src=HP-REL-ART|title=So drop colors – Holi, Brij Lal was|date=19 March 2014|work=jagran}}</ref> and neighbouring places like [[Hathras]], [[Aligarh]], and [[Agra]], Holi is celebrated in more or less the same way as in Mathura, [[Vrindavan]] and Barsana.
 
A traditional celebration includes ''Matki Phod'', similar to ''[[Dahi Handi]]'' in Maharashtra and Gujarat during [[Krishna Janmashtami]], both in the memory of god Krishna who is also called ''makhan chor'' (literally, butter thief). This is a historic tradition of the Braj region as well as the western region of India.<ref name="Gellner2009">{{cite book|author=David Gellner|title=Ethnic Activism and Civil Society in South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N9CGAwAAQBAJ |year=2009|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-81-321-0422-3|pages=27–29}}</ref> An earthen pot filled with butter or other milk products is hung high by a rope. Groups of boys and men climb on each other's shoulders to form pyramids to reach and break it, while girls and women sing songs and throw coloured water on the pyramid to distract them and make their job harder.<ref>[http://www.holifestival.org/tradition-of-holi.html Tradition of Holi], Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India (2016)</ref> This ritual sport continues in Hindu diaspora communities.<ref>[http://www.houstonholi.com/assets/2014reduced.pdf Indo American News], Volume 33, No. 14, 4 April 2014, p. 5</ref>
 
Outside Braj, in the [[Kanpur]] area, Holi lasts seven days with colour. On the last day, a grand fair called ''Ganga Mela'' or the ''Holi Mela'' is celebrated. This ''Mela'' ([[fair]]) was started by freedom fighters who fought British rule in the [[First Indian War of Independence]] in 1857 under the leadership of [[Nana Saheb]]. The ''Mela'' is held at various [[ghats]] along the banks of the River [[Ganges|Ganga]] in Kanpur, to celebrate the Hindus and Muslims who together resisted the [[United Kingdom|British]] forces in the city in 1857. On the eve of Ganga Mela, all government offices, shops, and courts generally remain closed. The Ganga Mela marks the official end of "The Festival of Colours" or Holi in [[Kanpur]].{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}
 
In [[Gorakhpur]], the northeast district of Uttar Pradesh, the day of Holi starts with a special [[puja (Hinduism)|puja]]. This day, called "Holi Milan", is considered to be the most colourful day of the year, promoting brotherhood among the people.  People visit every house and sing Holi songs and express their gratitude by applying coloured powder ([[Abir|Abeer]]).
 
==== Uttarakhand ====
{{Main|Kumaoni Holi}}
[[Kumaoni people|Kumaoni]] Holi in [[Uttarakhand]] includes a musical affair. It takes different forms such as the Baithki Holi, the Khari Holi and the Mahila Holi. In Baithki Holi and Khari Holi, people sing songs with a touch of melody, fun, and spiritualism. These songs are essentially based on classical [[raga]]s. Baithki Holi (बैठकी होली), also known as ''Nirvan Ki Holi'', begins from the premises of temples, where ''Holiyars'' (होल्यार) sing Holi songs and people gather to participate, along with playing classical music. The songs are sung in a particular sequence depending on the time of day; for instance, at noon the songs are based on Peelu, Bhimpalasi and Sarang ragas, while evening songs are based on the ragas such as Kalyan, Shyamkalyan and Yaman. The '''Khari Holi''' (खड़ी होली) is mostly celebrated in the rural areas of Kumaon. The songs of the Khari Holi are sung by the people, who, sporting traditional white ''[[churidar]] payajama'' and ''[[kurta]]'', dance in groups to the tune of ethnic musical instruments such as the ''[[dhol]]'' and ''[[hurka]]''.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 March 2015 |title=kumaoni Holi Uttrakhand |url=https://www.euttarakhand.com/kumaon-ki-holi |website=euttarakhand.com}}</ref>
 
In the Kumaon region, the Holika pyre, known as ''Cheer'' (चीर), is ceremonially built in a ceremony known as ''Cheer Bandhan'' (चीर बंधन) fifteen days before Dulhendi. The ''Cheer'' is a bonfire with a green ''Paiya'' tree branch in the middle. The ''Cheer'' of every village and neighbourhood is rigorously guarded as rival ''[[mohalla]]s'' try to playfully steal each other's ''cheer''.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 March 2015 |title=kumaoni holi |url=https://www.euttarakhand.com/kumaon-ki-holi |website=euttarakhand.com}}</ref>
 
The colours used on Holi are derived from natural sources. Dulhendi, known as ''Charadi'' (छरड़ी) (from ''Chharad'' (छरड़)), is made from flower extracts, ash and water. Holi is celebrated with great gusto much in the same way all across North India.<ref>[http://www.euttaranchal.com/culture/fairs_festivals/kumaoni_holi.php Kumaoni Holi&nbsp;– Uttaranchal Fairs and Festivals]. Euttaranchal.com. Retrieved 21 March 2011.</ref>
 
==== West Bengal ====
In [[West Bengal]], Holi is known by the name of "Dol Jatra", "Dol Purnima" or the "Swing Festival". The festival is celebrated in a dignified manner by placing the icons of [[Radha]] and Krishna on a picturesquely decorated [[palanquin]] which is then taken round the main streets of the city or the village. On the [[Dol Purnima]] day in the early morning, students(mainly in Shantiniketan) dress up in saffron-coloured or pure white clothes and wear garlands of fragrant [[flowers]]. They sing and dance to the accompaniment of musical instruments, such as the [[ektara]], [[dubri]], and [[Veena]]. The devotees take turns to swing them while women dance around the swing and sing songs. During these activities, the people keep throwing coloured water and dry colours, [[abir]], at them.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
 
=== Nepal ===
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Holika Dahan, Kathamandu, Nepal.jpg|Preparing for Holika Dahan, Kathamandu, [[Nepal]].
Holi in Nepal 2016.JPG|Locals celebrating Holi in [[Kathmandu]], Nepal.
Two women celebrating Holi.jpg|Two women celebrating Holi in Kathmandu, Nepal.
</gallery>
Holi, along with many other Hindu festivals, is celebrated in Nepal as a national festival. It is an important major Nepal-wide festival along with [[Dashain]] and [[Tihar (festival)|Tihar]] ([[Dipawali]]).<ref name=northey80/> It is celebrated in the Nepali month of [[Falgun]] (Terai region celebrates on the same date as Indian Holi, while rest of the country celebrates it a day earlier), and signifies the legends of the Hindu god Krishna.<ref name=northey80>{{cite book|author1=William Brook Northey|author2=C. J. Morris|title=The Gurkhas: Their Manners, Customs, and Country|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aSaX09InyIoC&pg=PA80 |year=2001|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1577-9|pages=79–80}}</ref> Newar Buddhists and others worship Saraswati shrine in Vajrayogini temples and celebrate the festival with their Hindu friends.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bal Gopal Shrestha|title=The Sacred Town of Sankhu: The Anthropology of Newar Ritual, Religion and Society in Nepal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9EwsBwAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=978-1-4438-3825-2|pages=269, 240–241, 283–284}}</ref>
 
Traditional concerts are held in most cities in Nepal, including [[Kathmandu]], [[Narayangarh, Chitwan|Narayangarh]], [[Pokhara]], [[Itahari]], [[Hetauda]], and [[Dharan, Nepal|Dharan]], and are broadcast on television with various celebrity guests.
 
People walk through their neighbourhoods to celebrate Holi by exchanging colours and spraying coloured water on one another. A popular activity is the throwing of water balloons at one another, sometimes called ''lola'' (meaning water balloon).<ref>[http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2005/03/25/Arts/9 Happy Holi week] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123065021/http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2005/03/25/Arts/9 |date=23 January 2011 }}. ''Nepali Times''. Retrieved 21 March 2011.</ref> Many people mix ''[[bhang]]'' in their drinks and food, as is also done during [[Shivaratri]]. It is believed that the combination of different colours at this festival takes all sorrow away and makes life itself more colourful.
{{clear}}
 
=== Pakistan ===
<gallery>
File:Faces Smeared with Holi Colours.jpg|Faces smeared with Holi colours
</gallery>Holi is celebrated by the [[Pakistani Hindus|minority Hindu]] population in Pakistan. Community events by Hindus have been reported by Pakistani media in various cities such as [[Karachi]],<ref>[http://tribune.com.pk/story/527502/soaked-in-mirth-and-colour-hindu-community-celebrates-holi Soaked in mirth and colour, Hindu community celebrates Holi], Sarah Munir (28 March 2013) Tribune. Retrieved 7 January 2015</ref> [[Hazara, Pakistan|Hazara]],<ref>[http://tribune.com.pk/story/683709/after-the-death-of-an-elders-son-the-larkana-incident-and-other-factors-holi-in-peshawar-is-postponed-till-tuesday.html 'Holi ayi, Holi ayi': Hindus in Hazara celebrate the arrival of spring, the festival of love] (17 March 2014) Tribune. Retrieved 7 January 2015</ref> [[Rawalpindi]], [[Sindh]], [[Hyderabad, Sindh|Hyderabad]], [[Multan]] and [[Lahore]].<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/news/1093724/ Holi celebrations in Pakistan], (17 March 2014) Dawn. Retrieved 7 January 2015</ref> The Hindu tribes of Cholistan in the Punjab province of Pakistan play the game called Khido in the days leading up to the Holi. The game Khido is considered sacred by them as it is believed that Parhlad used to play this game during his childhood.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/367952/the-colours-of-holi-with-aboriginal-of-cholistan-desert/|title=The Colours of Holi with the Hindus of Cholistan|access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref>
 
Holi was not a public holiday in Pakistan from 1947 to 2016. Holi along with Diwali for Hindus, and Easter for Christians, was adopted as public holiday resolution by Pakistan's parliament in 2016, giving the local governments and public institutions the right to declare Holi as a holiday and grant leave for its minority communities, for the first time.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-parliament-adopts-resolution-for-Holi-Diwali-Easter-holidays/articleshow/51423609.cms Pakistan parliament adopts resolution for Holi, Diwali, Easter holidays], The Times of India (16 March 2016)</ref> This decision has been controversial, with some Pakistanis welcoming the decision, while others criticising it, with the concern that declaring Holi a public holiday advertises a Hindu festival to Pakistani children.<ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/1247663 How the public holiday on Holi underscores bigotry in Pakistan], Dawn, Sadia Khartoum (12 May 2016), Quote: "Today we are announcing a public holiday for Holi, tomorrow we will be telling everyone to read Ramayana!’” PSMA Chairman Sharafuz Zaman says(...) If someone wants to go play Holi, they can go ahead, Zaman goes on, but by declaring it a public holiday, we have advertised it in every home."</ref>
 
=== Indian diaspora ===
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Holi Festival Of Colorus London.jpg|Holi festival in London, UK near the [[Battersea Power Station]].
Richmond Hill Holi 2013 Drummers.JPG|Drummers of Indo-Caribbean community celebrating ''Phagwah'' (Holi) in New York City, 2013.
A celebration of Holi Festival of Colors, Utah United States 2013.jpg|A celebration of Holi Festival in the United States.
</gallery>
Over the years, Holi has become an important festival in many regions wherever [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian diaspora]] were either taken as [[Indian indenture system|indentured labourers]] during [[British Raj|colonial era]], or where they emigrated on their own, and are now present in large numbers such as in Africa, North America, Europe, Latin America, and parts of Asia such as Fiji.<ref name="online.wsj.com"/><ref name="Holi Festival of Colours"/><ref>[https://www.thepalaceonwheels.org/blog/holi-color-of-festival-celebrate-holi-in-rajasthan/ Holi Festival 2013] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324085401/http://www.gsofny.org/th_gallery/holi-festival/ |date=24 March 2016 }} Community Center of Gujarati Samaj, New York (2013)</ref><ref>[http://www.indianspice.co.za/2013/03/celebrate-holi-the-festival-of-color-and-unity/ Celebrate Holi: Durban] South Africa (2013)</ref>
 
==== Suriname ====
Holi is a national holiday in [[Suriname]]. It is called ''Phagwa'' festival, and is celebrated to mark the beginning of spring and Hindu mythology. In Suriname, Holi Phagwa is a festival of colour. It is customary to wear old white clothes on this day, be prepared to get them dirty and join in the colour throwing excitement and party.<ref>[http://www.surinameinsider.com/event/holi-phagwa-national-holiday/ Holi Phagwa] Suriname Insider (2012)</ref><ref>[http://suriname2013.com/reality/27-march-2013-festival-of-colors/ Phagwa – Festival of Colors] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914072453/http://suriname2013.com/reality/27-march-2013-festival-of-colors/ |date=14 September 2013 }} Independence Square in Paramaribo, Suriname (2013)</ref>
 
==== Trinidad and Tobago ====
Phagwa is celebrated with a lot of colour and splendour, along with the singing on traditional Phagwah songs or [[Chowtal]] (gana).
 
==== Guyana ====
Phagwah is a national holiday in [[Guyana]], and peoples of all races and religions participate in the celebrations.<ref>Ali, Arif (ed.), ''Guyana'' London: Hansib, 2008, p. 69</ref> The main celebration in [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]] is held at the Mandir in Prashad Nagar.<ref>Smock, Kirk, ''Guyana: the Bradt Travel Guide'', 2007, p. 24.</ref>
 
==== Fiji ====
Indo-Fijians celebrate Holi as the festival of colours, folksongs, and dances. The folksongs sung in [[Fiji]] during Holi season are called ''phaag gaaian''. Phagan, also written as Phalgan, is the last month of the Hindu calendar. Holi is celebrated on the full moon of Phagan. Holi marks the advent of spring and ripening of crops in Northern India. Not only it is a season of romance and excitement, folk songs and dances, it is also an occasion of playing with powder, perfumes, and colours. Many of the Holi songs in Fiji are around the theme of love-relationship between Radha and Krishna.<ref>[http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=168265 Holi, festival of colours] The Fiji Times (15 March 2011)</ref>
 
==== Mauritius ====
Holi in [[Mauritius]] comes close on the heels of Shivaratri. It celebrates the beginning of spring, commemorating good harvests and the fertile land. Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying spring's abundant colours and saying farewell to winter. It is considered one of the most exhilarating religious holidays in existence. During this event, participants hold a bonfire, throw coloured powder at each other, and celebrate wildly.<ref name="Holi Festival">[http://mauritius.genosy.com/economic/public-holidays/holi-festival/ Holi Festival] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806052619/http://mauritius.genosy.com/economic/public-holidays/holi-festival/ |date=6 August 2014 }} Mauritius (2011)</ref>
 
==== United States ====
Holi is celebrated in many US states by mainly [[Asian Americans]], particularly those with [[Indian Americans|Indian ancestry]]. It is usually hosted in Hindu temples or cultural halls. Members of Hindu associations and volunteers assist in hosting the event along with temple devotees. Some of the places known to celebrate Holi are [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]] (NJ), [[Spanish Fork, Utah|Spanish Fork]] (Utah), [[Houston]] (TX), [[Dallas]] (TX), [[South El Monte, California|South El Monte]] (CA), [[Milpitas, California|Milpitas]] (CA), [[Boston]] (MA), [[Potomac, Maryland|Potomac]] (MD), and [[Chicago]] (IL).<ref>{{cite web |title=Holi celebration in abroad |url=https://www.holifestival.org/holi-in-usa.html |website=holifestival.org}}</ref>
 
==== Indonesia ====
In Indonesia, [[Indian Indonesians]] and [[Hindu|Hindu people]] celebrate Holi as festival of colours. The main celebrations are in [[Medan]] and [[Bali]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kumparan.com/@kumparannews/warna-warni-festival-holi-di-denpasar-bali|title=Warna-warni Festival Holi di Denpasar Bali|website=kumparan}}</ref>
 
Sometimes the Indian immigrants from other countries may also celebrate a small-scale version of Holi.
 
{{anchor|Traditional Holi}}
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== Holi colours ==
[[File:Dhak (Butea monosperma) flowers in Kolkata W IMG 4219.jpg|left|thumb|Flowers of Dhak or [[Palash]] are used to make traditional colours.]]
 
=== Traditional sources of colours ===
The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. The playful throwing of natural coloured powders, called [[gulal]] has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of [[neem]], [[kumkum]], [[Turmeric|haldi]], [[bilva]], and other medicinal herbs suggested by [[Ayurveda|Āyurvedic]] doctors.
 
Many colours are obtained by mixing primary colours. Artisans produce and sell many of the colours from natural sources in dry powder form, in weeks and months preceding Holi. Some of the traditional natural plant-based sources of colours are:<ref name="keholi"/><ref>[http://www.holifestival.org/holi-natural-colors.html Holi colors] Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India (2009)</ref><ref>[http://www.purcolour.com/faq/gulalholi-faq Celebration powders (Gulal/Holi)] Purcolor (2010)</ref>
 
==== Orange and red ====
The flowers of [[Butea monosperma|palash]] or tesu tree, also called the flame of the forest, are typical source of bright red and deep orange colours. Powdered fragrant red [[sandalwood]], dried [[hibiscus]] flowers, [[Rubia|madder tree]], [[radish]], and [[pomegranate]] are alternate sources and shades of red. Mixing [[Calcium hydroxide|lime]] with [[turmeric]] powder creates an alternate source of orange powder, as does boiling [[saffron]] (kesar) in water.
 
==== Green ====
[[Mehndi|Mehendi]] and dried leaves of [[gulmohur]] tree offer a source of green colour. In some areas, the leaves of spring crops and herbs have been used as a source of green pigment.
 
==== Yellow ====
[[File:Holi shop.jpg|thumb|Colours for Holi on sale at a market in [[Mysore]]]]
''Haldi'' (turmeric) powder is the typical source of yellow colour. Sometimes this is mixed with [[chickpea]] (gram) or other flour to get the right shade. [[Aegle marmelos|Bael]] fruit, [[amaltas]], species of [[chrysanthemum]]s, and species of [[Tagetes|marigold]] are alternate sources of yellow.
 
==== Blue ====
[[Indigofera|Indigo plant]], [[Indian Berry|Indian berries]], species of [[Vitis|grapes]], blue hibiscus, and [[jacaranda]] flowers are traditional sources of blue colour for Holi.
 
==== Magenta and purple ====
[[Beetroot]] is the traditional source of magenta and purple colour. Often these are directly boiled in water to prepare coloured water.
 
==== Brown ====
Dried [[tea]] leaves offer a source of brown coloured water. Certain [[clay]]s are alternate source of brown.
 
==== Black ====
Species of grapes, fruits of [[Phyllanthus emblica|amla]] (gooseberry) and [[vegetable carbon]] (charcoal) offer grey to black colours.
 
===Synthetic colours===
Natural colours were used in the past to celebrate Holi safely by applying [[turmeric]], [[sandalwood]] paste, extracts of flowers and leaves. As the spring-blossoming trees that once supplied the colours used to celebrate Holi have become rarer, chemically produced industrial dyes have been used to take their place in almost all of urban India. Due to the commercial availability of attractive pigments, slowly the natural colours are replaced by synthetic colours. As a result, it has caused mild to severe symptoms of skin irritation and inflammation. Lack of control over the quality and content of these colours is a problem, as they are frequently sold by vendors who do not know their source.
 
==Holi powder==
 
=== Health impact ===
A 2007 study found that [[malachite green]], a synthetic bluish-green dye used in some colours during Holi festival, was responsible for severe eye irritation in Delhi, if eyes were not washed upon exposure. Though the study found that the pigment did not penetrate through the cornea, malachite green is of concern and needs further study.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.06.046| pmid=16904259|title = Ocular hazards of the colors used during the festival-of-colors (Holi) in India—Malachite green toxicity| journal=Journal of Hazardous Materials| volume=139| issue=2| pages=204–208|year = 2007|last1 = Velpandian|first1 = T.| last2=Saha| first2=K.| last3=Ravi| first3=A.K.| last4=Kumari| first4=S.S.| last5=Biswas| first5=N.R.| last6=Ghose| first6=S.}}</ref>
 
Another 2009 study reports that some colours produced and sold in India contain metal-based industrial dyes, causing an increase in skin problems to some people in the days following Holi. These colours are produced in India, particularly by small informal businesses, without any quality checks and are sold freely in the market. The colours are sold without labelling, and the consumer lacks information about the source of the colours, their contents, and possible toxic effects. In recent years, several non-governmental organisations have started campaigning for safe practices related to the use of colours. Some are producing and marketing ranges of safer colours derived from natural sources such as vegetables and flowers.<ref>Ghosh, S. K., Bandyopadhyay, D., Chatterjee, G., & Saha, D. (2009), The ‘Holi’ dermatoses: Annual spate of skin diseases following the spring festival in India. ''Indian journal of dermatology''. 54(3), 240</ref>
 
These reports have galvanised a number of groups into promoting more natural celebrations of Holi. [[Development Alternatives Group|Development Alternatives, Delhi]]'s CLEAN India campaign,<ref>{{cite web|title=CLEAN India campaign|url=http://www.cleanindia.org/btonature/holi.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423111307/http://www.cleanindia.org/btonature/holi.htm|archive-date=23 April 2013}}</ref> [[Kalpavriksh|Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group, Pune]],<ref>{{cite web|title=The safe Holi campaign|url=https://kalpavriksh.org/f1/f1.4/GAholi1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070326041336/http://www.kalpavriksh.org/f1/f1.4/GAholi1|archive-date=26 March 2007}}</ref> Society for Child Development through its Avacayam Cooperative Campaign<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sfcdindia.org |title=Society For Child Development |publisher=Sfcdindia.org |access-date=23 September 2013}}</ref> have launched campaigns to help children learn to make their own colours for Holi from safer, natural ingredients. Meanwhile, some commercial companies such as the National Botanical Research Institute have begun to market "herbal" dyes, though these are substantially more expensive than the dangerous alternatives. However, it may be noted that many parts of rural India have always resorted to natural colours (and other parts of festivities more than colours) due to availability.
 
In urban areas, some people wear nose masks and sunglasses to avoid inhaling pigments and to prevent chemical exposure to eyes.<ref>[http://www.taelon.co.uk/holi-festival/ Holi Festival] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503151005/http://www.taelon.co.uk/holi-festival/ |date=3 May 2015 }} What to wear? UK (2012)</ref>
 
===Environmental impact===
An alleged environmental issue related to the celebration of Holi is the traditional Holika bonfire, which is believed to contribute to deforestation. Activists estimate Holika 30,000 bonfires every year during Holi, with each one burning approximately 100 kilograms (220.46 lbs) of wood.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/40597284.cms | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=No real attempt to save trees | date=17 March 2003}}</ref> This represents less than 0.0001% of 350 million tons of wood India consumes every year, as one of the traditional fuels for cooking and other uses.<ref>Swaminathan and Varadharaj, [http://www.iufro.org/download/file/3514/4376/20903-losbanos2001-3_pdf/ The status of firewood in India], IUFRO Symposium Proceedings (2003), pp. 150–156</ref>
 
The use of heavy metal-based pigments during Holi is also reported to cause temporary [[wastewater]] pollution, with the water systems recovering to pre-festival levels within 5 days.<ref>Tyagi, V. K., Bhatia, A., Gaur, R. Z., Khan, A. A., Ali, M., Khursheed, A., & Kazmi, A. A. (2012), Effects of multi-metal toxicity on the performance of sewage treatment system during the festival of colours (Holi) in India, Environmental monitoring and assessment, 184(12), pp. 7517–7529</ref>
 
===Application===
During traditional Holi celebrations in India, Rinehart writes, colours are exchanged in person by "tenderly applying coloured powder to another person's cheek", or by spraying and dousing others with buckets of coloured water.<ref>{{cite book | last=Rinehart | first=Robin | title=Contemporary Hinduism ritual, culture, and practice | year=2004 | isbn=978-1-57607-905-8 | page=137}}</ref>
 
==Influence on other cultures==
[[File:Holi Festival of Colors Utah, United States 2013.jpg|thumb|Holi celebrated at the [[Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (Spanish Fork)|Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple]] in [[Utah]], [[United States]].]]
Holi is celebrated as a social event in parts of the United States.<ref name="Festival of Colors: Holi NYC">{{cite web|url=http://festivalofcolors.org|title=Festival of Colors – Holi NYC 2016|work=[[Festival of Colors: Holi NYC]]}}</ref> For example, at [[Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (Spanish Fork)|Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple]] in [[Spanish Fork, Utah]], ''NYC Holi Hai'' in [[Manhattan]], [[New York (state)|New York]]<ref name="NYC Holi Hai">{{cite web|url=http://nycholi.com|title=NYC Holi Hai 2016}}</ref> and ''Festival of Colors: Holi NYC'' in [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]],<ref name="Festival of Colors: Holi NYC"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Spinelli |first1=Lauren |last2=Editors |first2=Time Out |url=http://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/check-out-the-multi-colored-fun-at-this-years-holi-party |title=Check out the multi-colored fun at this year's Holi party |work=[[Time Out New York]] |location=New York City |date=9 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514222728/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/check-out-the-multi-colored-fun-at-this-years-holi-party |archive-date=14 May 2015 |access-date=23 February 2016 |quote=Ker-pow! Just when you thought spring couldn't look any more spectacular, Brooklyn hosted its annual Festival of Colors celebration at the Cultural Performing Arts Center (May 9). Partygoers flung paint powder around with gleeful abandon while grooving the day and night away, and as you'll see from our photos, this year's bash was one of the most gloriously messy spring events in NYC.  }}</ref> Holi is celebrated as the Festival of Color, where thousands of people gather from all over the United States, play and mingle.<ref name=wpnonhindus>{{cite news |last=Lyford |first=Chris |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/hindu-spring-festivals-increase-in-popularity-and-welcome-non-hindus/2013/04/05/d4828e00-9bf4-11e2-9a79-eb5280c81c63_story.html |title=Hindu spring festivals increase in popularity and welcome non-Hindus |work=[[The Washington Post]] |location=New York City |date=5 April 2013 |access-date=23 February 2016 |quote=Despite what some call the reinvention of Holi, the simple fact that the festival has transcended cultures and brings people together is enough of a reason to embrace the change, others say. In fact, it seems to be in line with many of the teachings behind Holi festivals. }}</ref><ref name="Festival of Colors: Holi NYC"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Muncy |first=C.S. |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/portraits-from-holi-nyc-6305683 |title=Portraits From Holi NYC |work=[[The Village Voice]] |location=New York City |date=4 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801065544/http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/portraits-from-holi-nyc-6305683 |archive-date=1 August 2015 |access-date=23 February 2016 |quote=Holi Hai, also known as the Festival of Colors, celebrates the coming of spring, the joy of friendship, and equality for all. Held on Saturday, May 3, 2014 at the Yard @ C-PAC (Cultural Performing Arts Center) in Brooklyn, thousands of participants joined in to dance and generally cover each other in colored powder. The powders used in Holi represent happiness, love, and the freedom to live vibrantly. }}</ref>
 
===Holi-inspired events===
A number of Holi-inspired social events have also surfaced, particularly in Europe and the United States, often organised by companies as for-profit or charity events with paid admission, and with varying scheduling that does not coincide with the actual Holi festival. These have included Holi-inspired [[music festival]]s such as the [[Festival Of Colours Tour]] and Holi One<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to HOLI ONE |url= http://www.holione.com/en/home.html |work= Holi One |location= Birmingham, England |access-date= 21 October 2016 | quote=Thousands of people, dressed in white, come together to share in music, dance, performance art and visual stimulation. Holi One brings this unforgettable experience to cities all around the world. }}</ref> (which feature timed throws of Holi powder), and [[5K run]] franchises such as [[The Color Run]], Holi Run and Color Me Rad,<ref name= sanjosecom-colormerad>{{cite web |title=Color Me Rad 5K Run |url= http://www.sanjose.com/2012/08/27/color_me_rad_5k_run/ |publisher= SanJose.com |access-date=6 March 2015}}</ref> in which participants are doused with the powder at per-kilometre checkpoints.<ref name=colorrun-aljazeera>{{cite news |title=Hindu Holi festival shows its colours in UK |url= http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/08/hindu-holi-festival-shows-colours-uk-201482295351137251.html |access-date=6 March 2015 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera]]}}</ref><ref name=wsj-holifight/> The [[BiH Color Festival]] is a Holi-inspired [[electronic music festival]] held annually in [[Brčko]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.6yka.com/novost/126379/oboji-svoje-ljeto-uz-bih-color-festival-28.-i-29.-jula-u-brckom|title=Oboji svoje ljeto uz BiH Color Festival 28. i 29. jula u Brčkom|date=13 July 2017|publisher=6yka.com|language=bs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiobrcko.ba/bih-color-festival-po-drugi-put-u-brckom/|title=BiH Color Festival po drugi put u Brčkom|date=25 July 2017|publisher=otisak.ba|language=bs|access-date=17 April 2018|archive-date=18 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418161233/http://radiobrcko.ba/bih-color-festival-po-drugi-put-u-brckom/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
There have been concerns that these events [[Cultural appropriation|appropriate]] and trivialise aspects of Holi for commercial gain—downplaying or completely ignoring the cultural and spiritual roots of the celebration.<ref name=colorrun-aljazeera/><ref name=wsj-holifight/> Organisers of these events have argued that the costs are to cover various key aspects of their events, such as safe colour powders, safety and security, and entertainment.<ref name=wsj-holifight>{{cite news |title=A Spring Celebration of Love Moves to the Fall – and Turns Into a Fight |url= https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304795804579096813960372646 |access-date=6 March 2015 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>
 
==See also==
{{Portal|Hinduism|India|Holidays}}
*{{Annotated link|Kha b-Nisan}}
* {{Annotated link|Midsummer}}
* {{Annotated link|Nowruz}}
* {{Annotated link|Songkran (Thailand)}}, famous for ritualised public water fights
 
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
 
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}


== References ==
<references />
==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.policyholder.gov.in/uploads/CEDocuments/Holi%20is%20coming.pdf How to practice safe Holi], Government of India
* [https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2011/mar/22/religion-hinduism Holi in pictures from ''The Guardian'']
* [http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/holi-festival/?ar_a=1 Festival of Colors] National Geographic Education


{{Sister project links|b=no|v=no|voy=no|species=no|q=no|n=no|s=no|d=Q10259}}
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{{Commons category|Holi}}
{{Sindhi festivals}}
{{HinduFestivals}}
{{Hindudharma}}
{{West Bengal}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Holi| ]]
[[Category:Hindu festivals]]
[[Category:Hindu festivals]]
[[Category:Culture of India]]
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