Holi is one of the major festivals of India. Holi is celebrated with enthusiasm and gaiety on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun. Holi festival may be celebrated with various names and people of different states might be following different traditions. But, what makes Holi so unique and special is the spirit of it which remains the same throughout the country and even across the globe, wherever it is celebrated. Holi is one of the most colorful and vibrant festivals celebrated in India. Like many other festivals, Holi has an ancient origin, the tradition of which is being followed since time immemorial. Considering the religious importance of the festival, it is associated with a number of Puranic stories. Ranging from socio-cultural, religious to biological there is every reason why we must heartily enjoy the festival and cherish the reasons for its celebrations.  So when, its time for Holi, enjoy the festival to the hilt by participating with full enthusiasm in every small tradition related to the festival.

Historical Significance
Holi gets us close to our religion and our legends as it is essentially the celebration of various legends associated with the festival.
On the day before Holi, also know as Chotti Holi, people light fire with dried leaves and branches.  This commemorates the death of evil Holika.
Holi celebrates the legend of Radha and Krishna which describes the extreme delight; Krishna took in applying colors on Radha and other gopis. This prank of Krishna later became a trend and a part of the Holi festivities. For Krishna devotees, the festival is spread over two weeks.  The most important events are held at Vrindavan, Mathura, Barsnar and Nandgaon.

Puranas also states that Holi is the celebration of death of Evil Pootana who tried to kill infant, Krishna by feeding poisonous milk to it.
Another legend of Holi which is extremely popular in Southern India is that of Lord Shiva and Kaamadeva. According to the legend, people in south celebrate the sacrifice of Lord of Passion – Kaamadeva who risked his life to revoke Lord Shiva from meditation and save the world.

Also, popular is the legend of Evil Dhundhi who used to trouble children in the kingdom of Raghu and was ultimately chased away by the pranks of the children on the day of Holi. It is believed that children till date play pranks at the time of Holika Dahan.

Cultural Significance
Celebration of the various legends associated with Holi reassures the people of the power of the truth as the moral of all these legends is the ultimate victory of good over evil. The legend of Hiranyakashyap and Prahlad also points to the fact that extreme devotion to god pays as god always takes his true devotee in his shelter.

All these legends help the people to follow a good conduct in their lives and believe in the virtue of being truthful. This is extremely important in the modern day society when so many people resort to evil practices for small gains and torture one who is honest. Holi helps the people to believe in the virtue of being truthful and honest and also to fight away the evil.

Besides, holi is celebrated at a time of the year when the fields are in full bloom and people are expecting a good harvest. This gives a people a good reason to rejoice, make merry and submerge themselves in the spirit of Holi.

Social Significance
Holi helps to bring the society together and strengthen the secular fabric of our country. For, the festival is celebrated by non-Hindus also as everybody like to be a part of such a colorful and joyous festival.
Also, the tradition of the Holi is that even the enemies turn friends on Holi and forget any feeling of hardship that may be present. Besides, on this day people do not differentiate between the rich and poor and everybody celebrate the festival together with a spirit of brotherhood.
In the evening people visit friends and relatives and exchange gifts, sweets and greetings. This helps in revitalizing relationships and strengthening emotional bonds between people.

Please plan to buy genuine natural colors from the market.

Wishing everyone A happy and a safe Holi”.