How is Holi celebrated in India
Celebrating the colourful festival of Holi involves a number of rituals:
Preparing the Holika pyre
A few days prior to the festival, people start collecting wood and other inflammable things for the bonfire. The combustible materials are then gathered in a pyre in colonies, community centres, parks or other open spaces. On top of the pyre, an effigy of Holika is placed to be burned as per the legend.
Holika Dahan
The first day of the festival is celebrated as Holika Dahan or Chhoti Holi. After sunset, people gather around the pyre, perform puja (prayers) and then light it. People even sing and dance around the pyre, as it symbolizes the triumph of good over bad.
Playing with colours
The second day of Holi is called Rangwali Holi, Dhulandi, Dhulandi, Phagwah or Badi Holi. This is the day when people apply colours to one another, party and enjoy. Children and youngsters play in groups with dry colours called abir or gulal, pichkaris (water guns), water balloons filled with coloured solutions and other creative things. You might even find groups of people with drums and other musical instruments on streets, dancing and singing their way from one place to another.
Meleah Moore /
The special feast
Gujiya is a special sweet, which is made in every household in India during Holi. It is a dumpling filled with khoya (a dairy product) and dried fruits. The customary drink of Holi is thandai, which generally contains bhang(marijuana). Other mouth-watering delicacies enjoyed are gol gappe, papri chaat, dal kachori, kanji vada, dahi bhalle, chole bhature, and variety of namkeen.
The after-party
After playing with colours during the day, people clean themselves up, bathe, sober up and get dressed. They then go visit their relatives and friends and greet them for the festival.
Meleah Moore /
Best place to celebrate Holi in India
Holi celebrations are carried out in different manners in different parts of the country. While West Bengal celebrates Holi as Dol Jatra with singing and dancing, the people of South India worship the God of love, Kamadeva, on Holi. In Uttarakhand, it is celebrated as Kumaoni Holi with singing classical ragas, whereas, in Bihar, people traditionally clean their houses and then celebrate the festival.
To best experience the festival of Holi in India, you must go to Uttar Pradesh, and more specifically, to those areas that are closely associated with Lord Krishna like Braj, Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Nandgaon. All of these places become quite touristic during the celebrations. The town of Barsana celebrates Lath Mar Holi, where women playfully beat men with sticks while men run around with shields to protect themselves. This becomes even more fun and interesting when people together indulge in singing and dancing.
