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Why Celebrate Holi ?

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P.J.

P.J.

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This year Holi Festival falls on 6 th March 2015



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Why Celebrate Holi?


The festival of Holi can be regarded as a celebration of the Colors of Unity & Brotherhood - an opportunity to forget all differences and indulge in unadulterated fun. It has traditionally been celebrated in high spirit without any distinction of cast, creed, color, race, status or sex. It is one occasion when sprinkling colored powder ('gulal') or colored water on each other breaks all barriers of discrimination so that everyone looks the same and universal brotherhood is reaffirmed. This is one simple reason to participate in this colorful festival. Let's learn more about its history and significance.


What is 'Phagwah'?

'Phagwah' is derived from the name of the Hindu month 'Phalgun', because it is on the full moon in the month of Phalgun that Holi is celebrated. The month of Phalgun ushers India in Spring when seeds sprout, flowers bloom and the country rises from winter's slumber.


Meaning of 'Holi'

'Holi' comes from the word 'hola', meaning to offer oblation or prayer to the Almighty as Thanksgiving for good harvest. Holi is celebrated every year to remind people that those who love God shall be saved and they who torture the devotee of God shall be reduced to ashes a la the mythical character Holika.


The Legend of Holika

Holi is also associated with the Puranic story of Holika, the sister of demon-king Hiranyakashipu. The demon-king punished his son, Prahlad in a variety of ways to denounce Lord Narayana. He failed in all his attempts. Finally, he asked his sister Holika to take Prahlad in her lap and enter a blazing fire. Holika had a boon to remain unburned even inside fire. Holika did her brother's bidding. However, Holika's boon ended by this act of supreme sin against the Lord's devotee and was burnt to ashes. But Prahlad came out unharmed.

Enjoy Holi - The Festival of Colors

2015 Holi, Rangwali Holi, Dhulandi, date for Lansing, Michigan, United States
 
Dear RR ji,


Its time for Holi...I am reminded of the song "Why this Holi-veri, Holi-veri, Holi-veri Ji"LOL
 
Jains are also celebrating Holi. Hence, it is not exclusive Hindu festival. There is no clear history attached to this festival.
 
as a delhi tamil brahmin I celebrate holi with full enthusiasm.

it is predominantly hindu festival .

the story of holika is the reason given for celbration of holi.

in addition to spraying of colours -both dry and wet, there is burning of holika effigy in fire in the evening.

with holi winter normally definitely treated as over though basant panchami is earlier.

this year because of board exams after 2 march , poor 10th and 12 class students canot enjoy . most parents are

afraid ,they will fall sick.besides H1N1 scare is likely to prevent people hugging each other in holi
 
Holi is a festival of colours - to enjoy the Rainbow colours you have to be colou blind !! - then you wont be seeing red only More on this in the next post No 6
 
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Holi Ke Peechay kya hai - Holi ke peechay !!

This story of Krishna's play of pranks! Be color blind You wont see Red !!


Now, let us look into the face of it. How did the celebration of Holi assume a colorful face? Well, it is linked to yet another legend, the legends of Krishna. Though of much later origin, still, it was in the pre-Christian era.

According to the Hindu belief, Krishna was a reincarnation of lord Vishnu himself. It was Krishna, or, Krishns, the king of the ancient city of Dwarka, who popularised the tradition of Holi. The origin of the colorful and frolicking tone of Holi lies in the boyhood of Krishna. It all came up as part of his pranks, he used to play with his boyhood mates of Gokul and Vrindavan. Situated in north India, these are the places where he spent his childhood.

It was at this time of year, Krishna used to play pranks by drenching the village girls, with water and colors. At first it offended the girls. But they were so fond of this mischievous boy that soon their anger melted away. And, it did not take long for other boys to join in, making it a popular sport in the village. Later, as Krishna grew up, the play assumed a new dimension. It added more colors to Krishna's legendary love life. The legend of Krishna's courtship with Radha, and playing pranks with the 'Gopi's. The girls in the 'dairy' village of Gokul were mostly milkmaids, and, hence locally known as the Gopis. The same tradition has transpired through the ages, turning it into a community festival of the masses. As time kept flowing, the culture spread roots to other regions of the country. The Holi play of Krishna is documented in hundreds of ancient paintings, murals, sculptures and scriptures found across the subcontinent.
Read more at History Of Holi
 
No offence to anyone !

Holi festival is a Mughal origin, is also known as Eid-e-Gulabi or Aab-e-Pashi & was promoted under the King Akbar/Shahjahan !! Jahangir is shown as playing Holi with Noorjahan in some paintings.

Mirza Sangi Baig in Sair-ul-Manazil states that Holi groups splashed different colors on their faces in orange, yellow, etc..

That’s why Holi is celebrated only in the North, & it was/is unknown in south till date!
 
The legend commemorated by the festival of Holi involves an evil king named Hiranyakashipu. He forbade his son Prahlad from worshipping Vishnu, but Radhu continued to do offer prayers to the god. Getting angry with his son, Hiranyakashipu challenged Prahlad to sit on a pyre with his wicked aunt Holika who was believed to be immune to fire. (In an alternate version, Holika put herself and Prahlad on the fire on orders from her brother.)
Prahlad accepted the challenge and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as Holika was burnt to death, while Prahlad survived without a scar to show for it. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. According to some accounts, Holika begged Prahlad for forgiveness before her demise, and he decreed that she would be remembered every year at Holi.

An alternative account of the basis of the holiday is associated with a legend involving Lord Shiva, one of the major Hindu gods. Shiva is known for his meditative nature and his many hours spent in solitude and deep meditation. Madana, the God of love, decided to test his resolve and appeared to Shiva in the form of a beautiful nymph. But Shiva recognized Madana and became very angry. In a fit of rage he shot fire out of his third eye and reduced her to ashes. This is sometimes given as the basis of Holi's bonfire. (See Hindu beliefs)

The festival of Holi is also associated with the enduring love between Lord Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu) and Radha, and Krishna in general. According to legend, the young Krishna complained to his mother Yashoda about why Radha was so fair and he so dark. Yashoda advised him to apply colour on Radha's face and see how her complexion would change. Because of this associated with Krishna, Holi is extended over a longer period in Vrindavan and Mathura, two cities with which Krishna is closely affiliated. (See Hindu history)
- See more at: Holi: Hindu Festival of Colors - ReligionFacts


Hinduism is a waste ocean. No one can know all of Hinduism. WE all know may be 1% of this vast ocean.
Avvayar said it correctly.
"What you have learned is a mere handful; What you haven't learned is the size of the world"
There is always things to learn, and then discard if it is useless.
Some people just make up stories to cover their ignorance.
 
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hi

we clelebrate holi colors with HOLIKA DAHAN IN OUR TEMPLE IN USA EVERY YEAR IN A GRAND MANNER....
 
Many people just latch on to “made up” stories to cover-up their hatred & bigotry. Holi is a festival celebrated by the Mughals & is written in many texts, paintings, etc... It was known as Eid-e-Gulabi before the right wing radicals came on the scene to “cook up” unknown non-existent legends linking to our scriptures! LOL !!

To deny the legacy of Mughals is nothing short of intellectual dishonesty, apart from pure hatred & bigotry. It is from this hatred, the “cooked up” stories of fake Aryan theories originate!!.

Unfortunately once the genie called truth comes out of the bottle, you cannot put it back however hard you try!
 
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To the people who follow my threads/posts & interested/open to know about the "true" history - always always question the official story, 9 out of 10 it will be a cooked up story by some fanatic & very vocally supported by bigots !! Those who do not want their "cooked up world view" to be disturbed, may want to consider disconnecting their internet connections permanently. LOL !! Cheers !
 
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Should we believe all the so called legends which has no basis in any written inscriptions or texts? So such an important festival is NOT described in any of our texts!!

OR

Believe a written Urdu text by Sufi Saint that describes in“absolute detail” about the Holi festival –

“Mirza Sangi Baig in Sair-ul-Manazil narrates that the rollicking and frolicking Holi groups were alternately powdered and drenched till the floor had been covered with a swamp of crimson, yellow and orange colour, with the faces being multi- coloured, a spectacle very enthralling and exclusive.”
 
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Raji Ram said:
We can see Red but this colour is reserved for the moderator ONLY, in our forum.

Just for your information!
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Did you see this Coiour (Lal) Bathii - reserved for few ONLY in this country is being roasted day in and day out - has given some result . CM of Maharashtr has expressed his regret! Adi mel adi Vekkanum!
 
renuka said:
... I wonder if you had seen a thread sometime back where Holi was being discussed and the Holi described by some were spiced with hugging episodes!LOL
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And even octogenarians wished that Holi should be celebrated in Sing. Chennai also with grandeur, as in the North! :becky:

Many mAmAs like to participate in 'Attam; pAttam; koNdAttam'!! :grouphug:
 
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