Introduction Holi Festival
Holi is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun. It is also called the Spring Festival, as it marks the arrival of spring. The rituals of Holika Dahan are carried out in remembrance of demoness Holika and signifies the victory of good over evil.3 days ago
About Holi
An ancient Hindu festival, which later became popular among non-Hindu communities as well, Holi heralds the arrival of spring after winter. It signifies the victory of good over evil and is celebrated as a day of spreading happiness and love. The festival is also celebrated as a thanksgiving for a good harvest.
Holi Is A Hindu Festival
Holi is a Hindu festival that takes place every spring. It’s all about new beginnings — Holi welcomes the spring season and celebrates the end of winter. The Holi festival always falls on Purnima or the day of the full moon. It’s a two-day holiday; the day of the March full moon is Holika Dahan.
Why do we play Colours in Holi?
It is believed that Lord Krishna used to celebrate Holi with colors and hence popularized the same. He used to play Holi with his friends at Vrindavan and Gokul. They used to play pranks all across the village and thus made this a community event. Holi is a spring festival to say goodbye to winters.
How did Holi begin?
The origins of Holi come from a mix of Hindu mythology including the popular legend of Hiranyakashyap – a demon king who wanted to be immortal. He wanted everyone to worship him as a god but his own son, Prahlada, chose to worship Vishnu instead, which offended his father.
What makes Holi special?
This is why the first day of Holi is celebrated as Holika Dahan and symbolizes the victory of good over evil. In the region of Braj (where Lord Krishna grew up) in Uttar Pradesh, Holi is celebrated until the day of Rangpanchmi as a huge festival, in memory of the devotional love of Krishna and Radha.
Is Holi a Hindu holiday?
Holi is a popular Hindu holiday celebrated most commonly in India that is also known as the Festival of Colors. It celebrates the triumph of good over evil and the changing of the seasons from winter to spring.
Traditional Holi food
Ghujiya
Ghujiya is synonymous with It is known by various names – karanji, ghugra, or karajikai. The deep-fried soft flaky crust of gujiya filled with khoya(mawa)and dry fruits and dessicated coconut makes it an amazing sweet. Earlier only mawa or khoya filling gujiyas were popular but these days you can find all sorts of fillings in gujiyas like Paan Gulkand Gujiya, Chocolate Cinnamom Gujiya,
Dhai Bhalle
The best thing about dahi bhalle is that you can make them in advance and refrigerate them for later use. They taste better when served chill. Dilli ke dahi bhalle are to die for.
The soft dal balls dipped in chilled yogurt preparation and garnished with green and sweet chutney along with spices make it ultra delish.
Lassi
Around Holi the mornings are cold but the afternoons tend to be hot. Drinking chilled lassi not only kills the heat but replenishes your gut too. It is very healthy and tasty. Yogurt is a very good probiotic.
Bhang Ki Pakore
During Holi bhaang ke pakore are also prepared. Pakore, friends, gossip, and drinks what more can one ask for during Holi. Holi is the time to connect with friends and family but a long winter.
Thandai
Thandai is a Royal drink in which all thandai masalas are used like cashew, cardamom, poppy seeds, black pepper, almonds, fennel seed (saunf) and rose petals all of these have cooling properties.
It is a must for all the Holi Parties. A sip of this chilled thandai during the Holi party and you are all re-energized. In some parts of India where bhaang is grown Bhaang thandai is also very popular.
Kanji Vadda
Kanji vada is very popular street food. Fried balls of lentil called vada are added to the fermented drink and are called kanji vada.
Kanji is a seasonal drink prepared from fresh black carrots, fermented in earthen pots for few days just around Holi. It is a super refreshing, healthy, and delicious drink.
Kachori
Kachori is generally made during the Holi festival. Kachori is a fried pastry ball just like poori with aloo pithi (stuffing) or dal pithi stuffing inside. best relished with the piping hot tea
They are generally served with aloo sabji and to gulp them down lassi or thandai is served it them.
Malpua
The combination of malpua with rabri is lethal. It is a very tricky and time consuming dish to prepare but the end product is simply delish.
Malpua is fried pancakes served with rabri which is thick milk reduced on slow fire for an hour or two and then flavored.
Besan Sev
Earlier our grandmothers had innovative simple ways to make delicious foods. One of them is besan sev. Once you start munching on it you cannot stop yourself. It is nothing but the crispiness of the deep-fried sev is mindblowing
Namak Pare
Namakpare. Namakpare is just all-purpose flour seasoned with salt and ghee and then deep-fried. It is a perfect evening snack.
Shakarepare
“Shakar” – sugar. These are sweet, crunchy and light generally diamond shaped. During holi shakarpare are prepared and shared with all the friends and family. Sometimes people coat them with sugar syrup or gur syrup and sometimes people prepare them with whole wheat flour and saunf too. So these are some of the most popular traditional Holi food.
Conclusion
On an individual level as well, each one of us has to be careful. It’s advisable to celebrate Holi with only a few close ones to reduce the risk of contracting this contagious virus through contact. Everyone should use gloves to the extent possible. Play with the colors on an open, airy ground rather than in congested, close quarters. Afterward, make sure you wash and sanitize your hands and face well.
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COVID-19 Rules and Restrictions
- Following the surge in cases, the Gujarat government announced on 21 March that colours will not be allowed this Holi. This year, the Holi celebration will be limited to the holy pyre of ‘Holika Dahan’.
- In Bihar, public Holi celebrations have been banned entirely. Moreover, travellers coming into the state will be randomly tested for coronavirus at railway stations, bus stands, and airports.
- People in the state of Odisha also will not be able to celebrate the festival of colours in public places. ‘Dola Melans’ may be allowed with an appropriate number of participants, while the ‘Dolayatra’ shall not be allowed at all in public. The local authorities may also impose restrictions on the entry of devotees into temples and religious places.
- The hotspot city of Mumbai and Palghar in Maharashtra have also banned both, private and public celebrations of Holika Dahan as well as Rangpanchami.
- In Punjab, Chandigarh’s local government has declared that neither public Holi-Milan festivities, nor ceremonial gatherings in clubs, hotels, or restaurants will be permitted.
- The authorities of Uttar Pradesh, too, issued a circular stating that no Holi-special procession will be carried out without prior permission of the government.
- At the capital city, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has ordered a ban on public celebrations of not only Holi, but Navratri and other festivals as well.
- The daily caseload in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana, and several other states has been increasing at an alarming rate in the past 30 days, and state governments are expected to soon release their guidelines for the festival.