Why Holi is celebrated in India
Holi is the festival of colours. It signifies the victory of good over evil and is celebrated as a day of spreading happiness and love. There is an ancient story regarding this Holi celebration. the story clarifies why Holi is celebrated in India and why it has more importance in Indian culture.
Holi is a popular ancient Hindu festival, originating from India and its subcontinent. It is celebrated predominantly in India but has also spread to other areas of Asia and parts of the Western world through the diaspora from the Indian subcontinent.
Holi, which later became popular among non-Hindu communities as well, Holi Indicates the arrival of spring after winter. 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 a thanksgiving for a good harvest.
Holi is popularly known as the Indian "festival of spring", the "festival of colours", or the "festival of love". The festival signifies the arrival of spring, the blossoming of love, and for many, a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships.
The story behind Holi celebration and Holika Dahan
According to Bhagavata Purana, King Hiranyakashipu -the king of demonic Asuras, who could neither be killed by a man or an animal grew arrogant and demanded that everybody should worship him as a god.The king's son, Prahlada, disagreed and chose to remain devoted to Vishnu(Vishnu is the Supreme God of Vaishnavism (one of the three principal denominations of Hinduism) and one of the three supreme deities (Trimurti) of Hinduism). Hiranyakashipu was enraged and subjected his son to cruel punishments. Finally, Holika, the king's sister (Holika, was once blessed by Brahma that she will not be harmed by fore ever in her life), tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her (The king knew that Holika had a special cloak garment that prevented her from being harmed by fire. ... Holika burnt to death while Prahlad, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, remained unharmed.). While Holika protected herself with a cloak, Prahlada remained exposed. As the fire blazed, the cloak flew from Holika's body and encased Prahlada, thus saving his life.
Later, Vishnu appeared in the avatar of Narasimha (half man and half lion) and killed the king. This is why Holi begins with the Holika bonfire, which marks the end of evil.
The celebration
Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi with Holika Dahan, where people perform rituals in front of a bonfire, praying for their inner evil to be destroyed, just as Holika was killed in the fire.The carnival of colours begins the next morning, where people come out on the streets to play with colours, and drench each other in coloured water through water guns or balloons.
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