Hindus famous festival Holi

                                                

Holi is an important Indian and Nepalese festival celebrated in the spring. This festival is celebrated on the full moon day of Phalgun month according to the Hindu calendar.Like other festivals of India, Holi also symbolizes the victory of good over evil. According to ancient legend, the festival of Holi is associated with the story of Hiranyakashyap.

       

History of Holi

Hiranyakashyap was a king of ancient India who was like a demon. He wanted to avenge the death of his younger brother who was killed by Lord Vishnu. So to make himself strong he He prayed for years. Eventually he got the boon. But due to this Hiranyakashyap started considering himself as God and started asking people to worship him like God. This wicked king had a son named Prahlad.And he was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. Prahlad never obeyed his father and kept on worshiping Lord Vishnu. Angered by the son not worshiping him, the king decided to kill his son.He asked his sister Holika to take Prahlad in her lap and sit in the fire because Holika could not burn in the fire. His plan was to burn Prahlad, but his plan could not succeed Because Prahlad kept chanting the name of Lord Vishnu all the time and survived but Holika was burnt to ashes Because Holika had a boon that she would never burn in the fire but she tried to misuse her boon and that was the reason Holika got burnt sitting on her own pyre.  This necklace of Holika symbolizes the destruction of evil.and our forefathers say Holika Dahan means victory of good over evil.  After this Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Narasimha and killed Hiranyakashyap, Hiranyakashyap had a boon that he would die neither in the day nor in the night No man could kill him, no animal, no one could kill him on earth or in the sky.nor could kill him with any weapon  Due to his boon, Hiranyakashyap started considering himself immortal, but Lord Vishnu took the form of Narasimha(the body of a man and the face of a lion) and killed Hiranyakashyap by tearing his stomach with his nails by placing him on his thighs. ,Hence the festival of Holi is associated with the story of Holika's death. Due to this, Holi is lit in some states of India a day before Holi as a symbol of the end of evil.

But how did colors become a part of Holi?

Story of Krishna behind the colourful Holi 

This story goes back to the time of Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that Lord Krishna used to celebrate Holi with colours, hence Holi became popular as the festival of colours.He used to celebrate Holi with his friends in Vrindavan and Gokul. They used to play pranks in the whole village. Even today, Holi is not celebrated as fun-filled as Vrindavan.Holi is the festival of spring and its arrival marks the end of winter. In some parts, this festival is also related to the ripening of spring crops. Farmers celebrate Holi in the joy of producing a good crop. Holi as 'Vasant Mahots' Holi is an ancient festival

Holi is one of the ancient Hindu festivals and has been celebrated since many centuries before the birth of Christ. Holi is also described in Jaimini's Poorvmimansa Sutra and Kathak Grahay Sutra. Idols of Holi have also been made on the walls of the temples of ancient India. One such 16th century temple is in Hampi, the capital of Vijayanagara. There are many scenes of Holi in this temple in which the prince, the princess with their slaves.Holi colors

Earlier Holi colors were made from Tesu or Palash flowers and were called Gulal. Those colors were very good for the skin as they did not contain any chemicals. But the definition of colors over time In today's time people use harsh chemicals in the name of colour. Due to these bad colours, many people have stopped playing Holi. We should celebrate this ancient festival in its true form.Holi celebrations

Holi is not a one day festival. In many states it is celebrated for three days.

Day 1 - On the full moon day a plate is decorated with colors and the eldest member of the family sprinkles the colors on the rest of the members.Day 2 – It is also called Puno. On this day pictures of Holika are burnt and Holi is lit in the memory of Holika and Prahlad. Mothers take five rounds of burning Holi with their children to seek the blessings of the fire god.Day 3 - This day is called 'Parva' and it is the last day of Holi festival. On this day color and water are poured on each other. The idols of Lord Krishna and Radha are also worshiped by putting color on them.On the day of Holi, people visit each other where they are welcomed with gulal and colors. On this day people forget their enmity and embrace the enemy as well. Rich-poor, black-white, high-low, painted in the colors of Holi On this day, big and small people of all religions and castes apply gulal to each other. The idea behind celebrating Holi is that people should forget their enmity with each other. And start the relationship again Holi festival mutual differences Thousands of foreigners come to India to celebrate Holi, but Indians have taken the festival to those who cannot. This crazy festival is celebrated in Nepal, United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Popular in countries like Africa, Australia and more. Even popular universities such as the University of Sussex in the UK, the University of British Columbia in Canada, the University of Florida International University in the United States and Monash University in Australia.Holi traditions

In the Vedic period, this festival was called Navatraishti Yagya. At that time, half ripe grains in the field were donated in Yagya. Food is called Hola, hence the name Holikotsav.According to Indian months, Chaitra month starts after this. Therefore, this festival is also a symbol of the beginning of the new season and the arrival of spring.