What is Holi?
Holi is a Hindu festival that celebrates spring, love, and new life.
Some families hold religious ceremonies, but for many Holi is more a time for fun. It's a colourful festival, with dancing, singing and throwing of powder paint and coloured water.
Holi is also known as the ‘festival of colours’.
RAJ: Hi Rebecca.
REBECCA: You look so colourful, what happened to you?
RAJ: Thanks. I was at Holi, the Hindu festival of colours.
REBECCA: So what’s Holi all about?
RAJ: It marks the beginning of spring, and there is a story about Hiranyakashipu, an evil King.
REBECCA: Really?
RAJ: Yeah, he was angry that his son, Prahlad, was worshipping Vishnu instead of him. The king’s sister, Holika, had a special cloak to protect her from fire. The king asked her to trick Prahlad into sitting on her lap in a bonfire, but her cloak flew off and protected Prahlad instead. So on the eve of Holi we light bonfires to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.
REBECCA: But what about your clothes?
RAJ: Ah, right. That comes from another story we remember. On the day of Holi, we have a big festival where people throw coloured powder and water on each other to celebrate the love between Krishna and Radha.
REBECCA: That must be messy.
RAJ: It is. In India, everyone gets involved. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, old or young. It’s a day for everyone to forget bad feelings towards each other.
REBECCA: That sounds like fun.
RAJ: It is. We also get presents and eat sweets and spicy foods.
REBECCA: Yum.
Holi marks the arrival of spring and the end of winter. It is usually celebrated in March.
In 2027 Holi will begin on Monday 22 March.
What is the story of Holi?
Holi also celebrates the Hindu god Krishna and the legend of Holika and Prahlad.
Image caption, Hiranyakashipu was an evil king. He had special powers that made him nearly invincible and he wanted everyone in his kingdom to worship him.
1 of 6
How is Holi celebrated?
On the first night of Holi, people light bonfires and throw roasting grains, popcorn, coconut and chickpeas onto them.
The next day, people of all ages go into the streets for fun and paint-throwing.
Everyone gets involved!
Hindus have fun by smearing each other with paint and throwing coloured water.
What do the Holi colours mean?
Some people believe the Holi colours came from Krishna mischievously throwing coloured water over his milkmaids when he was a boy. This developed into the practical jokes and games of Holi.
Play BBC Bitesize educational games! game
Fun, interactive games for children aged 4-11, with maths, English, science, history and many more subjects.
More on Hinduism
Find out more by working through a topic
- count3 of 3
- count1 of 3
