Holi, The Festival Of Colours, And Its Significance For Indians

Come tomorrow and the whole country of India will erupt in a deluge of colours, celebrating one of its most popular festivals, Holi. India is known for its festivals and the festival of holi these days has transcended all man made borders and is celebrated in many places around the globe. And these celebrations are so filled with colours that they make the whole occasion joyous and even the depressed can feel uplifted for the day at least!

But what is Holi? And why do the Indians celebrate it with so much enthusiasm that even other cultures are lured into celebrating it? I shall try to explain the significance of this great festival as a religious ceremony, as well as, its temporal appeal.

Holi, for most, is what they see. A celebration to usher in spring, and the abundance which nature brings, in its display of colours. This is mimicked by people with an assortment of colours and for this one day, everybody indulges and covers himself with paint, to celebrate the onset of the season which will give them sustenance for the year.

Women covered with colours during Holi [Photo]
As a celebration of the fertility of mother earth itself, it could be seen as a cultural thing, but as most culture in India have a religious connection, the festival has it too. And though it is based on the Hindu religion, it is today celebrated by the whole country without regard to its religious roots, and is one of the festivals, besides Diwali, which unifies the nation as one.

Some may not know, but the religious part of this great festival actually starts a few days earlier. Called Lathmar Holi, certain areas of the country associated with the Hindu God, Krishna and his consort Radha, start to celebrate a few days in advance. "Lathmar" basically means to hit with a stick, and it has been a tradition that women do a symbolic "beating" of men folk in their home.

This is most prominent in the area of Mathura, where the women of the village of Barsana, the birth place of Radha, gather around the Radha Rani temple and symbolically "beat" up the menfolk from the village of Nandgaon, the birth place of the Hindu God Krishna, with sticks in in response to their efforts to throw colour on them to welcome the season of spring.

The festival is also a closely calculated as per astronomical observations to coincide with the Vernal equinox, but as most calculations are based on the Vikramaditya calendar, a lunar calendar, it falls on different days every year as per the solar calendar which is used extensively around the world. In fact all religious calculations in India are based on this calendar despite the fact the western calendar is used in a day to day setting.

And as relatively new user on Steemit, I would like to wish the community a happy holi, and I hope this festival will help bring about awareness of the wonders of nature, and its display of glorious colours!