Holi, rightly known as the festival of colors falls on Phalgun Purnima that starts from the end of February or start of March 2016.
This year, in India, it was celebrated on March 23, 2016. This festival denotes the beginning of spring and welcomes sunny days. People keep searching for quotes and greetings to wish Happy Holi to their loved ones.
Holi is a 2-day festival that starts with lighting up the bonfire, followed by a puja which is known is Chhoti Holi or Holika Dahan.
People gather around this campfire, sing different songs and pray. The next day of Holi is celebrated by splashing colors on each other and says ‘Bura a Mano Holi Hai’. Check Holi Wishes and Greetings here.
Know the mythology
Talking about Hindu mythology, there was a demon king named Hiranyakashipu or Hiranyakashyap, who was powerful and had gained an immortality boon. His wanted everybody to worship him, but his son didn’t worship his father, who was Lord Vishnu’s devotee.
He wanted Prahlad to be killed, and so, he ordered Holika, his sister to enter a blazing bonfire keeping Prahlada in his lap. Holi images here.
Since she had a special cover for protecting her against fire, she couldn’t be harmed. Luckily, Lord Vishnu rescued Prahlada. The protection of Holika was destroyed, and she was completely burnt. Lord Prahlada killed King Hiranyakashyap.
History of colors!
Earlier, it was believed that Lord Krishna would celebrate this festival of colors and would play with friends at Gokul and Vrindavan. He applied colors on Radha, his beloved one.
This is a spring festival, and often, it has an association with spring harvest. Earlier, colors were made with ‘tesu’ or ‘palash’ tree, but now artificial colors have replaced them.
Celebrations
People gather bamboo, wood, combustible materials and cow dung for a bonfire. A lot of traditional dishes are prepared for celebrating this auspicious festival.
The celebrations begin on morning and continue until evening. Children use water balloons or picharkis filled with colored water and spray it on friends.
