Holi: Festival of Colours - 3Alpha Outsourcing Services
The Festival of Colours, or Holi, is the Hindu holiday celebrating the beginning of spring. This year the holiday was celebrated on March 1st and March 2nd, in our hometown of Ahmedabad. It’s a harvest celebration marking the end of winter. This two-day celebration observed throughout India, and our city of Ahmedabad. In Ahmedabad, there is a tradition of hanging a pot of buttered milk in a high place, and then have young boys try to break the pot by forming pyramids, while girls try to stop them by throwing the color water at them.
First day of Holi celebrated by a day of fasting and bon fires lit at night, where people offer prayers. After the bonfires have gone out, some will take ashes and apply to their bodies as an act of purification. Dear ones also hug and apply Tilak, a horizontal mark, on each other. The second day of Holi, Rangwali Holi, is celebrated by dousing each other in colored water, and colored powders. It is a day where caste and beliefs are put aside, and everyone is equal in celebrating this holiday by covering themselves in the colors of spring.
The festival day is a symbolic fresh start, like spring, which is the beginning of new life, getting rid of all the dread, left behind by the winter season. The day of the festival can be used to rid one self of past mistakes and conflicts with others. It’s a fresh start for yourself and for your relationship with others, a symbolic new year.
Gulal
The color powders called Gulal. These powders made from flowers that came from trees such as the Indian Coral Tree and Flame of the Forest. The flowers had medical properties and were beneficial to the skin. However, after a while the trees started to disappear and this led to a move to artificial dyes. After while, there was concern of harmful effects to the environment and people, and again there has been a shift to more natural options.
In recent years, Holi, has inspired events outside of India. In New York, a couple Holi events held to celebrate the festival. There are also events that take place year round, that don’t coincide with the days of the festival, used to promote charities and non-profit initiatives. Of course, there has been concern of trivializing the spiritual significance of the festival by using it as a means to an end, but organizers argue that the intention is not to make a profit but use any gain for charity.
Holi is a holiday to celebrate the beginning of new opportunities, a new out look for personal growth, and the chance to start fresh with loved ones. We at 3Apha celebrated with our families and friends so we thought we could share our customs with you.