Also called Festival of Colours, Holika Dahan, Rangwali Holi, Dhulandi, Phagwah, Dol Purnima
Holi is the Hindu spring festival of colours on the full moon of Phalguna, usually in March. On the eve, a bonfire called Holika Dahan burns away evil in memory of young Prahlada's rescue from the fire; the next day people throw coloured powder and water, forgive old quarrels and welcome spring.
Tonight's moon is read when the page loads.
Take care: Holi is a living Hindu festival, so join as a respectful guest and follow the lead of your hosts. Use natural or skin-safe colours, keep them away from eyes and mouths, and never colour anyone who has not agreed. Attend an organised Holika fire rather than lighting one at home, and stand well back from it.
In Barsana, the town of Radha near Mathura, women of the town playfully drive off men from Krishna's village of Nandgaon with long sticks while the men shield themselves, re-enacting Krishna teasing Radha and her friends. In Vrindavan the Holi season lasts sixteen days.
Uses: Lathi sticks, Shields, Colour
In parts of South India the eve is linked to the story of Shiva burning Kamadeva, god of desire, with his third eye. Rural Tamil Nadu stages pantomimes of Kamadeva and burns his effigy.
In Bengal and Odisha, images of Radha and Krishna, or of Jagannath, are placed on a decorated swing and rocked by devotees while people throw abir powder. At Shantiniketan, students dressed in saffron or white sing and dance to welcome spring.
Uses: Abir powder, Flower garlands
Holi is an ancient Hindu festival that appears in Jaimini's Purva Mimamsa Sutras, the Kathaka Grihya Sutra, and later in the Narada and Bhavishya Puranas. King Harsha's 7th-century Sanskrit drama Ratnavali describes a holikotsava, and the poet Dandin also mentions it. It falls on the full moon of Phalguna, celebrates the arrival of spring and the love of Radha and Krishna, and is strongest in the Braj country around Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana. European traders recorded it from the 17th century.
Holika Dahan, the bonfire on the eve, recalls Holika, sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, who had a boon against fire and tried to burn her nephew Prahlada. The fire spared the boy and consumed her. The colours were traditionally made from plants such as palash, neem and turmeric; studies in 2007 and 2009 found eye and skin injuries from synthetic and metal-based dyes, leading Indian groups to campaign for natural colours.
On the new moon night of Diwali, Hindu households clean the home, draw rangoli and small footprints at the door, and light clay lamps so that Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, will find and bless the house. This entry describes the religious practice respectfully and offers an open lamp-lighting version.
A modern release rite: write down what you want to let go of and burn the paper in a fireproof bowl, usually at year's end. Popularised by Unity churches in the twentieth century, with older relatives in New Year fire customs.
Songkran is the Thai New Year in mid-April, when water is poured to wash away the old year's bad luck. At its heart is Rod Nam Dam Hua, gently pouring scented water over the hands of elders, who bless the younger family in return.
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