When is Holi 2022? Date, meaning behind Hindu festival of colors and how it is celebrated in India and beyond

Holi must be one of the most internationally known Hindu festivals.

Images of great people throwing colored powder into the air reflect the joy that opportunity brings.

But what is it about and how is it celebrated? Here’s all you need to know.

What is holi?

Holi is the festival of love, the festival of colors and the festival of spring.

It is a Hindu holiday, and it celebrates the eternal love of Radha Krishna, which represents the feminine and masculine forms of God, as well as the triumph of good over evil.

It is a happy festival that marks the arrival of the abundance of spring and the end of a long winter.

It is thought to be a day of reconciliation with loved ones, friends and family, and forgetting past problems to celebrate cooperation.

The festival is associated with several different Hindu legends, though the overwhelming theme is the triumph of goodness.

One of the most popular stories describes the past of the Hindu deity Krishna when he was in Vrindavan, North India.

He would get into a lot of abuse, play, act, steal butter from cowherd girls and excite everyone he met.

Sometimes he played colorful water games with his milkmaid friends, spreading joy and love and dispelling greed and anger.

The story teaches us about love in its sublime form, where there is no selfishness, greed, envy or anger.

The Encyclopedia Brittanica states: “Holi is especially enjoyed by worshipers of the god Krishna.

“His general frivolity is seen as an imitation of Krishna’s play with the gopis (wives and daughters of cowherds).

“An Vraja (modern Gokul, [near Agra]), Rituals of regression culminate in a battle in which the women of the birth village of Radha, Krishna’s everlasting devotee, the men of Krishna’s village pummel with stalls; the men defend themselves with shields. “

When is Holi?

This year, Holi falls on Friday, March 18th. It is a national holiday in India and Nepal.

In the Hindu lunisolar calendar it takes place on Mount Phalguna on the last full moon day (Purnima).

The first evening is called Holika Dahan, or Chhoti Holi, where friends and family gather around a fire to celebrate the victory of good over evil and pray that this victory is reflected within them so that all internal evil is destroyed.

The next day is called Holi, or Rangwali Holi.

How is Holi celebrated?

In India, Nepal and around the world, Hindus mark the festival by playing with colors and lighting the fire.

Holi gained international fame for his use of colored powder in the air and over another person.

The Encyclopedia Brittanica states: “Participants throw colored water and powder at each other, and only on this day will the license be obtained to reverse the usual classifications of caste, sex, status and age.

“On the streets, the festivities are often marked by ribald language and behavior, but in the end, when everyone is bathing, wearing clean white clothes, and visiting friends, teachers and family, the ordered patterns of society are reaffirmed and renewed.

“In many places, holidays celebrate an early morning fire, representing the burning of the demon Holika (or Holi), who was inscribed by her brother, Hiranyakashipu, in an attempt to kill his son Prahlada because of Vishnu’s last unlikely engagement. .

“The burning of Holika asks the worshipers to remember how Vishnu (in the form of a lion man, Narasimha) attacked and killed Hiranyakashipu, both Prahlada and Vishnu justified.”