01What Holi is
Holi, the festival of colours, is the first day of the dark half of Chaitra, the morning after the Holika Dahan bonfire on Phalguna Purnima. It marks the arrival of spring and is kept across India and by Indians everywhere. It is also called Dhulandi, Rangwali Holi and Phagwah, and in Braj, around Mathura and Vrindavan, the celebrations run for days.
02The story told of it
Two accounts meet in Holi. The first is Prahlada's: the night before, Holika's fire failed to harm him, and the morning is the joy that followed. The second belongs to Braj, where Krishna, teased for his dark skin, is said to have coloured Radha's face on his mother's advice, and the play of colour between them became the festival. In Barsana the women answer with sticks in Lathmar Holi.
03How it is kept
The day begins with colour: dry gulal and coloured water are thrown and smeared on friends, family and strangers alike, to drums and songs of the season. Ash or an ember from the Holika fire is touched to the forehead in some homes. In the afternoon people bathe, put on clean clothes and visit, and sweets are shared, gujiya above all, with thandai to drink.
04How the day is chosen
Holi is the morning after Holika Dahan, the first day of the dark half of Chaitra, so its date follows the night of the bonfire.
05Holi in other years