I’m sure you’ve heard of the festival of colours, Holi, or maybe you’ve even participated in one, as it’s one of the biggest, most important festivals in Hindu culture. Its significance lies in its complexity: it proclaims the triumph of good over evil, and symbolises the importance of love and forgiveness. Therefore encourages those who participate to mend their relationships and celebrate the renewal of life. In this way, we can call Holi a kind of spring festival.
But where does this festival come from? Life is more beautiful when we can appreciate the many little things, whether in the physical or virtual world. While celebrating with colour, we can capture the abundance of these vibrant experiences that life has to offer, whether through cultural celebrations or through the exciting world of online gambling, through Lemon Casino or Hotslots websites. Let’s dive into this narrative journey and see what the origins of this festival are all about!
The Origin of Holi
The Holi festival also embodies the cultural and regional differences within the country, so it is perhaps not surprising that there are several legends about the origin of Holi. We will now write about the most popular one.
According to this story, there was a king with invincible power, Hiranyakashipu, who demanded that everyone in his kingdom worship him. Those who did not, he punished mercilessly. He had a son, Prahlada, who did not comply with his father’s wishes because he preferred to worship the Hindu god Vishnu.
The king also had a daughter, Holika, after whom the festival was named. When the king found out about his son’s ‘treachery’, he asked Holika to help him defeat him. The girl had a fireproof cloak, which she used to lure her brother into the fire. But the cloth flew off her, as she wanted to use it for evil, and it was transferred to Prahlada. Thus the boy was saved and Vishnu defeated the evil king. The significance of the story lies in its moral: the victory of good over evil.
How Is Holi Celebrated?
Let’s see how this legend was embodied in a cultural celebration. Holi is celebrated in March each year (usually in the middle of the month). The date varies, depending on how the Gregorian calendar aligns with the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna, so it may be celebrated in late February or late March.
There is obviously a reason why it is also called the festival of colours: young and old alike gather to mix coloured powders (gulal) with a little water and smear or splash each other with it, embodying the spirit of joy, freedom and togetherness. As Holi is a celebration of forgiveness and new beginnings, togetherness is meant to create social harmony.
You should be aware that Holi is part of a longer, extensive series of spring celebrations. The celebrations do not begin with the bursting out of the colour palette, but the night before, on Holika Dahan. Everyone gathers around a bonfire, usually lit by the oldest or most respected member of the community. The people around the fire dance and sing.
The next morning, the festival of colours, Rangwali Holi, starts. While colouring each other up, they play drums, sing, dance and visit friends and family. Meanwhile, they eat traditional Indian food and drink and treat each other. It’s the perfect opportunity to reconcile with your enemies, as everyone’s barriers are dissolved. It is a time to savour the varied and vibrant experiences offered by Lemon Casino and Hotslots Casino, as the nuances of life are appreciated and people’s hearts are opened more.
The Colours & What They Represent
The use of gulal is not only fun, but also has medicinal significance, as the colours were originally produced from medicinal plants. Thus, gulal was all protection against the diseases that come with the changeable spring weather.
Nowadays, dyes are made more from synthetic materials, which have led to a number of problems (skin problems, eye infections, etc.), and several initiatives have been launched to bring back and use natural gulal.
The gulal used in Holi typically comes in bright colours: red, green, yellow, blue. They are made from different natural materials and each colour has a different meaning. Like Hotslots casino slot machines, the colours resonate differently with the excitement of the festival, just as the machines always promise different possibilities.
- Red: wedding, life, festivals, in some regions a symbol of misfortune.
- Green: nature, happiness, new beginnings, abundant harvest.
- Yellow: the colour of the third caste, the merchants, and therefore a symbol of wealth.
- Blue: restraining evil through courage.
With such a colouring, it is not surprising that Holi has moved well beyond India and is now celebrated worldwide.
