The rainbow of spring
It is an explosion of joy and color at the Holi Festival, an ancient festival celebrated in March in India
Also widespread in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka
“It is the festival of spring and life, commemorating the victory of good over evil and promoting a sense of unity and equality,” Sister Elizabeth Beena, of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate, explains from Kerala. “It falls on the full moon day of the Hindu month called Phalgun (this year, it will be March 25) and, with the end of the cold winter weather, we greet the new season trusting in a good harvest,” the Pallottine nun continues.
The ritual from which it takes its name is that of the bonfire (“Holika Dahan”) in which, amid songs and dances that go on throughout the night, the burning of the demoness Holika, who was punished for lending herself to killing Prahalad, a devotee of Vishnu, a deity of good, is commemorated.
As Fr. Davide, a priest who oversees Houses of Charity in India, explains, “It is a time to purify oneself and renew broken relationships. In the crossroads of cities, among wood, dry leaves and old things, in the great fire that receives input from so many, pain, negativity and division burn.” Until the “Dhulhendi,” the long-awaited day of colors.
“Everyone, indiscriminately, celebrates Holi: family, friends and neighbors, from the youngest to the oldest, convinced that they will overcome any disagreement,” Sister Marina Rossignoli, a missionary of the Canossian Daughters of Charity who work with the ‘India Group’ founded in 1980 by Father Mario Pesce, writes us. “Where I am, in Allahabad (or Pryagraj), it lasts a few days, in a mixture of different ages, castes and statuses. It is a collapse of social barriers that is especially evident when, after 40 days of preparations, people finally spill out onto the streets throwing colored powders and water at each other, replicating Krishna’s playful merriment.”
According to tradition, in fact, the latter, having fallen in love with Radha, a light-skinned milkmaid (while hers was blue), jokingly colored her face.
“I landed in Bombay 54 years ago, in this land so new to me,” Sister Marina recalls. “It was March 23, 1970, and as I came out of the foreign office, I saw so many men in brightly colored splattered clothes. I thought they were painters and, instead, found out later that they had just celebrated Holi. Today, when our co-workers come to wish us well, we partly play along too.”
In ancient times, colors were made from dried flowers, but in recent years chemical powders are used, which are harmful to the health of the eyes, skin and respiratory tract and pollute the environment.
It is, however, a time of joy for everyone and “at the signal, after taking a nice bath and wearing new clothes, one is ready for visiting relatives and sharing hugs, gifts and lots of good things to drink and eat (Shakarpari, Gujiya, Thandai, etc.). One also brings along a small container of colored powder to apply on each other during the exchange of good wishes,” adds Sister Marina.
Sister Elizabeth points out that “when the poor cannot afford these meals, Holi becomes an opportunity for generosity and sharing. For this and other aspects, therefore, Christians can take part in it.”
From the Salesian Province of Dimapur, in fact, Br. Roy George-through the Forgotten Brothers Foundation-reports that “Holi, over time, has transcended religious boundaries, becoming a place of encounter between cultures, promoting interreligious harmony and reminding us that, beyond differences, we can unite and celebrate the joys of life together.”
As is already happening in Mumbai, in the Malad East slum, at “Shanti Niwas,” a home for differently abled people from the street, where Hindus, Muslims and Christians currently live together, as in a family.
“We have always taken part in this time of celebration, when neighbors would come into the house to color our cheeks and foreheads. The new season seems to mark for everyone the possibility of change and the opportunity to become brothers of a community on the way.”
(Loredana Brigante, Popoli e Missione, march 2024, pp. 48-49)
Source
- Popoli e missione 3/2024