The land of colourful festivals, India celebrates every moment with great zeal. The country where almost every month experiences a festival, Holi is perhaps culturally most vibrant festival which paints the entire country, primarily in the North region, in the colours of joy, celebration, happiness and harmony. Days before this festival, the shops and bazaars start to sell different colours. Whether it is about kids or the elders, everyone gets drenched in the colours on this festival.

From putting colours on your loved ones to relishing Indian cuisine, this jubilant festival brings everyone close. The sky changes its colour from blue to red, yellow, green and whatnot. Everywhere it’s just the colour, people throwing colours and water on each other, people try to hide and run away from the colours. With a lot of awareness these days, people are now moving back to their traditions of celebrating eco – friendly Holi with organic, natural and herbal colours prepared from plants and natural ingredients.  

The festival of Holi isn’t just about getting drenched in colours and getting high on Bhang (a local Indian drink prepared with female cannabis plant). Wrapped in layers of several cultural and religious significance, people celebrate this festival with a spirit of forgetting any grudges with each other. Before getting yourself smeared in the colours, here are few things everyone coming to India to celebrate the festival for the first time should know about this spring festival of India.

What is Holi and why is it celebrated?

Among the biggest Indian festivals, Holi is a festival of colours which is celebrated on Phalguna Purnima (March) i.e. Full Moon when the vernal equinox approaches. The festival is celebrated in a course of two days i.e. Holika Dahan on the first day and colourful celebration on the second day.

As per the Hindu mythologies, Prahlad, son of King Hiranyakashipu was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and Hiranyakashipu didn’t like it. The king was blessed with a boon that no animal, no human in any gender could kill him, neither in day nor at night.

He took the help of his sister, Holika, to kill his son. Holika had a special veil that could protect her from fire. She made Prahald sit in her lap and she sat on the woods which were later set ablaze. However, the fire killed Holika and left Prahlad unharmed. Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Narasimha (half man and half lion) and killed the king to restore people’s faith. From that very day, this tradition is being carried forward and is celebrated in the form of the Holi festival.

Where to Visit for Holi Celebration in India?

During the celebration of the Holi festival, every street, every corner of the country can be found full of colours, yet there are few places where the spirit of celebrating Holi reaches a whole different level. You can visit Barsana in Uttar Pradesh which is famous for its celebration of Holi with sticks. Two other cities of Uttar Pradesh which are world famous for the Holi celebration are Mathura and Vrindavan. Other than these cities, you can visit Shantiniketan and Purulia in West Bengal. The Warrior Holi of Anandpur Sahib (Punjab), Royal Holi of Udaipur (Rajasthan), Community Holi with Slum Kids in Mumbai (Maharashtra), Shigmostav in Goa, Hampi, etc. are also worth a visit. Moreover, Holi is also celebrated in Nepal.

What to wear on Holi festival?

No matter what you wear, at the end of the day, your clothes will look like a rainbow of a hundred colours. Jokes apart, people in India usually wear white. Yes! This may sound insane but the motive is that your clothes are a blank canvas which will be coloured with joy and celebration. So, put on the traditional kurta and pajama. You just need basic white outfits. You can even put on a t-shirt and pants. In the case of footwear, flip-flops should work well.