Holi is a spring festival, also known as the festival of colors, welcoming the advent of spring season, which usually falls in the month of February or March. It is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in Nepal and parts of the world with a sizable Hindu population.
The celebration starts with Holika Dahan, the burning of an effigy of demons Holika. The burning of the effigy is done the night before and people sing and dance around the bonfire. The name of the festival ‘Holi’ is derived from the demoness ‘Holika’ who tricked her nephew – Prahlad- into a burning pyre to kill him since Prahlad was a great devotee of Vishnu but was hated by his father Hiranyakasyap. It is said that Holika had worn a protective cloak while Prahlad was vulnerable to fire, but as the fire raged the cloak flew from Holika and wrapped around Prahlad saving him while his aunt burnt to death.
The next day is the beginning of the festival and people celebrate with colors, water-filled balloons and water guns to apply color on each other. It is free for all celebration for all ages and apart from drinking alcohol, a special intoxicating herb known as ‘bhang’ is widely consumed. On this day, bands of young boys and girls splashed with color roam around the city streets while many city corners and open spaces are filled with dancing and regaling people to loud music.
The vermillion red powder is traditionally the color of the festival, though nowadays you will find all assortments of colors being sold on the streets. The color sellers in the shops and streets are busy all day being swamped with customers from old to young giving a very good business.
