The "Holi" Holiday

This Saturday, March 6th, is the annual celebration of “Holi.” The holiday is named after the demon godess “Holika.” Legend has it that a demon king named Hiranyakasyap, (Try saying that one three times real fast) had a son named Prahlad. Prahlad was devoted to the god named Vishnu who was the enemy of his father. The father was unable to keep his son from worshiping lord Vishnu so he started trying to kill his son. That is when Holika, the sister of the demon king, decided to help kill the son. She had a special blessing from a Brahma so that she would be unaffected by fire so she tried to hold the boy in a fire to kill him. What she did not realize was that “Agni”, the fire god, knew her ill intentions and burnt her up despite the blessing and left Prahlad alone. That is why on this day Nepalis celebrate “Holi” to remind them that if they have bad intentions they will not prosper despite whatever blessings they may have.

There are many erotic connotations to this holiday also. Another legend says that on this day lord Krishna stole the clothes from his 16,108 girlfriends while they were bathing in the Yamuna River.

With these two things in mind the holiday is celebrated by several ceremonies involving brightly colored pieces of cloth on a bamboo pole. Youth celebrate by throwing water balloons at women and girls. They also throw red vermilion powder on people as they pass by as some kind of blessing. Women hate this holiday as the youth tend to get out of control and throw balloons filled with water, red powder, sewage, etc. Often by late afternoon there are many drunk young people who can become quite dangerous. Many women will not leave their house on the Holi holiday.