Holi — holiday of spring and bright colors (18/03)

Holi — is one of the most colorful holidays of Hinduism, the Bengali New Year. Celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Phalguna, which falls in February-March.

Holi — is a holiday of spring, filled with sunlight and the cheerful fury of lushly blossoming nature. Apparently, it is older than the legends that explain its origin today, — it contains many elements of primitive orgies in honor of deities and fertility forces, elements close to the holidays of different peoples of the world.

There are several legends associated with the origin of the Holi holiday. According to one of them, the name Holi came from the name of the demoness Holika. Prahlada — is the son of an evil king, worshiped Vishnu, and nothing could dissuade him from this. Then the king's sister, the demoness Holika, who was believed not to burn in the fire, persuaded Prahlada to go to the stake in the name of God. To everyone's amazement, Holika was burned, and Prahlada, rescued by Vishnu, came out unharmed. In memory of these events, on the eve of the holiday, Holi burns an effigy of the evil Holika.

In addition, the Holi festival is associated with the story of how Shiva incinerated the god of love Kamu with his third eye, who tried to bring him out of meditation, after which Kama remained disembodied. But at the request of Shiva's wife Parvati and Kama's wife, goddess Rati Shiva returned Kama's body for 3 months of the year. When Kama gains a body, everything around him blooms, and happy people celebrate the most fun holiday of love.

The Holi festival is also often associated with the name of Krishna and his games with shepherdesses, which are reflected in the earthly world. Flirting between a young man and a girl during the Holi holiday — is a favorite theme for dance. The young man lures the girl out, distracts her, she stares at something, and at that moment he smears her with colored powder or douses her with tinted water. The girl is offended, he asks for forgiveness (the characteristic gesture — takes the earlobes). She forgives him and also responds by dousing him with colored water. A rare opportunity for young people with a general strictness of Indian morals.

Flirting between a young man and a girl during the Holi holiday — is a favorite theme for dance (Photo: snapgalleria, licensed from Shutterstock.com)

If tons of sweets are eaten on Diwali, then on Holi everyone gets drunk with a bhang — drink, which contains either juice or hemp leaves and dairy products. Varieties of bhanga: bhang lassi — yogurt with hemp leaf juice, thandai lassi — mixture of milk, sugar, spices, almonds and, of course, hemp leaves (juice). Indian cuisine is characterized by an abundance of seasonings that are added to all dishes, even milk.

On the same day, Gaura Purnima is celebrated on the —th day of the appearance of Gauranga, a holiday dedicated to the appearance of Gauranga (Caitanya Mahaprabhu), which about 500 years ago marked the beginning of the Sankirtana movement, the worship of God through the glorification of his holy names. Sankirtana Yagi (worship) gave the basis to Gaudivaishnavism, one of the spiritual trends of Vedic religion (Hinduism). This holiday is still widely celebrated today in India and abroad.

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