Many people here have written about this topic. I will go into details about the legend and the celebration. So, Here's my take about the coolest festival I know.
Holi!
signifies the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships. It is also celebrated as a Thanksgiving for a good harvest. It lasts for two days starting on the Full Moon day falling in the Vikram Samvat Hindu Calendar month of Falgun, which falls somewhere between the end of February and the middle of March in the Gregorian calendar.
The Legend behind it
There are two legends about Holi.
1. There was once a king by the name of Hiran Kashyap [He-run-kush-yup] who had conquered all the discovered lands. He was so egoistic that he commanded everybody in his kingdom to worship only him. But to his disappointment, his son, Prahlad [Preh-laad] became an ardent devotee of Vishnu and refused to worship his father.
Hiran Kashyap tried several ways to kill his son Prahlad but Vishnu intervened every time. Finally, he asked his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika had a cloak that made her invulnerable to fire.
There are some variations in the story.
By some accounts, Prahlad remained unaffected, again due of Vishnu's intervention, while Holika's cloak flew off due to a strong wind.
Other sources say that the cloak worked only for one person. Some say that the cloak was intended to save and Holika's intent to kill rendered it ineffective.
Some sources said that Holika immediately realised her mistake and decided to stay in the fire as penance.
All this happened in the full moon of Vikram Samvat, month of Falgun according to Hindu calendar. Therefore the name, Holi.
2. The idea behind the colour party comes from the legend of Krishn [Krih-shnn] and Radha. The deity fell in love with Radha, his playmate and childhood (girl)friend. But was concerned about differences in their skin colour, his being tanned and her being fair. His mother advised him to playfully paint her face and his own with colours to overcome their differences.
Lovers today continue the tradition by making sure their own faces match when the colours begins to be thrown.
The Celebration
Combining the two legends and the coming of spring, the festival as we know it came to be celebrated.
Holi is celebrated in the following countries.
India, Nepal, Mauritius, UK, US, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji, Australia even UAE. However, Goa is the best place for the fest.
Another amazing thing about the festival is the food and the dope.
Here are some traditional festive foods. All of it is vegetarian.
Traditional snacks
Traditional Sweets
Traditional 'Medicines'
Cannabis Lassi
The worst alcoholic drink (poison, practically)
And even raw, medicine!
So if Holi is celebrated in your turf as well, then this
is how things will look by the end of the day.
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