Research Paper About Holi Festival

DONG NAI UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY Holi Traditional Festival in India Group Lam Thi Lien Nguyen Thi My Linh Vu Thi Ngoc Duyen Nguyen Hoang Phuong Tram Research writing DHNNA03A Instructor: Nguyen Van Nam, Ph.D April, 2016 Holi traditional festival in India Thesis statement Holi is one of major festivals in India which has many activities and influence on social life of India and other countries Outline I The overview of Holi A History of Holi B Importance of Holi in India Mythological significance Cultural significance Social significance Biological significance II The typical activities A The activities before the festival Holika dahan Holika bonfire B The activities during the festival Play of colors Other variety activities C The activities after the festival III Influences on social life of India and other countries A In India B In other countries Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival, also known as the festival of colors or the festival of sharing love (Gardner & Lal, 2012, pp 1403-1410) Holi powder Holi is one of major festivals in India which has many activities and influence on social life of India and other countries This is the occasion which is expected most during the year of Indians, as well as other people of south Asian origin Holi is not only supposed that is the resplendent symbol of the end of conflicts, a day to forget and forgive and obliterate all unfortunate things in the previous year, but also illustrate the victory of good over evil Moreover, this festival also contains another humanistic meaning, when people throw and apply of colored water and powder on friends, family that no one complains anything about it, which expresses freedom and no class distinction exist in society Let’s welcome this festival, there are lots of interesting and meaningful activities which are celebrated during this festival Holi is always considered as spiritual culture need to be remembered by Hinduism people This is an important occasion to remind them about the history of Holi Nowadays, Holi becomes popular in many countries such as United Kingdom, United State, Malaysia, Fiji, Guyana, South Africa… In 2009, Ghosh, SK, Bandyopadhyay, D, Chatterjee, G and Saha, D (pp 240-242) stated that Holi is also called as spring festival, is one of the most popular festival which is celebrated all over India and many countries every year Although Holli doesn’t has a fixed date in English calendar, the dates vary every year due to the fact that the Hindu calendar is based on solar cycles W, Crooke (1914) states that Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter and the onset of spring, during the or days preceding the full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna According to the Hindus calendar, it occurs in early March It also has recently been claimed (Gupta, D and Thappa, DM, 2015, pp 3-5) that “Holi is a harvest festival in which people symbolically smear dry powdered colors (“Abeer” or “Gulal”) and spray water soluble colors on each other” As Bowker, J (2000, p 248) reports that by the 17th century, various old editions of Oxford English Dictionary mention it, but with varying, phonetically derived spellings: Houly (1687), Hooly (1698), Huli (1789),Hohlee (1809), Hoolee (1825), and Holi in editions published after 1910 In India everyone celebrates Holi but there is a very few amount of people who exactly knows the reason behind its celebration and origin It is said that Holi existed several centuries before Christ However, the meaning of the festival is believed to have changed over the years Earlier it was a special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon was worshiped In India everyone celebrates Holi but there is a very few amount of people who exactly knows the reason behind its celebration and origin Holi is an ancient festival of India, “Holi” originated from “Holika”, with the literal meaning is burning There are various legends and mythologies to explain the meaning of this word, most prominent of all is the legend related with demon King Hiranyakashipu According to Jackson (1976) and Bowker (2000) say that in days of yore, there was a demon king whose name is Hiranyakashipu or Harnakas, winning all the realm of earth He was the King of Multan region He had found a godsend that made him virtually indestructible No one can break or destroy him because of his position and power He was a turkey-cock and arrogant person so he asked everybody in his kingdom to venerate and worship only him as a God Nevertheless his son was Prahlada, who just believed in Lord Vishnu (also known as the avatar Rama) He absolutely disapproved what his father demanded King Hiranyakashipu was extremely furious at Prahlada’s attitude He found a variety of ways to punish his son, which the aim is to change his devotional mind and make him worldly-minded, but unsuccessful because Prahlada always was protected by Lord Vishnu Ultimately, with the assistance of Holika who was evil sister of King Hiranyakashipu, she used a method which was very cruel and malignant to kill her niece Ghosh, SK et al also report that Holika tricked Prahlada into together sitting on bale-fire When the fire burned out, Holika was wearing an overcoat which could be against and prevent her from flaming fire However the coat suddenly moved from her to him, which protected Prahlada escape from death at the hands of Holika He was not affected by the fire Simply because, she was not aware that the boon worked only when she enters the fire alone As a result she was burnt to death At the same time, Lord Vishnu appeared and killed King Harnakas After the fire had cooled down, people applied ash to their forehead To commemorate this event, even today, bonfires are lit on the night before Holi in memory of the event and burning of the evil Holika Connected to the legend of demon Hiranyakashipu Holi also is known as by the name of Kamadahana in South India, the day on which Holika was burnt by Lord Vishnu Holi is one of the most vibrant festivals that are celebrated with huge enthusiasm in the whole of India and it plays a vital role in Indian’s life It is a major festival that is celebrated with uncontrolled joy The fun and frolic that is associated with Holi is incomparable with any other festival across the world Holi is celebrated as a mark of the arrival of spring season and therefore is a festival of gaiety that is celebrated with colors Thus, it is a celebration of relentless enthusiasm, joy and hope among people who cut across all sections of the society According to Sivananda, S.S (1997), “All great Hindu festivals have religious, social and hygienic elements in them Holi is no exception Every season has a festival of its own Holi is the great spring festival of India Being an agricultural country, India’s two big festivals come during the harvest time when the barns and granaries of our farmers are full and they have reason to enjoy the fruits of their hard labor The harvest season is a festive season all over the world” There are various mythologies significant about Holi festival in India Foremost is the legend of Prahlada and Hiranyakashipu As mentioned about this legend above, from then on, Holi is a symbol of the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion As Jackson, R (1976) says that Holi is also celebrated in memory of the immortal love of Lord Krishna and Radha The young Krishna would complain to his mother Yashoda about why Radha was so fair and he so dark Yashoda advised him to apply color on Radha's face and see how her complexion would change In the legends of Krishna as a youth he is depicted playing all sorts of pranks with cowgirls One prank was to throw colored powder all over them So at Holi, images of Krishna and his consort Radha are often carried through the streets Holi is celebrated in the villages around Mathura, the birth-place of Krishna 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 (Gyan Rajhans, 2014) Also, popular is the legend of Ogress 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 Showing their belief in the legend, children till date play pranks and hurl abuses at the time of Holika Dahan There is a strong cultural belief of the people behind celebrating the holi festival Variety of legends behind celebrating this festival assures people to believe on the victory of power of truth over the evil People believe that their Supreme God always keeps his loved ones and true devotee under his big arms He never let them to get hurt by the bad power Even, people worship Holika during the Holika Dahan to burn their all the sins and problems and in turn get a lot of happiness and good health Another cultural belief behind celebrating the Holi festival is, people celebrate Holi festival to express their joy and happiness while bringing new crops from their fields to home Celebration of the various legends associated with Holi reassure 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 Hiranyakashypu and Prahlada 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 As Wendy Doniger (2000) states that the Holi festival has further cultural significance It is the festive day to end and rid oneself of past errors, to end conflicts by meeting others, a day to forget and forgive People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in their lives Holi also marks the start of spring, and for many the start of the new year 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 People celebrate Holi so that they forget all their grievances and accusations against each other There are social events organized by different groups and people participate just to show their social involvements Women usually were forced to stay indoors and did not have much freedom in normal days They waited for festivals especially Holi to have some relaxed rules and enjoy a little bit of freedom in their lives Holi is celebrated to welcome the spring season and say good bye to winter Holi connects all people of India together Even the Indians who are living in other countries play Holi and relive the wonderful and merrymaking moments Holi festival has its own social significance as it brings a lot of happiness to the people living in the society It brings people much closer to strengthen their bond by removing all the problems This festival turns the enemies into lifelong friends as well as removes all the differentiation of age, race and religion To show their love and affection to each other, they share gifts, sweets and greetings cards to their relatives and friends This festival acts as a relationships revitalizing and strengthening tonic which binds each other into the great emotional bonds Holi helps to bring the society together and strengthen the secular fabric of India 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 not differentiate between the rich and poor and everybody celebrate the festival together with a spirit of bonhomie and brotherhood The social significance of Holi is seen in the form of the message of unity and brotherhood, it delivers As per the custom and tradition, people pay visits to their friends and relatives, to give them wishes as well as to strengthen their bonds The festival brings the nation together, as it is not just celebrated by Hindus but, also by the Sikhs, Christians, Jain as well In March 1914, W, Croock states that in the festival, people visit friends and relatives and exchange gifts, sweets and greetings This helps in revealing relationships and strengthening emotional bonds between people The festival is unique, as it does not discriminate against any section of the society and treats everyone equally The social fabric and secular character of the society is strengthened, since people work on building cordial relations, forgiving their hard feelings for others Apart from the cultural and social significance of the festival, Holi considerably affects the biological system of our body The time, at which Holi is celebrated, is very crucial with respect to our body During the festival, the season is going through a change - from winter to summer It is the period when people feel lethargic and drowsy Holi provides them the opportunity to wear off their laziness, by enjoying themselves thoroughly The dance performances and the music played during the festival rejuvenate the mind and soul The color, especially Abeer, penetrates the body and strengthens the ions, improving health and beauty During the tradition of Holika Dahan, people circumambulate around it the fire This ritual kills the bacteria in the body and makes it clean During Holi, people clean their houses and remove clutter, thereby ensuring flow of positive energy Therefore, it can be said that apart from rejuvenating the social ties, Holi provides a wonderful opportunity to release all the tension and to fresh the mind Holi festival has its own scientifically approved biological significance It has lots of beneficial effects on our body and mind as it brings lots of joy and fun The time of Holi celebration is estimated to be scientifically accurate It is celebrated at the end of the winter season and start of the summer season when people feels lazy and tired naturally So, during this time Holi brings lots of activities and joy to counteract the tardiness of the body It rejuvenates the body by playing colors, eating delicious recipes and take blessings from the elders of the family At the festival of Holi, there is a tradition of Holika Dahan Scientifically it is to make the atmosphere safe and clean as winter and spring season provides the required environment for the growth of bacteria Holika Dahan process at various places in the society all over the country increases the environment temperature by 145 degree Fahrenheit which kills the bacteria and other harmful insects At the same time people make round of the Holika known as the Parikrama which helps in killing the bacteria on their body After completely burning of the Holika, people used of applying the ash (also called as Vibhuti) on the forehead by mixing with the sandal paste or new mango leaves which helps in promoting their health Playing colors at this event also has its own benefits and significance It enhances the health of the body and mind There is a tradition of making the houses clean and clear in order to get rid of the spiders, mosquitoes or others insects as well as to drive some positive energies within the home environment According to Sivananda, S.S (1997), the first day of festival (is called as Holi Purnima), People started gathering wood and other combustible materials for campfires in parks, community centers, temples nearest and other open spaces On the pyre is an effigy symbolizing Holika, who had cheated on fire Prahalada In the house, the woman prepared to cook some typical meals of the holiday as Gujiya, Mathri, Malpuas and so on People also clean their house, remove all dirty articles from around the house and burn them On the eve of the festival, usually in time or after the sun sets, everyone gathered together and lit the pyre The next day of Holi, which is also called Puno, He also comments that it began in the morning and people playing with colors Everyone also have dry powder or the balls containing the dye solution to throw and spray on others Boys often dance on the streets, people take part in game exchanges with passers-by Music and dancing play an important role on this festival .At the time of burning the “Holika Dahan” people make in groups, then they singing and dancing while the drums and dholak around the fire, “This is said to kill harmful bacteria present in our body” (Sivananda, S.S 1997) They also eat dishes Gujiya, Mathri, Malpuas and many other traditional dishes Men try to joke women by getting them drenched in colored water Children enjoy the festival by throwing water filled balloons People also clean their homes and get rid of old clothes by burning it in the Holika Dahan By the end of the morning, everyone looks like a colorful painting And this is the reason why the festival Holi also known as the "Festival of Colors" Das, S (2015) said that “Mothers often carry their babies five times in a clockwise direction around the fire”, they believed that their children are blessed by Agni, the god of fire John Bowker (2000) also said that “On the evening of the first day of Holi, a public bonfire is held, commemorating the burning of Holika Traditionally, Hindu boys spend the weeks prior to Holi combing the neighborhood for any waste wood they can find for the bonfire The fire is lit sometime between 10 PM and midnight (at the rising of the moon), not generally in an orderly fashion Everyone gathers in the street for the event, and the air rings with shouts, catcalls, curses and general mayhem” The last day of Holi (is called Parva), Das, S (2015) noted that this is the day for children, youth, men and women visit each other’s home, they take a bath and wear new clothes, then According to Sivananda, S.S (1997) comments that in this day, people bring a little fire from the festival to their homes, because they believe that their homes will be rendered pure, and their bodies may prevent from illness  ... countries Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival, also known as the festival of colors or the festival of sharing love (Gardner & Lal, 2012, pp 1403-1410) Holi powder Holi is one of major festivals... 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