Destinations, Travel tips, Festivals and Public Holidays
Holi 2014
India Holi Day – The Festivals of Color
Holi 2014 ( Holli or The Festivals of Color ) is a festival of spring celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal as well as other countries with large Indian populations, such as United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius, Suriname, Guyana, and Trinidad.
Holi Festival is also known as Dolyatra (Doul Jatra) or Basanta-Utsav (spring festival) in West Bengal and Orissa of India. Holi is celebrated with most anticipation in the Braj region, or locations connected to the god Krishna, which are Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandagaon, and Barsana. Many of these become tourist destinations during the festive season, which can last up to 16 days.
When is Holi Festival?
Holi festival date is based on Hindu lunar calendar. It is annually celebrated at end of winter, on the last full moon day of Lunar month Phalguna. Holi Day usually falls in February or March.
Date of 2014 Holi Festival
When is 2014 Holi Festival? Holi 2014 falls on Monday, 17 March 2014. Holika Dahan 2014, the eve of Holi 2014, falls on Sunday, 16 March 2014.
Date of 2013 Holi Festival
When is 2013 Holi Festival? Holi 2013 falls on Wednesday, 27 March 2013. Holika Dahan 2013, the eve of Holi 2013, falls on Tuesday, 26 March 2013.
Date of 2012 Holi Festival
When is 2012 Holi Festival? Holi 2012 falls on Sunday, 9 March 2012. Holika Dahan 2012, the eve of Holi 2012, falls on Saturday, 8 March 2012.
India Holi Festival
Origins of Holi Festival
There are many stories about the origins of Holi Festival. One is about the god of love, Kamadeva. The legend has it that Kamadeva shot his weapon at Shiva to help Parvati to marry Shiva by disrupting Shiva’s meditation. Shiva, disrupted from his meditation, opened his third eye and cause a gaze of which was so powerful that Kamadeva’s body was destroyed and reduced to ashes. For the sake of Rati, Kamadeva’s wife, Shiva restored Kamadeva as a mental image, representing the true emotional and spiritual state of love.
To observe the event, people light bonfires on the eve of Phalgun full moon.
Video: Holi The Festival of Colours
Celebrations of Holi 2014
Aptly named as the Festival of Color, the main highlight of Holi 2013 festival is joyous celebrations of going to the street in big groups, smearing each other with bright colored powders and water, without regard to social status such as caste, race, or sex. People exchange greetings, young people pay respect to the elders by sprinkling some colors on their feet, elders distribute money and sweets, and everyone join in the dance.
The day before (on Holika Dahan), bonfires are lit at night of the full moon on street corners to symbolize the destruction of the wicked Holika, and to cleanse the air of evil spirits and bad vibes.
Holi 2013 is a public holiday in India for Hindus.
Happy Holi 2014 !
Interesting places around the world
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| Print article | This entry was posted by Singapore Holiday on February 20, 2012 at 6:40 am, and is filed under Festivals. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 2 years ago
Thanks for the information about Holi 2011. I have been seeing wrong dates of the Holi 2011 in many other websites.
about 2 years ago
WHAT IS DOING IN THE NAME OF HOLI IS VERY SAD. DEAR ALL PLEASE DONT ENTERTAIN THESE KIND OF FESTIVALS. HOLI MEANS FREELY YOU CAN TOUCH OTHER WOMEN’S. SAVE YOUR SELF AND SAVE YOUR SISTERS AND HOME TO BREAK……..
I FEAR ONLY FOR THE SECURITY PURPOSE OF WOMEN
about 7 months ago
For me, this festival looks fun and hilarious.
about 6 months ago
What a rubbish?
You dont know any thing about Holi.
1st know the culture in detail after you can comment. Try to look into your home.
about 1 month ago
Religious festivals in other religions make the devotees to spend time in prayer and meditation, along with good dress and gourmet dinner. But in Holi festival, people are encouraged to indulge in rowdyism, drinking and using abusive language. When one witnesses acts of rowdysm and drunkenness, one may wonder whether Holi has any religious significance.They say that one ogress, Dhundhi, used to devour children and to drive her out of the village, Shiva advised young boys to indulge in rowdysm, heavy drinking and using obscene language. It is quite incredible that Dhundi could not be driven out with weapons and arrows. But Shiva has suggested drinking, pranks, abusive language and goondaism. That is the reason boys drink, dance and do all acts of rowdysm on Holi day. How can a god give this sort of instruction?