Festival of Colors

Don’t I look good? Thanks, I thought so too. This picture of me is showing what happens when a never-ending amount of colored corn starch powder is handed out to thousands and thousands of kids. But as chaotic as such an event may sound, there was method to the madness believe it or not. It was all part of the epic celebration of Holi – often referred to as the Festival of Colors.

The Festival of Colors is a celebration of spring – which I thought was a great reason to celebrate after making it through a cold Utah winter (I’m from Southern California). But the significance of the celebration of Holi goes deeper than just celebrating the arrival of spring. Holi is a Hindu festival celebrated originally in India, and the name “Holi” comes from Holika, a demoness from Hindu mythology. As the story goes, Holika had a cloak that protected her from fire, and with this power she would be protected as she walked into flames to kill children. Her brother, King Hiranyakashipu, forced his people to worship him as a god, but his 5 year old son refused and continued to worship the Hindu God Vishnu. This upset the vain king, and he ordered his demoness sister to take his son, Prahlad, into the fire to die. As Holika and Prahlad entered the fire, the God Vishnu sent a wind that blew her cloak off of her and onto the child – the demoness was burnt and the child was protected.

This story tells of the triumph of good over evil. It is depicted in the festival by burning a doll that is dressed to look like the demoness Holika. When the flames ignite, the moment everyone is waiting for finally happens – the throwing of the colors. This was amazing. So much powder was in the air that the sun was completely blocked out; it was like we were indoors all of a sudden and all we could see were colors. It was hard to breathe for these few minutes, and I almost threw up as my lungs tried to fight back against the powder flowing in. But it was all worth it. When the cloud settled, everyone was painted in bright pinks, purples, greens, and yellows. Crowd surfing was a great pastime. Music was filling the air. Spring was here.