Holi Festival 2021

Holi Festival of India

The Holi festival of India is one of the most famous festivals that draw crowds from all over the world, so that they can take advantage of the festive date, to enjoy this amazing gathering

Holi is celebrated in February or March every year starting on the evening of the Purnima (Full Moon day) falling in the Phalguna, a month in the Hindu calendar.

Holi and Holika Dahan Puja Timing (Auspicious Muhurat)

Holika Dahan on Sunday, March 28, 2021
Holika Dahan Muhurta – 06:37 PM to 08:56 PM
Duration – 02 Hours 20 Mins
Rangwali Holi on Monday, March 29, 2021

History of Holi Festival in India

Holi is strongly rooted in Hindu folklore, and there are many legends connected with the festival.

Story of Holika

Holika Dahan comes from the story of Prahlad, a devoted worshipper of Vishnu, and his father Hiranyakashipu. It displeased Hiranyakashipu that his own son would worship Vishnu over him.

When he wanted to get rid of his son, Hiranyaksha had his sister Holika (who had received a boon from Brahma) join a burning fire with Prahlad in her lap.

There is a legend that says that Prahlad was saved because of his unwavering faith in God, whereas Holika paid the price for her extremely sinister desire. Most of the ‘Holika Dahan’ or Holika burning tradition can be traced to this legend. The main theme of Holi is celebrating the triumph of good over evil.

Story of Radha and Krishna

The other story mostly related to Holi is the story of Krishna and Radha. Krishna is often portrayed with blue eyes—his skin turned blue as a boy when he drank poisonous milk from the demon Putana, according to Hindu mythology.

Krishna fell in love with Radha, but he was worried that Radha would not feel the same way because of his skin. Radha let Krishna add colour to her skin, and she became a couple.

Krishna’s rituals spawned the custom of the “playing Holi” festival, in which the revelers imitated his color-spreading acts.

All these legends help the people to follow good conduct in their lives and believe in the virtue of being truthful.

Holi, the Festival of Colors:

To celebrate Holi in North and Western India, festivities begin the following morning after the Holi bonfire.

Children and young people form groups armed with dry colors, colored solution and water guns (pichkaris), water balloons filled with colored water, and other imaginative ways of coloring their targets.

The desire to be the first to colour someone is something that every person develops. Even the victims of the resulting colors-war are not just drowned in colors of gulal but in the sheer force of the feeling of love.

The legend of Lathmar Holi:

As the legend of Lathmar Holi goes, while he was in Barsana to see Radha for Holi, Lord Krishna teased Radha and her friends.

The women challenged and pursued him with sticks to give him a hard lesson. And so to this day, women chase away men from Nandgaon who visit Barsana.

Summary:

What is remarkably the same across the country is the spirit of Holi. One of the most remarkable things about Holi is how enthusiastic and care-free it is. It is purely a day of fun nobody is expected to take offense to, as the norm of the day is, ‘Bura na mano Holi hai’.