The Maldives just got even dreamier for folks with Marriott Bonvoy points to burn: The second JW Marriott in the country is now open.
28.01.2025 - 09:55 / lonelyplanet.com
Jan 27, 2025 • 7 min read
As winter wanes, India gets ready to welcome spring and the onset of the harvest season, heralded by the spectacular festival of Holi.
This vividly colorful Hindu festival is celebrated with fanfare across the country, with the burning of bonfires and millions of people splashing each other with gulal (colored powder). In fact, in many parts of northern India, Holi is celebrated on a grander scale than even Diwali.
While the dates change every year, following the Hindu lunar calendar, Holi usually falls in March, which is a great time to visit India and dive headlong into its most vibrant and colorful festival. If you want to join in the celebrations, here's what you need to know about Holi.
Often referred to as the "Festival of Colors," Holi is a vibrant and joyous Hindu festival celebrated across India, and by Indian communities worldwide. It falls on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Phalguna, which usually falls in March in the Gregorian calendar, and marks the triumph of good over evil.
As with most Indian festivals, the origins of Holi are linked to ancient legends. According to the Hindu texts known as the Puranas, the demoness Holika tried to murder her nephew, Prahlada, in a funeral pyre. Through the power of his devotion to Lord Vishnu, Prahlada was saved from the flames, and it was Holika who came to a fiery end instead – a classic story of good vanquishing evil.
Bonfires are a common feature of Holi celebrations across the country. A few days before the festival, people start collecting wood, twigs and other combustible materials for the ritual bonfires. The night before Holi, the bonfires are lit in a ritual called Holika Dahan or Chhoti Holi, symbolizing the burning of negativity and evil.
The main celebration occurs the next day, which is variously called Rangwali Holi, Ranga Panchami, Dhulandi, Phagwah or Badi Holi. People of all ages get together, smearing each other with colored powders and drenching one another with water balloons and colored water.
According to legend, the ritual of throwing colored powder was started by Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu) in the meadows of Vrindavan, between Delhi and Agra. Traditional songs and dances add to the revelry, and friends and family visit each other to exchange festive sweets and good wishes.
Holi celebrations and rituals vary across India and the best place to take in the festival will depend on the kind of experience you want to have. The most colorful Holi celebrations take place in the temple towns of Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh – Mathura is where Lord Krishna was born, while Vrindavan was where he spent his childhood.
The week-long celebrations at the Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan are
The Maldives just got even dreamier for folks with Marriott Bonvoy points to burn: The second JW Marriott in the country is now open.
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