Time for Fun in Holi Date - March 22, 2008  Save as Bookmark  Send this Page to Friend. Holi Home   Holi Wallpapers   Holi - Its Mood and Backdrop   Holi - The Festival of Colours   Holi Greetings   Mouth-Watering New Holi Recipes   The Fire Festival of Holi   The History of Holi   Time for Fun in Holi   Spring time in India, flowers and fields are abloom in their resplendent glory and the country goes wild with people running on the streets and smearing each other with brightly hued powders and coloured water. This is the festival of Holi, celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year.     Houses are given a fresh coat of color, beautiful floral designs are drawn at the entrance, and powdered colors and spraying pistons are bought. Young men and women mingle freely and participate in dances and cultural programs. Young men throw coloured powder and coloured water on women, using pichkaris. The origin of this custom can be found in the pranks of Krishna, who used to drench milkmaids in the village with water and play various other tricks on them.     In earlier days the colors were extracted from a flower that blossoms only during this festival. People used vegetable dyes like those from the tesu or palash flower which gave a lovely yellow colour and was supposed to be good for the skin. The chemical colours now used can be harmful. And the pistons were made of bamboo sticks. But over the years colors are made artificially and pistons made of different materials are available in various designs.     Holi is also synonymous with bhang, which is consumed by many in the form of laddoos and ghols. One could get away with almost anything on this day; squirting coloured water on passers-by and dunking friends in the mud pool saying "bura na mano, Holi hai" (don't feel offended, it's Holi). Holi is the time when people from all castes and social strata come together forgetting all past differences and grievances. Today having lost its original significance, the festival is a favourite with most Indians for being the most colourful and joyous of all. Every year it succeeds in bridging the social gap, between employers and employees, men and women. People visit homes, distribute sweets and apply gulal (colour) on each other, signifying the colourful and happy spring times ahead. They greet each other, embracing three times. Apart from this usual fun with coloured powder and water, Holi is marked by vibrant processions, which are accompanied by folk songs, dances and a general sense of abandoned gaeity.