Colourful And Most Important Festival Of The India

Holi is a colourful and most important festival of the India. It is celebrated annually in the month of March (Falgun) on Purnima or pooranmashi by the people of Hindu religion.

People wait for this festival very eagerly and enjoy by playing with colours and eating delicious foods. Children come out of their homes in the early morning with colours and pitchakri to enjoy with friends.

Women of the houses started preparing needed things for the holi celebration like special and delicious dishes, sweets, chips, namkeen and other things to welcome their neighbours, friends and relatives at holi.

Holi is a festival of joy and happiness which spread real colour and pleasure in the life of everyone. People sprinkle real colours or colored powder (means gulal) to each other and break all the barriers of discrimination between them.

The significance behind celebrating this festival is the great history of Prahlad and his aunt Holika. A long ago, there was a devil king, Hiranyakashyap. He was father of Prahlad and brother of Holika. He was booned by the Lord Brahma that he cannot be killed by any man or animal, neither any ashtra or sashtra, neither inside the home or outside and neither in the day or night.

Getting such power he became very arrogant and ordered everyone including his own son to worship him instead of God as he is a real God.

Because of his fear, people started worshiping him except Prahlad as he was a true devotee of Lord Vishnu.

After seeing such type of behaviour of the Prahlad, Hiranyakashyap made a plan with sister Holika to kill Prahlad. He ordered his sister to sit in the fire by having Prahlad in her lap. Holika did so but unfortunately she burnt in the fire however Prahlad was not harmed and even not touched by the fire as he was under the protection and blessings of God.

From then, Hindu people started celebrating that event as Holi festival after the name of Holika. This festival is celebrated to remember the victory of goodness over bad or devil power. In the night or evening, a day before the colourful holi, people burn a heap of wood and co-dung in the nearby areas in the myth of burning Holika.

Everyone enjoy this festival by singing, dancing, playing colours, hugging each other and eating delicious food. It is a Public holiday when all the schools, colleges, universities, offices, banks and other institutions becomes closed so that people can go to their home and fully enjoy this special festival.