Holi is the festival celebrated in spring. It is the festival of colours and happiness. It is a popular festival of North India that has become much popular in souther Asia as well.
Holi is a celebration of two days where one day a bonfire or Holika is observed and on the other day, is the actual Holi which is played with colours.
What is Holika Bonfire?
There is a symbolic legend to explain why Holi is celebrated as a festival of colours. The word “Holi” originates from “Holika”, the evil sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu.The demon-king punished his son, Prahlad in a variety of ways to denounce Lord Narayana.
He failed in all his attempts. Finally, he asked his sister Holika to take Prahlad in her lap and enter a blazing fire. Holika had a boon to remain unburned even inside fire. Holika did her brother’s bidding.
However, Holika’s boon ended by this act of supreme sin against the Lord’s devotee and was burnt to ashes. This is why, every year, the Holika is burnt to ashes as a symbol of burning and destroying all that is evil.
Celebration of Holi
The festival of Holi can be regarded as a celebration of the Colors of Unity & Brotherhood – an opportunity to forget all differences and indulge in unadulterated fun.
It has traditionally been celebrated in high spirit without any distinction of cast, creed, color, race, status or sex. Playing Holi with colours is also associated at large with Lord Krishna. When he was a kid, he used to play prank with milkmaids by drenching them with coloured water and powder. This is how, it became a tradition to play Holi this way.
The next morning to Holika is a carnival of colours, where people play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water, with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons for their water fight.
You can shop for colored water guns, also know as Pichkaris online here at IGP.com. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders.
The frolic and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples, buildings, etc. Groups carry drums and other musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance.
People visit family, friends and foes to throw colour powders on each other, laugh and gossip, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks. Some drinks are intoxicating.
For example, Bhang, an intoxicating ingredient made from cannabis leaves, is mixed into drinks and sweets and consumed by many in the evening, after sobering up, people dress up and visit friends and family. For many people, Holi is the beginning of the New Year, as it is considered as the end of Harvest.
Celebrate Holi with Awesome Gifts
Whether you want to buy Herbal Gulal or you want a unique Pichkari, get everything online here. We also have Holi special sweets like Gujia, Gulab Jamun, etc that you can order for your personal use or send to your relatives and spread cheer.
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