Today many Hindu’s are celebrating Holi 2017.
This event which is often referred to as the ‘festival of colours‘ or ‘festival of love’ is a day marked every year which celebrates the beginning of spring and good over evil.
Holi celebrations are often recognised for the brightly coloured powders that are thrown over revellers and also huge fires that are lit which celebrate evil being defeated by good. Depending on which region celebrations take place, different aspects are involved.
If you’ve noticed Google has marked the event today with a special Doodle pictured below. Not the first Holi Doodle Google has created, you can find previous versions in Google’s archive if you fancy a look.
Holi Festival of Colours – History
The event was originally established by Hindu legends and historically celebrated in India and Nepal, however it’s know widely celebrated across the globe with many non-Hindus getting involved! The idea of throwing coloured powder – called gulal – came from the legend of Krishna. Traditionally turmeric was used however in more recent times synthetic powders have been used to throw which symbolise being showered in love and also represent the arrival of new spring colours.
“The four main powder colours are used to represent different things. Red reflects love and fertility, blue is the colour of Krishna, yellow is the colour of turmeric and green symbolises spring and new beginnings.” – Telegraph
Since the event has become more popular across different parts of the world, many Hindus have criticised how it’s being used as an excuse to rave and expressed that the meaning behind the occasion is being lost in some cases.
London holds a Holi Festival of Colours gig most years, with 2017’s taking place in July, 4 months after the celebration. Fans can purchase tickets and bags of coloured powder for the event to throw over each other just like the traditional events that take place.
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