5 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Holi

Holi is full of colours and sweets. It brings happiness and togetherness along with it. Individuals from every age group has their own way to celebrate this festival. Pouring of coloured water on each other and cooking many types of sweets marks the Holi festival. Holi, a festival of colours and the festival of love has won hearts even in the United States and Europe. It marks an official holiday on this day as every people want to celebrate with their loved ones, neighbors and relatives. Kids take an active part in this Holi festival as their celebration starts couple of days prior from the big day. Kids often make water balloons and throw on each other, the water balloon explodes when it hits someone’s body. Water pistols are also used widely by majority of the people celebrating Holi.

Apart from its all glory and significance, here are 5 facts you probably didn’t know about Holi –

1. Different parts of India celebrate Holi in their own form, where Mathura and Vrindavana celebrates with water and colours, people in Braj and Barsana indulge in “lath Maar” Holi.
2. The name ‘Holi’ is derived from “Holika”, the sister of the demon king “Hiranyakashipu” in Hindu Mythology.
3. Holi celebration in Braj (Where Lord Krishna was born) stretches for about 16 days.
4. A night before Holi, ‘Holika’ bonfire is lit up where group of people gather around the bonfire during their religious rituals and ask for forgiveness from the god while praying that their evil should come to an end.
5. Holi marks the change in weather condition from winter and to beginning of spring. It is celebrated after the full moon in the month of ‘Phalguna’ that generally lies between February and March. The exact date of the festival is determined by the Hindu Calendar.