Holi 2018: 10 facts about Hindu festival of colour

This year Holi will be celebrated on Thursday, March 1 and into the evening of Friday, March 2 as people come together and celebrate the colourful festival.

Despite Holi being a Hindu festival, people of all religions and cultures take part as it is now viewed as a universal celebration.

The main event is when people throw handful of gulal – coloured powder – and is known as Rangwali Holi.

This falls on the second day of the two-day festival, which this year is March 2, and comes after Holika Dahan which is staged the night before Holi. 

Here are 10 facts about the festival of colour and love. 

1. The word Holi is derived from the word ‘Holika’, who was the demonic sister of King Hiranyakashipu and was burned to death with the help of Vishnu. 

2. The festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil and is celebrated on the following day after Holika was burned in bonfire.

3. There is an alternative version of history associated with Holi. It is said Lord Krishna as a baby was poisoned by the breast milk of Putana and developed the characteristic blue colour of his skin. Krishna was skeptical whether the fair-skinned Radha and other girls would like him. When he told his mother, Yashoda, she told him to colour Radha’s face in whatever colour he liked. Since then, Holi is commemorated as the festival of love.

4. Holi marks the passing of winter and beginning of spring and is celebrated each year around the vernal equinox, the first day of the new season on the astronomical calendar. Generally, it falls between February and March.

5. It is a national festival and is celebrated across all the 28 states of India.

6. The festival starts on the night before Holi when people gather and start a bonfire. The bonfire is lit between 8pm and midnight and people gather around the fire to watch it while eating their favourite food items.

7. The second day of the festival known as ‘Rangwali Holi’ is the second day of the festival and the main day when people throw coloured powder at each other.

8. All castes, social divisions and religious barriers come down on Holi, as people celebrate the religious festival universally, regardless of cultural and religious differences.

9. During the festival, people are heard saying ‘Bura na mano, Holi hai!” which means “do not mind, it’s holi.”

10. Hindus are advised to moisturise their skin well before taking part so the gulal – coloured powder – can be easily removed and does not stain the skin.