Write Essay on Holi.
1. A National Festival
2. The Times of Celebration
3. Preparation for the festival
4. How It It Celebrated
Answers
Answer:
Holi is a prominent festival of Hindus which falls during the month of March or Phalgun every year. It is celebrated with enthusiasm and fun everywhere. The customs and rituals of celebrations may vary slightly throughout the Indian subcontinent , however, the festive spirit remains the same. Most of us wait for it eagerly because we have lots of adventure and fun without any scoldings.
Holi is a festival which does not involve many rituals. It is a two day festival which begins during the evening time on the full moon day in Phalgun month according to the Hindu calender. The first day is called ‘Chhoti Holi.’ On this day, people burn the effigy of Holika or their old belongings in the fire during the evening and relish on good food during dinner time. This ritual is known as ‘Holika Dahan.’ The next day, actual ‘Holi’ festival starts.
The festival day starts with cooking of several delicacies. People apply gulal and water colours on each other. The best part about this day is that everyone chooses to shed his shyness and enjoy the festival with others. They hug each other and wish ‘Happy Holi.’
Many Housing societies organise Holi Parties in their respective lawns. The whole lawn gets sprawled with bright and beautiful colours such as yellow, green, red, pink, grey, violet among others. Since everyone is painted with colours, it is hard to recognise.
Historical Significance - Holika Dahan
The tale of demon king Hiranyakashyap and his son Prahlad is one of the closely related mythological significance with this festival. Prahlad who was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu refused to follow his father's order when the latter asked him to stop doing so. The King tried various methods so that his son would worship the king itself instead of his Lord.
Lots of advisors and gurus were appointed so that they could convince the Prince to worship his father but they all failed. After that, the King came with different ways to kill his son. But each time, Prahlad was saved by Lord Vishnu. After this, the King conspired with his sister Holika, to kill his son. Holika had a boon from Lord Brahma that she would never be able to get hurt in a pyre of fire.
So, according to the plan, Holika sat in the pyre of fire with Prahlad in her lap. The Prince kept chanting the Lord’s name. Soon, Holika was reduced to ashes as her boon didn’t work and Prahlad escaped unhurt.
‘Chhoti Holi’ symbolises that goodness always prevails over evil.
Precautions while playing Holi
Holi is undoubtedly an occasion when we tend to enjoy to the fullest, however, we need to follow certain precautions as well. Try to use natural and organic colours instead of the synthetic ones. For example, you can use ‘haldi’ if you wish to play with yellow colour. Synthetic colours tend to harm eyes and skin.
Use of these can also lead to skin cancer.
Some people mar the celebration by swearing eggs, paint and grease. Such hooliganism should be discouraged as it leads to disharmony.
Conclusion
Holi is an occasion which is considered as a marvellous opportunity to repair all broken relations. You visit your loved ones and try to bridge the bitterness by applying colours to each other.