Holi is a holiday celebrated by millions of Hindus around the world, from India and Pakistan to Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States. It falls on the purnima, or full-moon day of Phalguna, which is the last month of the Hindu lunar calendar, and it marks a joyous, colorful start to spring. And we do mean colorful — called the Festival of Colors, Holi is celebrated with the help of brightly dyed powder and water that’s thrown onto revelers.
Though the festival has been commercialized with all sorts of marathon events like the Color Run, it’s actually rooted in religious Hindu myths and is one of the biggest Hindu festivals of the year. Many who celebrate it say Holi is about honoring changing seasons, friendship and community, and new beginnings. But there are also aspects of the centuries-old tradition that some say call for greater awareness around sexism and casteism. And in recent years, student activists, like the group Students Against Hindutva, have used Holi to protest against India’s Hindu nationalist government, led by Narendra Modi.
The meaning of Holi today holds nuance. So, whether you personally observe Holi or are planning to celebrate it with a friend, here’s what to know about its meaning and history, what the colors symbolize, and how the festival is celebrated.
What is Holi?
Holi (pronounced “holy”) is a festival that celebrates spring, love, rebirth, and the triumph of good over evil. It’s rooted in Hindu myths and has been celebrated across parts of India, where it originated, for centuries; poems documenting the festival date back to the 4th century CE. Holi celebrations in North India and Nepal are among the liveliest, as both places are deeply tied to the Hindu stories the festival honors. But Holi celebrations don’t abide by geographic borders.
Today, the festival is celebrated not only throughout South Asia but across the global Indian diaspora. And although it’s a festival with religious significance to Hindus, Holi is embraced as a cultural holiday by those of other faiths within India and its diaspora, too. During Holi, divisions in religion, politics, and caste are meant to be blurred. The organization Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) describes the festival as a time “when barriers dissolve and people come together in a celebration that acknowledges no distinction between caste, creed, or color.”
Unity, light-heartedness, and fun are, to many who celebrate, the purpose of Holi, but HfHR says the reality can be a bit more complicated. They note: “The festival's dynamics in caste and gender present a complex picture. The exuberance of Holi sometimes masks underlying social inequalities.” Some have argued that social hierarchies and inequities persist during Holi, with women and those from the marginalized Dalit caste performing the festival's labor without fully participating in its festivities. Others say that reading of Holi ignores regional customs that center women at the celebration’s forefront. For these reasons, HfHR calls for a “nuanced understanding and responsible celebration” of Holi.
When is Holi?
Holi always falls on Phalguna Purnima, the last full moon day of the Hindu lunar calendar year, which is typically in late February or March. In 2025, Holi will fall on Friday, March 14. But the festivities begin the night before; Holi is actually a two-day festival (and in some regions, the festivities can last up to a week). The night before the main Holi, there is Holika Dahan or Choti Holi (“small Holi”).
Holi is actually a two-day festival. Before the main Holi, there is Holika Dahan or Choti Holi (“small Holi”), where people gather around bonfires to sing and dance to let go of any negative thoughts and actions from the previous year. All sorts of things are thrown into the flames, including wood, leaves, and even food, like coconut and chickpeas. Choti Holi is a release — it’s permission to start anew and overcome any lingering negative energy. The ritual is also done in remembrance of the burning of the demoness Holika, one of the most popular Holi stories.
How is Holi celebrated?
Holi marks the end of winter and arrival of spring and is an invocation for a flourishing harvest season, falling around the time many people in India harvest wheat. While there are plenty of regional differences and local spins on the exact way Holi is celebrated, themes of new life and renewal can be seen across many of these festivities, starting with Choti Holi’s bonfires.
The night before Holi, it’s popular for people to gather around bonfires to sing, dance, and let go of negativity from the previous year. All sorts of things are thrown into the flames, including wood, leaves, and even food, like coconut and chickpeas. Choti Holi is a release — it’s permission to start anew and overcome any lingering negative energy. The ritual is also done in remembrance of the burning of the demoness Holika, one of the most popular Holi stories. On this night, it’s also traditional to roast holuk, a blend of gram, wheat, and other grains, as thanks for a good harvest.
The day after the bonfire comes the main Holi celebration. People get together in white clothing and throw gulal (colored powder) and colored water at each other. Though this aspect of the festival has been heavily commercialized, it is by far the most well-known part of Holi. Rangolis — colored patterns made of flowers, colored sand, and rice — are also painted on the floors of houses, businesses, and temples.
After Holi, get ready to eat, as there is a big feast, complete with a variety of traditional dishes, like gujiya, a fried, dumpling-shaped sweet stuffed with dried fruit; dahi vada, a savory snack with lentil fritters and yogurt, topped with a savory chutney and other garnishes; barfi, sweets made from condensed milk and sugar; and lassi, a sweet, refreshing yogurt drink, just to name a few.
What do the Holi colors mean?
Traditionally, the bright hues used for Holi’s colored powders and water came from natural ingredients like flowers, herbs, tea, and berries. Each shade carries a distinct meaning, including:
- Red: Symbolizes love and fertility; is said to be the first color used for Holi celebrations
- Yellow: The color of turmeric, a powder that’s native to India and important in both South Asian cuisine and culture
- Blue: Represents the Hindu god Krishna, the god of protection, compassion, and love
- Green: Symbolizes spring, nature, and new beginnings
- Orange: Represents light, starting over, and forgiveness
- Pink: Signifies joy, companionship, and camaraderie
- Purple: The color of the crown chakra in Hinduism; represents wisdom, power, and mysticism
What is the story behind Holi?
There are multiple Hindu myths tied to Holi. But one of the most popular is the story of Lord Krishna, known as the god of protection, compassion, and love, and his beloved Radha, the goddess of love and devotion. It’s this myth where we get Holi’s tradition of throwing colors.
In Hinduism, Krishna has blue skin while Radha is depicted as light-skinned. According to legend, as a child, Krishna complained to his mother about the differences in skin color between him and Radha. She responded with a joke, saying that if he smeared different colors on Radha’s face, he could change her skin tone to whatever color he wanted. He playfully did just that, and now the throwing of colors is repeated on Holi, representing the spirited love and affection that Radha and Krishna shared.
Another Holi origin story — the myth of the demon king Hiranyakashipu — explains the festival’s association with the theme of good triumphing over evil. Hiranyakashipu, who believed himself to be a god above any laws or moral code, was shocked to discover that his five-year-old son, Prahlad, was a devout worshiper of Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu hated Vishnu, as he had killed his brother, Hiranyaksha. Once the king discovered his son openly worshipped his brother’s killer, he grew angry and, after failing to shake his son’s devotion to Vishnu, sought the help of his demoness sister, Holika, to kill the boy. Holika possessed a cloak that was immune to fire, so Hiranyakashipu asked her to take Prahlad into the fire pit with her, where he would burn. But Vishnu, ever eager to protect his followers, prevented Prahlad from being hurt and instead made Holika burn to ashes instead.
For some, Prahlad’s story carries a reminder during Holi of the strength of those who behave with good intentions, despite any hardships life throws their way. For others, the story feels a bit darker. Some activists argue that celebrating the death of Holika is celebrating the death of a lower-caste woman, and that this celebration is linked to violence against lower-caste women in India today, including during Holi. And a retelling of the same myth interprets the story of Hiranyakashipu as the tale of the violent overthrow of an Indigenous king who was painted as evil by Brahmins, India’s highest-ranking caste. Still others, though, argue that these interpretations erase the festival’s religious significance and apply a Western and urban-centric gaze to Holi, warping its ancient meaning for tribal and rural communities.
Questions raised by these different interpretations of Holi may be complicated, but it’s always a good idea to read and learn more about the histories of what we celebrate. In the U.S., that means listening to South Asian and South Asian American perspectives on the way Holi is celebrated (and commercialized) here, as well.
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