Festival of Colors | Holi Festival In Nepal
One of Nepal's major festivals, Holi is celebrated with excitement and cheerfulness; also known as the Festival of colors, which is part of the Hindu faith celebrated in India, Nepal, and in many parts of South Asia more recently. If you want to experience one of the most vivid and colorful Holi festivals in Nepal you can also schedule your trek to Everest Base Camp at the same time as Holi's spring festival.
The story behind the Holi festival is that there was a king called Hiranya Kashyap who had a son named Prahlad once in the ancient days. The son was a pure soul, a devotee of Lord Vishnu though his father never liked to see him worshiping Lord Vishnu. Yet loyalty to Prahlad angered Hiranya Kashyap and instigated a plot to conspire to destroy him by fire. He asked her sister Holika, who had been given special power by the god to be fireproof, to kill Prahlad by her strength. As per the order, Holika took him in her lap with a strong intention to kill Prahlad and sat in the flame. Surprisingly, Prahlad, who had no fire-proof blessings, survived without harm from the flames, though Holika was burnt in the fire despite the god's blessing. From that day on, the Holi festival has started to mark the triumph of good over evil.
Holi is also known as the Spring Festival-as it signals the spring start of the season of hope and joy. It is defined by enjoyable experiences such as meeting old and new friends, pouring colors into each other throughout the body, merrymaking and laughing, ignoring fear and pains, forgiving as well as strengthening relationship ties. Winter's darkness goes ahead as Holi promises bright summer days. Nature too seems to be rejoicing at Holi's arrival and wearing its best clothes. Shops in Nepal begin selling colors for Holi weeks ahead, and people start gathering wood and fuel for the bonfires in parks, community centers, near temples, and other open spaces during the days ahead of the festival. This year Holi is on 20th and 21st Mach, 2021 ( Chaitra 15th, 16th of 2077). People stock up on pigments, milk, party drinks, and seasonal festive foods such as malpuas, mathri, and other regional delicacies within local homes.
Holi festival falls in Falgun, 11th month of Nepal's Calendar. The Holi Festival is in March, but sometimes late in February, according to the Gregorian calendar.
Some of the traditional colors:
Haldi (turmeric) powder is the traditional yellow color source. Sometimes to get the right shade, this is combined with chickpeas, grams, or other flours.
Beetroot is the typical magenta and purple color source.
Palash or tesu flowers, also known as the forest flame, are common sources of bright red and deep orange colors. Alternate examples and shades of red include powdered red sandalwood, dried hibiscus flowers, madder fruit, radish, and pomegranate.
Gulmohar tree Mehendi and dried leaves provide a source of green color.
grape varieties, amla (gooseberry) fruits, and vegetable carbon (charcoal) give black to gray colors.
The dried tea leaves provide a source of colored brown water.
The celebration of Holi is colors, drinks, sweets, and music. People put color like a symbol of love on each other. People come to a group to meet relatives and friends. Place colors on each other to eat sweets and pass the whole day around the village or the area. People dance and play music in some communities and areas. People in Terai are celebrating Holi from Kathmandu Valley the next day, and other hilly Nepal factors. There is a tradition of erecting a Pillar (long bamboo stick called' lingo') on Bashantapur Durbar Square and Bhaktapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu Valley filled with bits of various color cloths (Chir). The pillar is taken down on the evening of the first day of Holi and the Chir is burned in front of the ancient Royal Palace. The occasion is also known as Holika Dahan and is called ' Chir Haran. ' Some people collect wood and burn fires in the evening and play music as well as perform dances. Holi Celebration is very popular with the burning of wood logs in village and town avenues. Holika Dahan is the name for this event. People traditionally made bamboo water guns (in Nepali called pichkari). And pour one onto another colored water. Nowadays, People use balloons and plastic water guns (pichkari). In Nepali, the water-filled balloon is called Lola. Children and youth start throwing ' Lolas ' at each other from the week ahead of main Holiday days. When you visit different places you will see the different ways of the Holi festival celebration.
If you are in Kathmandu the best places are the streets of Thamel and Durbar Square. Durbar square can be completely packed with people, while Thamel's small streets are filled with children looking for water-guns and balloons to sneak up. In case you’re in Pokhara basically walk along Lakeside Road. Additionally, just in case you're trekking in a very portion of the less populated locales, you're always going to find kids playing Holi, however, it is not exactly reminiscent of being in Kathmandu. Last year, we were unable to celebrate Holi properly because of the COVID 19 pandemic. Until now, however, the government has not imposed any limits on the celebration of the Holi Festival in Kathmandu 2021.
Holika Dahan is often celebrated in India with pyres of firewood collected during the days leading to the festival. People often throw twigs, wood, and dried leaves into bonfires. Many families will place Holika's effigy. During this festive, whole streets and cities will become red, green, and yellow as people throw colorful powder into the air and sprinkle with it. people often drench each other into the water, drink intoxicating beverages, dance to live street music, and have yummy foods.