Holi is a renowned festival in Nepal, which is known as the festival of colors. It is celebrated on the full moon day (purnima) that mostly lies in the month of March according to the Nepali calendar. It is celebrated for 2 days in Nepal, the first day in the hilly territory and the second day on the plain land region of terai that is close to the Indian border. During this festival, people throw different colors to each other by gathering in a park, streets and squares. They cheer up with the rallies and the local people throw colors and water to the cheering crowd.
Tourists find celebrating holi festival a wonderful thing to do if they are in Nepal, especially in the touristic region. Thamel and Kathmandu Durbar Square premises are the major towns where the tourists gather in crowds and enjoy their day. Holi in Kathmandu Durbar Square is a combining ceremony of spreading the colors between the locals and the foreigners. There are also the famous towns like Pokhara and Chitwan, where tourists find their appropriate spots to celebrate.
The History and Mythology of the Holi Festival
If we want to know about the Holi festival, we need to switch on the era of “Mahabharata”, which is a renowned epic tale in India, read by the Hindu devotees. It is a festival that indicates the victory of the virtues and the death of the vices. According to the Hindu mythologies, King Hiranyakashyipu was against of worshipping Lord Visnu and did not allow anybody to worship Him, or let’s say, he was highly arrogant on worshipping Lord Visnu. Unlike, prince Prahlad was a highly dedicated devotee of Lord Visnu. Hiranyakashipu, being enraged, commanded his sister Holika to burn the prince on the full moon night. With the miraculous blessings of Lord Visnu, the prince was unscathed, but Holika was burnt into ashes. After this, the prince got a new life remaining unharmed, walked out of the fire and people sprinkled him with the colors and waters to praise his honesty and holy devotion to Lord Visnu. Thus, the festival is aptly celebrated as the celebration of goodness and the hatred of the evil acts.
How it begins and ends in Nepal?
With the erection of a wooden pole in the premises of Kathmandu Durbar Square, it is believed that the Holi festival officially begins. It is locally called “Chir”. The sacred pole, “Chir” tied with pieces of a variety of colorful cloths one week prior to the Holi notifies the people to prepare for the celebration. It is done a week ago. Then it is celebrated on the full moon day as a major part of the celebration and the next day on the Terai region. It ends with the Holi bonfire on the eighth day.
Hindu devotees celebrate Holi festival in a wonderful way. The women dress themselves in beautiful sarees and worship the erected pole as a part of the celebration. In the major cities and parks, people perform with musical instruments as a live show. After all, people celebrate the Holi festival with great excitement.
General Info about the Holi Festival-Tips for the Celebration
- Buy the Happy-Holi written t-shirt (can be bought on the site) and wear comfortable dresses that you don’t mind getting colors and water sprinkles on the celebration.
- Keep safe your wallet and cover your important belongings like camera by the plastic and use it from the appropriate points.
- Avoid the face paints if you have the allergies. You need to make a big effort to cleanse the paints.
- Avoid the crowds that you find disgusting. People may come being drunk and behave immorally in some events.
- For the tourists, Thamel and Kathmandu Durbar Square are the best spots to celebrate Holi festival. Do not miss the celebration for the wonderful and colorful photography.
In 2020, the Holi festival is being celebrated on the 9th of March in the hilly territory and the major towns of Nepal like Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. It is celebrated on the 10th of March in the low land region, aka Terai region of Nepal, that is close to the Tibetan border like Birgunj, Nepalgunj, Janakpur and so on.