Holi, the second biggest festival of Hindu culture after Diwali, comes in the Phalgun month which is February or March as per Gregorian calendar.
This year, “Holi” is on ‘25th March 2024’ as per the Gregorian Calendar.
However as per “Drik Panchang”, the “tithi” for “Holi” in the year 2024 is as follows:
In this year 2023 as per 'Tithi', the muhurat of Holika Dahan is on 7th of March- from '06:42 p.m. to 9:07 p.m.' (02 hours 25 minutes), & Dhulandi is on 8th of March. Generally, this festival lasts for a night and a day initiating on the Purnima evening which is celebrated as 'Holika Dahan' or 'Chhoti Holi' and the next day as 'Holi', 'Rangwali Holi', 'Dol Purnima', 'Dhuleti', 'Dhulandi', 'Ukuli', 'Manjal Kuli', 'Yaosang', 'Shigmo', 'Phagwah' and 'Jajiri.'
The occasion of Holi marks the arrival of a nice spring harvest season and end of winters. It's also the blossoming of love for many and for some, it's a good time to meet relatives and acquaintances. Hence, Holi is also known as 'Festival of Spring' & 'Festival of Love.' Hindus, Jains and Sikhs from India and foreign countries as well celebrate this festival with joy and delicacy.
Holi is also considered as the celebration of victory of good over evil in the honour of Lord Vishnu and his devotee Prahlada. There's a great legend behind this which finds its immense importance in Hindu scriptures as well:
"There was a king of demons named Hiranyakashipu who was also the father of Prahlada. He has been given a boon by Lord Vishnu that gave him five superior powers: he could be killed by neither a human being nor an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by astra (projectile weapons) nor by any shastra (handheld weapons), and neither on land nor in water or air. After receiving this boon, he started considering himself as the Almighty and grew arrogant. He insisted everyone to worship him only, not even Lord Vishnu. But his son, Prahlada who was the ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu disagreed to his father's statement & continued on worshipping Lord Vishnu. After making lots of attempts to stop Prahalad, his father ended up with a conspiracy along with his cruel Aunt, Holika. She was given the boon to not get burnt in fire. Hence she took Prahlada in her lap and sat on the pyre. And she was devoured while Prahlada survived because of his unbelievable devotion towards the Almighty, Lord Vishnu. To protect Prahalada from his father, Lord Vishnu took the form of Narsimha who was half human and half lion (neither a human nor an animal), and killed Hiranyakashipu during dusk (when it was neither day nor night) at a doorstep (which was neither indoors nor outdoors) on his lap (which was neither land, water, nor air) with his lion claws (which were neither astra nor shastra)."
That's why, on the night of Holika Dahan, people lit bonfires and pray to Lord Vishnu that their internal evils be burnt the way cruel Holika died.
People also gather around the bonfire to sing and dance.
As per “Drik Panchang”, the “tithi” and “Muhurat” for “Holika Dahan” in the year 2024 are as follows:
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On the next day after Holika Dahan, called ‘Rangwali Holi’ & ‘Dhulandi’, the festival is celebrated with colours- hued powder and hued water.
As per “Drik Panchang”, ‘Dhulandi’ is on ‘25th March 2024.’
apply 'Gulal' (a type of colour) over the faces of others. Children seek the blessings of their elders by applying the hued colours over their feet. Many sweets like gujiya, mathri, laddus and a special drink known as bhang are also prepared by many people to add more enjoyment to the memorable moments of the festival of colours.
But have you ever wondered why we celebrate Holi with colours?
Behind this also lies an unknown fact about Lord Krishna and his consort, Radha:
As Lord Krishna had a dark complexion (saanwala) since his birth. He had an inferiority complex inside him. He used to stay worried if Radha would talk to him or not because of the colour differences between them. It was then that Maiyya Yashoda advised Krishna to put colour on Radha's face so that they won't appear different from each other. He did the same and since then, Krishna and Radha became a couple.
Ever since, this tradition of playing with colours on the festival of Holi has been continued. Because of the same reason, Holi is much popular in the Braj regions of India like Mathura, Vrindavana, Govardhan, Gokul, Nandgaon and Barsana. In Barsana, 'Lathmar Holi' is played by the people there. Similarly in Vrindavan, the people play Holi with flowers. In these places, the festival of Holi lasts for 7-8 days. In many places of Uttar Pradesh, Kavi Sammelan is also held in the evening. During Holi, these places become tourist attractions for many.
Apart from India, the foreign countries like Guyana, USA, Trinidad, Tobago, Nepal and Singapore also celebrate this festival of love with lots of joy and happiness.
One can find various glimpses of people playing with colours along with Britishers on the festival of Holi even during the Mughal Empire. The emperor of Sikh community, Maharaja Ranjit Singh also used to celebrate Holi with others in the Bilawal Gardens. Since then, Sikhs also find a great importance of the festival of colours.
On the festival of Holi, apart from performing Holika Dahan, playing with colours, having sweets, dance and other enjoyment, many people worship and make offerings to Kamadeva, the god of love in Indian mythology.
Other than Holi, there's one more festival of colours, i.e., Rangapanchami, celebrated very auspiciously in India as well as many foreign places.
“Rangpanchami: Celebrating the Harmony of Nature, Spirituality, and Colorful Festivities”
The fifth day (Panchami) after Holi during the Krishna Paksha in the Phalgun month is celebrated as 'Rangapanchami.' This year, it is on '30th March 2024.',
As per “Drik Panchang”, the “tithi” for “Rangpanchami” in the year 2024 is as follows:
Rangpanchami is another festival of colours celebrated with enthusiasm in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and many parts of northern India. Farming and fishing communities find a special significance for this festival. Unlike Holi, instead of usual colours, people use Gulal for the celebrations on Rangpanchami. As per the historical legends, the sacred fire of Holika Dahan stimulates Panch Tatva- 'earth, water, light, sky and wind' in the environment and purifies both rajasic and tamasic particles. It brings a positive aura in the surroundings and fills it with purity. It also activates various deities in the form of colours. Rangpanchami is celebrated to restore those five elements in our lives for a balanced well-being. Hence this festival is also considered a symbol of victory over "raja-tama." It is assumed that Lord Krishna used to play Raslila with Gopis on this day and the colour game on the next day after Rangpanchami. As on the day of Rangpanchami, the spiritual forces are said to be more than the destructive powers. Hence it also denotes that all the barriers coming in the path of spiritual development are going to end soon.
A period of darkness doesn’t prevail throughout. Instead, it is replaced by a bright sunrise the next day. Our lives make a compilation of these dark and brighter days, helping us learn and grow with our experiences. Vedic Astrology, spirituality, numerology and coaching enable you to hone the power of optimism and triumph the darkness with a positive stride.
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