Holi, which is also called Holikotsav, is an extremely popular festival observed throughout the country. It is especially marked by unmixed gaiety and frolics and is common to all sections of society. Holi is also a time when social restrictions are relaxed, when employers party with subordinates and when people of different socio-economic classes intermingle. This is remarkable for a society that supposedly lives under the shadow of the caste system. Sweets, flowers and packets of colors are common gifts.

The Spring Festival of India, Holi - is the festival of the triumph of good over evil, the universal theme of all Indian mythology. The festival is celebrated on the full-moon day of Phalgun (March or April) according to the Hindu calendar, though it stretched up to a week in Northern India and six-days long in Manipur. It was meant to welcome the spring and win the blessings of God for good harvest and fertility of the land. There are many interesting legends attached to Holi, as with all the Hindu festivals, the most popular being that of Prince Prahlad, who was a devout follower of Lord Vishnu. It is the second most important festival of India after Diwali. Holi in India is a festival of fun and has been associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha. The exuberance and the festivity of the season are remarkable.
Unlike all the other festivals of India, the festival of Holi is one such festival where social taboos are broken and celebrations include intoxicating drinks and sweets prepared by using opium. It is a festival of romance often represented by the love-play of Radha and Krishna. Holi in the famous town of Brij is famous all over the world for its gaiety in spirit. Each year, young and old, men and women, all indulge themselves in the spirit of colors and for once forget the social taboos.
A day before Holi, all the people gather around, in the evening for a bonfire. People light up bonfires of dead leaves, twigs and sticks and dance and sing around it to welcome the Spring and commemorate the saving of Prahlad and burning of his wicked aunt Holika. People take embers from this holy fire to rekindle their own domestic fires.

In some communities, people roast barley seeds in the fire to eat and it is believed that the yield of the coming harvest season can be predicted by reading the direction of the flames or the state of the roasted seeds. The ashes of the Holi fire are believed to have some medicinal properties. Next morning, it is 'Dhuleti' or the main festival of colors where adults and kids alike splash each other with colored powder and water jets known as 'Pichkaris'. Traditionally, only natural colors prepared from flowers and herbal products – ‘Gulal’ or ‘Rang’ were used but today, artificial colors have taken over. Now people often use colored foams and balloons filled with colored water to pop-up at anybody they can play a prank upon. The colored frenzy of oranges and reds, greens and blues, purples and blacks soon wash away all the enmity and hatred amongst the festival goers and serves to bring the community closer. The best part is that all the offences and anger gets dissolved with one boisterous shout of 'Bura na mano, holi hai!' (Don't be angry, it’s Holi!). This shout is considered to be a part of the long tradition of the festival of Holi.

Holi sweets and delicacies are an important part of the festival as one can relish 'Gujhias' in Northern India and 'Puran Poli' in Maharashtra. 'Thandai' (a cool drink of milk) mixed with 'bhang' (marijuana leaves) is to be beware of, as it is very common during Holi. People visit each other’s houses with boxes of mithai or sweets like burfi, gulab-jamun and gujiya. But the delicacy of the day is malpua, a dessert made of Maida (white flour), milk, sugar and dry fruits. Holi is also synonymous with bhang, better known as Marijuana in the west, which is consumed by many in the form of laddoos and ghols.
Holi is also called Vasant Utsav or the festival of spring. The day after burning the Holika people put the ashes from the fire as Vibhuti on their forehead, often mixed with Chandan paste (Sandalwood paste). Around the same time of the year as Holi, Catholics also celebrate ash ceremony called, Ash Wednesday.

The most important myths and stories that have been associated with Holi are:
Story of Holika and Prahlad:
There was a demon-king named Hiranyakashyap who won over the kingdom of earth and ordered everybody to worship him and not the God. However, his little son Prahlad refused to do so and continued to worship the almighty Lord Vishnu, the Hindu God. He tried many times to kill him but Lord Vishnu saved him every time. One of the sisters of the king named Holika had powers to walk through fire unharmed. Thus he ordered her to kill Prahlad by walking through the fire with him. However, Lord Vishnu came to his help and Prahlad was saved while Holika perished. Somehow, she didn't know that her powers were only effective if she entered the fire alone. Even today, bonfires are lit on the night of Holi in memory of the event and burning of the wicked aunt Holika.

Story of Radha and Krishna:
Lord Krishna was dark while his spiritual love-mate Radha had fair-complexion. So child Krishna often used to complain about the injustice of nature towards him to his mother Yashoda and would ask her for the reason. One day, Yashoda suggested Krishna to apply color on Radha's face and change her complexion in any color he desired. The naughty Krishna immediately set off to his mission and one can often see paintings and murals depicting Krishna throwing colors on Radha and other 'gopis'. This lovable prank of throwing colored powder and water jets called 'pichkaris' soon gained favor with the people and it evolved into the tradition of Holi. This is the reason that people often carry images of Krishna and Radha through the streets. The Holi of Mathura region, where Krishna was born, has a special fervor.

Story of Dhundi:
There was an ogress called Dhundi who used to scare and trouble children in the kingdom of Prithu. She had many boons, which made her almost invincible but due to a curse from Lord Shiva, she was susceptible to the shouts, abuses and pranks of village boys. It is believed that on Holi day, these children united and made combined efforts to chase away Dhundi by shouting at her, abusing her and playing pranks on her and finally succeeded in their mission. This is the reason that young boys are allowed to use rude words on this day without anybody taking offence.

Story of Kamdev:
After the death of his consort Sati, Lord Shiva was so shocked and hurt that he went into a deep meditation and stopped looking after his worldly responsibilities. This led to many complications in the world's affairs. Thus, the gods conspired to bring him out of his trance with the help of Goddess Parvati, who wished to marry the great lord and Kamdev, the God of love, passion and lust mindful of the consequences. Kamdev undertook the task for the world's good and shot one of his arrows of love on the great Lord who had mastered all the worldly temptations. As Shiva's eyes opened, he was furious by the trick of Kamdev and directed the wrath of his third eye on him and burned him on the spot. However, later he did give him an immortal life. It is believed that Lord Shiva burned Kamdev on the day of Holi and thus, many people worship him for his sacrifice and offer him a mango blossoms that he loved and sandalwood paste to cool off the pain of his fatal burns.
Holi is one of the major festivals of India and is celebrated in most of the states of India. However, each region has its own variations of Holi with a large local influence.

North India:
Lord Krishna spent most of his childhood in Mathura and Vrindavan. He was the one to introduce the modern form of Holi and thus Holi is celebrated with great enthusiasm at these places for about a week. Situated in Uttar Pradesh, all the major temples of the region dedicated to Krishna and Radha celebrate Holi on a different day. In these parts while celebrating Holi and getting drenched with colored water is considered to be a blessing from god and is considered very auspicious. Since Radha belonged to Barsana while Krishna belonged to Nandagaon, on the day of Holi, men from Nandagaon go to Barsana to celebrate Holi with the women there. The playful teasing of women and attempts to color them with 'Gulal' and wet colors from 'Pichkari' is returned by them by attempts to escape and beating the men with sticks to scamper them away.

Haryana:
In Haryana, the brides of the Hindu undivided families hang a pot of buttermilk high up in the streets as a challenge to their brother-in-laws, who try to get to break the pot by forming a human pyramid to reach it. Women try to stop them by beating them with their saris rolled up as ropes. This mock-drama is staged to commemorate the playful pranks of child Krishna, who would steal milk, butter and curd from the cow maids' houses. In the evening, the brother-in-laws bring sweetmeats for the women of the house for their contribution in keeping the family united.

Western India:
In Gujarat, Holi is celebrated as lokotsav or folk festival. On the evening of Falgun Poornima Holi bonfire is burnt. Women and children dance and sing around the fire throwing coconuts and dhani (jowar) in it. It is also said that the direction of the flames from the bonfire can forebode the onset of the monsoons and whether the crops yield would be rich the next season. The real Holi is played the next day celebrating the return of Prahlad alive from the furnace. In small villages children go from house to house asking for oil to pour in their mashals or burning torches and candy made from jaggery. In remote areas of Gujarat one can also observe the mysterious customs of tribal people walking on burning coal! In some tribal areas like Dang District, the celebrations are spread over five days.

In Maharashtra, Holi is also known as ‘Shimga’. It’s an important celebration for the community of fishermen, who make merry, sing and dance on this day. Puran Poli is the special sweet of this festival and its significance is evident in popular jingle `Holi re Holi Purnachi Poli'.

Eastern India:
In Bengal, Holi is called Dol Yatra (the Swing Festival) in which idols of Krishna and Radha are placed on swings and devotees take turns to swing them. Women perform devotional songs and dances around the swing as men spray colored water and 'Abeer' (colored powder) on them. However, the tradition is being lost in the modern wave and people play with colored water and powders on the next day and then take out processions on the streets with music and drums while stained with Holi colors. Orissa has similar traditions as Bengal except for the fact that the idol of Jagannath is placed on the swing here instead of Krishna and Radha, who is believed to be another form of Krishna.
Rabindranath Tagore, the Noble laureate from India, revived Holi as the Spring festival by introducing 'Vasant Utsav' in his Shantiniketan or Bishwabharati University, which is celebrated in a very special way. Students and youths dress up in bright colorful dresses such as yellow and stage a number of cultural programs involving group choreography, songs and dance followed by playing Holi with 'Abeer' (colored powder). Today, Vasant Utsav has become an important part of the Bengali culture.

North East:
Holi is a six-day long festival in Manipur and commences on the full moon day of Phalgun. In the 18th century, it merged with the traditional and centuries-old Yaosang festival of Manipur. In earlier times, there were folk songs and dance performances under the moonlight accompanied by the indigenous drums. Today, modern musical instruments have replaced the drums and fluorescent lamps have replaced the moonlight. Days before, people collect money from the community for the expenses on the festivities. A thatched hut of hay, twigs and sticks is built, only to be set ablaze. Next morning, groups of boys go to play 'gulal' with the girls. Devotees play 'gulal', sing devotional songs and dance in front of the Krishna temple dressed in the traditional white and yellow turban. On the last day of the festival, a grand procession is taken out to the main Krishna temple in the capital of Manipur, Imphal where multitude of cultural programs take place.

South India:
In Tamil Nadu Holi is known by three different names - Kamvilas, Kaman Pandigai, Kamadahanam and Madan Utsav. People take oil bath instead of playing with colors.
Despite the diversity in Holi celebrations in India the spirit of Holi remains consistent. This is one time when the whole nation spends the next few days looking very colored!

HAPPY HOLI !!!!!!!

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