By Dr. Dowlat R. Budhram
ON March 17 and 18, Indians, particularly Hindus, will celebrate Holi all over the world. There are several aspects to Holi that are explained below. Depending where it is celebrated, one or more of these aspects are given greater emphasis. While it is an important event in Indian religious history, it is one of the Hindu festivals that is as old as the world itself, linked to nature and the cosmic cycle itself.

From a historical standpoint, festivals have an important place in the religious, cultural and social life of every nation. They are celebrated with festivities, pomp and splendor and adds some spice to the daily life of the ordinary citizen. They keep a nation inspired, unified and alive, and promote the national pride. The actual day (or days) of celebration is preceded with a range of activities that include cleanliness of the home and surroundings, burning of trash, decorations of colour, preparation of special clothing and a change of dress, preparation of special foods, and even special prayers.

Basically, there are three kinds of festivals in the Hindu calendar: religious festivals such as Deepavali or Diwali, Shivaratri, and Shravani in which special prayers are offered, the recitation of scriptures and fasting, etc. are done; national festivals that revolve around great personalities of the nation such as Ramnaumi, Krishna Jayanti, Gandhi Jayanti, etc.; and seasonal festivals that are a result of changes in nature that affect man, such as a change in season due to planetary movements. Festivals such as Holi, Deepavali and Vasant Panchami fall also in this last category.

COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE
Man is a product of nature. His physical, mental, psychological and spiritual being is conditioned by and subjected to the cycles of planetary movements, in which the orbiting of the earth and the moon gives rise to the Hindu calendar, that covers the seasons, the months and the days and nights. These cycles of nature have tremendous effects on weather patterns and the human mind and his well-being, animal and plant species, and the foods that are produced and eaten by them. For these reasons, the Panchang (the Hindu calendar that involves elaborate mathematical calculations and deep understanding of astronomical phenomena) gives us information on how we should live in harmony with our environment, by optimally utilising this calendar to plan important events in our life. There are many prayers and mantras of the Vedas that exhort us to live our daily life in a manner that is harmonious with nature and the cosmic principles.

Historically, the Gregorian calendar that is normally used today is given second place to the traditional solar and lunar calendars, which link our community with the earth, the seasons and rainfall, day/night cycle and cosmic changes. The Hindu New Year starts on the new moon before the sun enters the zodiac sign of Aries. This happens on or around the day of the March equinox and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Holi heralds the arrival of spring after winter and is celebrated in the spring season because it is the welcoming of spring.

Holi begins about 10 days before the full moon of the month Phalgun (February-March), but is usually observed for the last two or three days, terminating with the full moon. This is the spring festival of the Hindus. The new year in India therefore begins not in the middle of winter, but at the spring equinox. After this the days tend to grow longer and the cosmic energy reaching the earth increases accordingly. Holi spans the junction of the old and new year, beginning at the previous new moon and climaxing at the full moon closest to the spring equinox. This is the most favorable conjunction of solar and lunar energies. It is important to note also that in many cultures festivals are celebrated at the equinoxes.

SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE
Holi is an ancient Hindu festival, which later became popular among non-Hindu communities as well. This great Indian festival lasts for a day and a night, which starts in the evening of Purnima or the Full Moon Day in the month of Phalgun, the beginning of Chaitra. It’s a two-day holiday in some places that is celebrated with much enthusiasm. The festival always falls on Purnima, or the day of the full moon; the day of the March full moon is Holika Dahan. It signifies the victory of good over evil and is celebrated as a day of spreading happiness and love. The festival is also celebrated as thanksgiving for a good harvest.

Holi is the festival of colours; bright colours that are a reflection of the spring season when flowers bloom and plants and trees take on a new life. The different colours are symbolic of the colours and essence of nature. Green represents a new year, the new beginnings in life; yellow is the colour of turmeric, a powder that is native to India that is used as a natural remedy; red symbolises love and fertility; blue represents the Hindu God Krishna, a colour played by the gopis.

It is said that Holi got its name as the “Festival of Colours” from the childhood antics of Lord Krishna in which he played games on village girls by drenching them in water and colours. Today’s celebration is marked also by people pouring coloured water on each other, and many types of sweets and other food are prepared and shared with family and friends.

In the scriptures, it is said that the name Holi is derived from the destruction of a demoness named Holika that was made possible with the help of the Hindu god, Lord Vishnu. The destruction of Holika is mentioned in the Narada Purana. Holika’s brother, the demon King Hiranyakashyapu, apparently wanted to kill his son, Prahlad, because he (Prahlad) followed Lord Vishnu rather than worship his father. It was believed that Holika couldn’t be harmed by fire, so the King asked his sister to sit in the fire with Prahlad in her arms. However, she was burnt to death and Prahlad was saved due to his devotion to Lord Vishnu, who protected him. On the eve of Holi, large bonfires are lit to mark the occasion known as Holika Dahan. Before the bonfire is lit, a special puja is performed to keep children healthy and safe from evil influences. As well as conducting a special puja, people sing and dance around the fire, and walk around it three times.

UNIVERSAL TRADITION
Holi is a truly popular festival in all senses of the word, being celebrated with much enjoyment by people around the world. It is a universal spectacle and very ancient, having its counterpart in some of the oldest human cultures. In countries where Indians have settled (the U.S., Canada, Europe, Malaysia, Fiji, Mauritius, the Caribbean, etc.), Holi is celebrated more or less the same way that it is done in India. In North America, the ‘festival of dreams’ is celebrated in a similar way among the Iraqois Indians in March to mark the new year. The ceremonies extend for a couple of weeks and it is a time of general freedom for people to vent their anger and old scores and smear others with ashes.

The Slavs of eastern Europe also begin their new year in March, as do many other European peoples. As in India, this was linked with the sun, the moon and the crops. In northern and central Europe, the Easter fire ceremonies still commemorate this tradition with huge bonfires like those that blaze during Holi. On the evening of Easter Saturday trees that are cut down for the event are ignited and children use the ashes to blacken themselves and the clothes of the adults. There are variations also of this festival in all parts of Germany and Holland, while in Sweden bonfires are lit on hills and high places.

In some parts of Europe, especially in Catholic countries, a wooden figure is burned on a consecrated bonfire. The figure is called Judas, after the traitor who sold Christ to his enemies, and it personifies sin and betrayal exactly as does Holika. Just as the fire is called Holika in India, the bonfire is called Judas in some parts of Europe. Chinese throughout Asia celebrate the new year in March with their own ‘Festival of Colour’. People wear masks and dance in procession behind an elaborate dragon; bonfires are lit and fireworks are in abundance. One finds a similar festival in Indonesia where there are Indian and Chinese influences.

Holi is truly a global festival reflecting man’s deepest urge towards becoming a “holy” and a wholly human being. The various myths and legends associated with this festival season have a common theme – a confirmation of faith in the divine potential of mankind and a verification of the power of faith over faithlessness. The story of Prahlad is a confirmation of faith. Through communion with the spark of God within us, we will be untouched by the flames of worldly attachment and delusion, and we will emerge untouched by evil and in joyful awareness of the divine within and without us.