Holi 2023: All you need to know about India's festival of colours

If you are wondering why Holi is celebrated in India, you’ll be surprised to know that the festival of Holi is very deeply rooted in mythology and different communities have different versions of the legend of the festival.

The most famous one is about Holika, the aunt of Prahlada. Prahlada was an ardent devotee of Vishnu, and his father Hiranyakashipu who was also Holika’s brother wasn’t too happy about it. He asked Prahlada to stop worshipping Vishnu but he refused. Following this, Holika and Hiranyakashipu planned to kill Prahlada and devised a plan wherein Holika would sit in a bonfire with Prahlada on her lap and while should be protected from the fire by a protective shawl, and Prahlada would die. To everyone’s surprise, Prahlad emerged safely from the fire but Holika perished and thus the festival marks the victory of good over evil.

The festival also holds significance in relevance to Lord Krishna who is said to have smeared a colourful powder on goddess Radha’s face because she had a fair complexion, during their courtship.

Holi usually marks the onset of summer in India and thus falls during the month of February or March. Holi 2023 date in India is the 7th of March for chhoti Holi, when the Holika Dahan takes place, followed by badi Holi on the 8th when people play with colours. 

Holi celebrations are kicked off with Holika Dahan a day prior to the badi Holi. A holy pyre is sparked and a few religious practices and rituals are done. On the day of Holi, people gather together for a celebration and play with colours, water, and water-filled balloons. You can also find people consuming tons of sweets like Gujiya, Laddoos and Jalebi and don’t be surprised if someone hands you a glass of Bhaang - a special preparation made from the leaves of the cannabis plant that’s sure to get you in the spirit. 

We have done a round-up of thebest places to celebrate Holi 2023 in India, but we just wanted to tell you the top 3 places to be here:

You can witness the best Holi in India at Vrindavan. Playing Holi is of significance here because of Lord Krishna as he spent a considerable amount of his life here and it has been a tradition since. Vrindavan is the best place to celebrate Holi as people from different cities and countries come to witness the riot of colour, making it the most famous Holi in India. 

Probably the second-best Holi celebration in India happens at Mathura. As the Holi celebrations at Vrindavan end at 2 pm, the party continues at Mathura. A procession takes over the streets with children dressed as Lord Radha and Krishna. It is one of the biggest Holi celebrations in India, thanks to everyone who visits just to witness this festival. 

Every city or state has a different type of Holi celebration in India. Varanasi is known for Masan Holi where the festival of colours is celebrated with pyre ash from the cremation ground. It is said to be an age-old tradition of celebrating death to attain ‘moksha’ (salvation).